MSPs, or managed IT services, are companies focused on outsourcing the Information Technology sector within an organization. These services may include infrastructure, management and systems used by the company.
The main objective of this modality is to optimize the internal processes carried out by the business, improve competitive positioning and add value to the business. Furthermore, it is a strategy that helps the company reduce expenses and increase its profitability.
Depending on business needs, the company can hire managed services or co-managed IT services. However, what is the best alternative for your organization? See what we will cover in this article.
- What are managed IT services?
- Pros and cons of managed IT services
- What are co-managed IT services?
- Pros and cons of co-managed IT services
- Outsourcing IT services for companies?
- How does full or partial outsourcing impact my business?
- Managed or co-managed services: which are the most outsourced?
- Managed or co-managed IT service: choose the best solution for your business
What are managed IT services?
As we said above, managed IT services refer to the outsourcing of tasks and processes in the technology sector . Through it, the company can ensure that all processes in this sector work as expected, without the need to hire a specialized team to do so.
Due to the benefits provided, this strategy has become increasingly popular in the market . This is because, through outsourcing these services, it is possible to focus on important tasks for the business without worrying about technological resources.
MSPs allow the identification of possible improvements in information technology strategies and process improvements. In this way, the company is able to establish an optimized relationship and customer service service.
Understand better how this type of business works for companies through this article.
According to a survey carried out by Zendesk in 2023, 40% of consumers demonstrate that contact with a fully automated system can harm the relationship between customer and company, damaging the consumer experience.
Furthermore, this strategy helps to improve the response to possible cyber incidents that harm the smooth running of the business. Faced with the growing need for safer alternatives, hiring managed IT services has become a safer and more efficient alternative.
Pros and cons of managed IT services
Every day, technology advances provide increasingly efficient solutions to optimize processes and improve business activities. Certain projects within the organization make it necessary to have a large budget to guarantee the best resources to carry out the activities.
Outsourcing through specialized companies helps the company to maintain focus on the main tasks of its activity and guarantee the best resources for day-to-day operations. See below the advantages and disadvantages of hiring managed IT services for your company.
The advantages of managed IT services
Managed IT services can contribute to the growth and smooth running of your company in several ways. Below are the main benefits of this strategy:
Less worry for the company
Managed services help reduce the need to worry about managing your company's technology infrastructure and resources . Through this, it is possible to focus on the core business and ensure leverage of the business strategy. Since the hired MSPs will take care of all technology, these resources will not be a concern for your employees, who can focus on essential activities for the business.
No need to have specific technical knowledge
Outsourcing these services means that your company can count on a specialized team without the need to hire a team to do so. They help ensure the updating and security of all technological resources that are essential for the progress of activities.
Complete services
By outsourcing technology services, your company can count on a team of specialized professionals to constantly monitor tools and mitigate threats. This team will be qualified to deliver all the services necessary for your business.
Reduction of internal costs
The search for cost reduction is constant in companies of all sizes and segments. Without the need to hire an internal IT team, organizations can save money and guarantee a higher-than-expected performance.
Constant updating of infrastructure and network
With modern and increasingly efficient solutions made available daily, it is costly and complex to keep the company always up to date. Hiring a specialized company will ensure that your organization has access to all the resources necessary for good performance and the appropriate level of security.
The hired company will have a specialized team fully focused on the technology sector , so your company will have access to the most modern resources available on the market. The objective is to ensure that your business has the most innovative tools and strategies in the sector at its disposal.
Disadvantages of managed IT services
Less control
Since all technology services are performed by an outsourced company, the contracting company has less control over the IT strategy. However, it is essential to remember that, although the contracted company provides guidance on the IT strategy, the details are still up to your company.
Your company will not be prepared for an immediate response
Since all technology processes are carried out by the contracted company, organizations will not have the basis to deal with immediate demands. For this reason, it is essential to hire a company that has quality support resources to ensure that your business has all the support it needs in the face of emergencies.
There are no internal employees to deal with IT issues
Since specialized employees were not hired to perform technology services, the company will have no one to turn to in specific situations. If a problem occurs, you will need to contact the contracted MSP to obtain appropriate support.
What are co-managed IT services?
Co-managed IT services consist of a solution developed to deal with the disadvantages of contracting a managed service and deliver a more personalized alternative for companies that wish to maintain an internal IT sector, but also outsource certain services. In this way, these companies are able to combine external and internal resources so that the company has the collaboration of an MSP without losing control of its technology sector.
Thus, companies are able to act in a consolidated manner to provide balance and internal control of technology tasks, relying on specific technical knowledge and support from external experts to provide support whenever necessary. The union of efforts allows assertive and differentiated control.
Pros and cons of co-managed IT services
Based on what was said above, we can understand how co-managed IT services can provide a partnership process so that the company has access to all the benefits of MSP without losing strategic control. Below are the main benefits and disadvantages of this service for your organization:
The advantages of co-managed IT services
Continuous collaboration
Considering that co-managed IT services provide a training process for organizations, your company's employees will have a more assertive involvement within the IT strategy. This way, your team will be able to deal with day-to-day technical demands, without the need to request external support.
Increased flexibility
Support from a co-managed IT services company allows support to be established in an adaptive way. Thanks to this, the entire process takes place in a way that meets the specific and personalized needs of companies.
All of your company's demands and needs are established according to the real needs of the business, so that only what is truly essential is contracted.
Internal IT team
Unlike what happens in the managed IT services strategy, through this solution your company can maintain an internal team to guarantee support and resources on a daily basis. Thanks to this, whenever necessary, your company will have emergency support in the face of immediate technical situations, as well as specialized technical support to guarantee greater availability and efficiency of processes. While its employees take care of day-to-day demands, MSPs provides support for emergencies and more specific strategies.
Cost reduction
Considering that the demand for the IT strategy is divided between your company and the contracted company, managed IT services usually cost less than a fully managed service . The amount invested in the contract will depend on the number of personalized services that were added to the contract.
Expert support
Even if your company maintains an internal IT team, it is also possible to count on qualified support whenever the company needs it. This way, your business will be able to count on more technical knowledge when faced with specific demands and day-to-day challenges.
Disadvantages of co-managed IT services
Considering that each solution seeks to meet a specific demand, there are some negative points in managed IT services that must be considered before adopting this solution:
Increased responsibility
Since not all services are outsourced, companies need to assume some responsibilities regarding the control and management of this sector . For this reason, the entire communication and management process must be coordinated to maintain a transparent relationship. Collaboration guarantees a more assertive decision-making process.
Structure reduction
It is important to remember that, when outsourcing certain technology processes, there is a reduction in structure and controls. For this reason, the lack of resources can represent a challenge in managing IT processes. Part of the infrastructure will be made available by the contracted company, sometimes requiring support to resolve specific situations.
Increased internal costs
When considering that some tasks will need to be performed internally, it becomes necessary to hire and train a specialized team to maintain the routine. Therefore, hiring a co-managed IT service, despite allowing the outsourcing of several activities, may require investment in a qualified team.
Outsourcing of IT services by companies
The emergence of new technologies and specific demands in the technology sector has made outsourcing IT services a viable and economical alternative. Currently, most companies depend on technological resources to stay in business, and maintaining this service can be challenging.
Therefore, managed and co-managed IT services have gained visibility. Contrary to popular belief, this strategy is not exclusive to large companies. Considering the increase in cyber attacks, it is essential that all businesses protect themselves and have advanced technological resources.
For this reason, to avoid the large investment in keeping the technology infrastructure always up to date, outsourcing becomes an efficient alternative. Managed IT services, as well as co-managed services, strengthen the security strategy and guarantee the protection of data and information handled daily.
How does total or partial IT outsourcing impact your business?
Outsourcing IT resources is a strategy that not only reduces costs, but also provides excellent value for money. In addition to savings, IT outsourcing, whether total or partial, brings advantages such as:
- Process optimization: Outsourcing services brings intelligence and efficiency to work routines, allowing the internal team to deliver more complete solutions in record time.
- Anticipating problems and solutions: Unlike a traditional approach focused on resolution, outsourcing IT services helps to establish a preventive approach, with constant monitoring to identify and resolve problems in a reduced time.
- Assertive monitoring of the entire IT infrastructure: Outsourcing allows continuous monitoring of new technologies, without the need to invest internal resources.
- Directing available resources to the core business: Even with partial outsourcing, it is possible to direct the team's efforts towards the company's strategies, developing and implementing solutions for business growth without worrying about all technology-related services.
- Constant updating to market needs: The outsourced company using modern solutions helps the company to quickly update itself to changes in the market, achieving a competitive advantage.
- Greater productivity in the team of employees: With systems working as expected, employees can focus on their activities, increasing efficiency and productivity.
IT managed or co-managed service: which are the most outsourced?
The type of service to be contracted depends on the company's specific strategies and needs. Businesses without an internal technology sector generally require a complete contracting of managed services, while companies with their own sectors can co-manage only some tasks.
In this sense, we understand that the ideal service model depends on the company's reality and demand. It is possible to customize a solution according to business needs, providing more efficiency and productivity.
In the case of managed IT services , the MSP provides all IT infrastructure management solutions, including hardware, software and the entire network infrastructure to keep services active.
In the case of co-management, a partnership is established between the company and the MSP. In this case, the contract is personalized according to the needs of the business and the demands presented by the IT sector.
Differences between Help Desk, Service Desk and Field Service
When dealing with support, it is necessary to determine the organization's real demand and priority. With so many terms designating similar solutions, it is essential to understand the differences and choose the best strategy.
Helpdesk
The help desk is targeted support for day-to-day problems, such as printer configuration, internet problems, email configuration and simple changes to software or hardware. It is often performed remotely, using remote access to reduce demand and allow experts to focus on more important activities. When the service is not of low complexity, it is forwarded to the service desk.
Service desk
Service desk support is aimed at more complex needs, which require a more specialized agent. Dealing with security issues, access to systems and others that can harm the progress of the company's activities, the service desk can be carried out remotely, as long as an interface is made available.
Field Service
This support layer is carried out in person and is related to support for devices or requests that could not be met in the first two layers. This support is more specific and is generally carried out by a trained and specialized team.
Managed IT service versus Co-managed: choose the best solution for your business
Now that we've covered the main differences between managed and co-managed services, it's easier to understand which is the best solution for your company's strategy. It is crucial to consider the real technological demands of your business and which resources can be transferred to an outsourced company.
The main objective of the outsourcing strategy is to ensure greater organizational efficiency and resource control. With the help of managed and co-managed IT services, your company can establish more strategic and efficient demand, reaching a new competitive level.
By opting for a fully managed solution, such as the IT management service, your company eliminates the need for an internal technology team. Considering that hiring employees for an internal IT team entails several costs and challenges, outsourcing can be an ideal solution.
Through managed IT services, the business reduces costs, relies on qualified specialists and guarantees the best solutions on the market. Even if your company does not have industry professionals, the hired MSP can provide comprehensive reports to ensure access to all necessary information.
When hiring a co-managed solution, it is important to remember that your company needs to have an internal IT team for collaboration. The co-managed company provides services and resources to complement the IT strategy, ensuring that your company operates with the best solutions on the market.
Through the co-managed solution, your company's IT team will have all the essential resources and tools to provide greater efficiency and productivity. The MSP's responsibility is to provide all the necessary improvements for your business to build a complete and effective IT department.
Below are some differences that need to be understood in relation to the managed IT service and the co-managed solution:
Software Patch
Software updates are essential to ensure that the resources used by the company remain safe in the face of strategies used by cybercriminals. Both and co-managed IT services The focus is to ensure the correction of vulnerability points and strengthen the security strategy.
Data backup
Maintaining a backup process is essential to ensure that the company remains operational even after a cyber attack or loss of information. Through the managed IT solution, MSPs manage and establish a backup protocol to maintain a backup copy of your company's essential data.
In the case of the co-managed service, it is necessary to adopt a strategy in collaboration with the company to guarantee periodic backups of your information. This is because all services provided by a co-managed strategy must be personalized according to the demands of your business.
Remote access
In both managed and co-managed IT services, there is the possibility of remote access to increase flexibility and provide more efficiency to processes. In the case of IT managed service, MSPs have a team for troubleshooting and support. In the case of the co-managed service, operations are integrated with remote access so that there is a continuous collaboration process.
Software and Security Solutions
The implementation of security resources for your company is essential in both managed and co-managed IT services. In the case of the total management solution, security systems and software are installed by the contracted MSP
In the case of a co-managed solution, it is essential that there is a collaboration process between your company's team and the MSP so that the security layers appropriate to your organization's needs are established.
Digital Security and Internet Access Control
Regardless of the strategy used by your organization, it is essential to have security resources that help increase the protection of information within your company. One of these features is internet access control.
Considering that there are countless websites and applications that can harm the smooth running of your company's activities, access control becomes an indispensable strategy. Blocking unwanted content will help your company stay protected and prevent threats from damaging devices and affecting results .
Digital security solutions for MSP partners
Managed IT services (MSPs) help you carry out activities in the technology sector, providing your company with the best infrastructure and management. For this reason, outsourcing has gained a prominent role in the market, being adopted by companies from different segments that seek to optimize their resources and guarantee an innovative strategy.
MSPs are constantly looking for security solutions to offer their customers and partners. Lumiun has developed complete and personalized tools that optimize security and guarantee the best solution on the market.
Considering all the losses that can affect your business and its image compared to the competition, investing in security is more than necessary. Adopting more complete digital security solutions is essential for businesses that want to remain competitive and offer the best resources to their partners and consumers.
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