Managed service providers (MSPs) may need to step up their game when it comes to educating end users and businesses about the value of managed IT services. New research from not-for-profit firm CompTIA finds that the decidedly modest uptake of managed services may be because of a lack of awareness about their benefits.
CompTIA’s third annual Trends in Managed Services study finds that three in 10 organizations have adopted some form of managed services. However, the overall size of the market is difficult to measure because of customer confusion about what actually constitutes a managed service.
"For those companies who are using managed services there is a high level of satisfaction," said Carolyn April, director, industry analysis, CompTIA. "But choosing the managed services route is a major organizational decision, one that must be weighed against handling IT internally, and one that requires many steps to make a successful transition."
Most companies are implementing managed services in a hybrid model, with some services being handled by their internal IT departments. CompTIA found that of those companies that are using managed services, they are doing so based on better network uptimes and a more assured path toward network security. Companies are also making use of managed services to avoid potential problems as well as proactively assess and act on future needs.
Ultimately, it comes down to awareness and education, and MSPs may need to do a better job explaining the benefits of turning over some or all IT processes to an experienced service provider. Customers can save time and money by not having to maintain equipment, software and staff resources to handle processes themselves. So they can cut back on capital expenditures associated with buying and maintaining equipment as well as the operational expenditures of ongoing management, maintenance and upgrades. The result is, of course, that internal IT staffs can focus more time and money on core business initiatives. Another important benefit of most managed services offerings is the pay-as-you-go model that allows for flexible monthly billing as well as the ability to scale resources up and down dynamically, on an as-needed basis.
"Some organizations view alignment with a managed services provider as an avenue to new technologies that will be made available to them in a more affordable and accessible fashion," commented April. "This ranks as a major factor for roughly two-thirds of companies, regardless of size or experience with managed services."
She added that cloud computing is another important factor that may lead to a rise in the adoption of managed services. "Cloud-based providers are enabling end customers to outsource IT functions in a more automated fashion for a fraction of the cost," said April. "That's the one wild card that could change the growth path."
Edited by
Cassandra Tucker