For many companies, the growing demands on in-house IT infrastructure represent a major challenge. One approach to tackle this is the purchase of managed services. But what are administered IT services and what exactly does a managed service provider do?
A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a company that provides a range of IT services and manages them for their clients. By default, the provision and maintenance of the services usually happens remotely, which is why MSPs rarely visit a client’s office. Managed service providers tend to offer different types of billing models: a monthly fee to install and maintain the respective MSP services is just as common as time-based billing. Cost structures based on the number of users or devices are also widely in use.
MSPs tend to offer their services as part of a service level agreement (SLA), which is a contractual agreement between provider and client that details the level of services provided.
Managed services are particularly appealing to small and medium-sized companies because the outsourcing of specific IT needs allows them to forego in-house IT support and save costs. Starting in the 1990s, the principle of administered services was originally aimed exclusively at large corporations. IT heavyweights such as IBM laid the foundation for the business model of today’s managed service providers by offering services for remote monitoring of servers and networks.
The term ‘managed service’ does not target a specific type of IT service. Rather, it is used for all IT services that can be outsourced to an external provider and managed remotely.
Typical managed services include:
In addition to technical IT services, managed service providers now also tend to offer support for more basic business areas such as personnel management, process optimisation or accounting.
The following examples of managed services are intended to illustrate the benefits and functionality of such IT services, and exemplify how managed service providers work.
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SecuritySimplicityScalabilityIT security is an important topic for most businesses because the loss of sensitive company data has the potential to cause severe financial damage, while also jeopardising a company’s image. However, many SMEs tend to lack the know-how or personnel to ensure their IT systems are safe and appropriately managed.
By partnering with a managed service provider, small and medium-sized companies can relinquish responsibility for security structures and concentrate on their core business. Typical MSP services within IT security are:
Security is also an important topic when selecting suitable storage solutions for company data. Saving data in the cloud has been a standard for years, but data security and data protection have become increasingly important topics in recent years. Outsourcing company storage solutions to a managed service provider not only keeps internal hardware to a minimum but means businesses can rely on guaranteed security conditions set out by the provider.
Find out ‘What is cloud storage?’ and how information is stored in the cloud in our dedicated article.
A comprehensive backup solution is also a popular managed service offered by many providers. Regardless of the storage structures selected, a backup system ensures a higher level of security, as lost data can be restored at any time. A provider helps to implement the right strategy, administrates, and monitors the backup process and supports the company in the event of necessary restoration.
Remote monitoring, i.e., the monitoring of IT structures from a distance, was the first managed service offered back in the 1990s. But this type of service is no longer just aimed at large companies. Remote monitoring and administration of IT services is now of increasing interest to small and medium-sized companies that depend on functional and high-performance IT infrastructures.
Among possible functions of Remote Monitoring and Management Services (RMMS) are:
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High availabilitySecureCustomisableThe range of managed services offered is broad and the way in which individual providers position themselves on the market is just as extensive. While some companies focus solely on the provision of managed services, for others managed IT services form part of a whole suite of products. The number of managed services on offer tend to vary from one company to another.
IONOS offers a range of managed services that ensure clients remain effective, efficient, and successful in the digital space. The ‘managed’ part can take on a smaller or larger role depending on performance. A good example of this is server hosting. Here, customers can select from the following options:
But IONOS is also offering itself as a managed services provider for a whole range of other products. Among others, these products include:
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Cloud computing is not just an IT industry buzzword, it’s a model that many companies already employ effectively and profitably into their organisations. A large portion of IT infrastructure is no longer managed on-site. Instead, the required services can be rented via a service on the internet. Here we provide a cloud computing definition and explain exactly how it works.
The term vendor lock-in has traditionally been used in connection with the use of proprietary software. But vendor lock-in also plays a crucial role in the age of the cloud. How exactly does vendor lock-in happen and what measures can a company take to protect itself? Read on to find out how to prevent it.
Storing data in electronic form is part of daily life. However, the more confidential the data being stored is, the more important security provisions become. So-called audit compliance, which already applies to documents of a commercial or tax-related nature, is playing an increasingly important role in the digital enterprise of the future.
Information Technology Infrastructure Library, ITIL for short, is the most important approach for successful and efficient IT service management. The guideline provides important input across the entire service lifecycle as well as best practices that can serve as a guide for companies and IT managers in their daily work. We reveal what ITIL actually entails.
ITIL v3, the third edition of the best practices guide for IT service management, was published in July 2007. It is still valid today, which is due in particular to the fact that the structured processes described are more relevant for many companies than the agile practices of the successor version. What is ITIL v3 exactly and how up to date is it now that ITIL v4 is available?
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