Member Article

How businesses can do more with less

In our work as IT solutions and services experts we are often asked to comment on trends or forecast the next ‘big thing’ in the IT industry. Every business wants to do more for less, and right now managed services is the sweet spot for those looking to squeeze IT budgets while maintaining a flexible, responsive and resilient infrastructure.

Analysts predict that the £98billion managed services market will continue to grow at double-digit rates for at least the next four years, and our experience bears that out. We have seen a big rise in demand from businesses looking for a trusted partner to support their IT function, with at least £1m worth of recent revenue directly attributable to our managed services model.

So what is managed services and why is it so popular?

Managed services simply means handling some – or all – of the elements of your IT in-house and asking a third party to manage the rest, and is often referred to as outsourcing. Organisations depend heavily on the internet and external communications for everything from their CRM and accounting systems to marketing and customer service functions. This has led to a rise in ‘big data’ and complex networking and security arrangements that can see business IT spread between ‘on premises’, in the cloud or a mix of the two. All of which requires high level expertise to manage.

For example, company A retains the management of its developed applications in-house, and outsources the management of its IT infrastructure to ITPS. Company B relies on ITPS to handle its internet provision and security, while its in-house team looks after internal applications. Solutions are bespoke to each client so they can take as much or as little support as they need.

We see managed services as a utility where the client is in the driving seat. Whichever model they use, we become their IT conscience by monitoring performance, offering insight and bringing new ideas to the table, all of which helps to boost performance and ROI. As well as giving them access to a 95-strong team of experts, they also benefit from our continuous investment in super-fast, high capacity communications and a suite of ISO27001-certified data centres with workspace recovery.

Finance Directors in particular have been quick to see the balance sheet value to be had in bringing in external expertise to manage part of the IT function, allowing the in-house IT resource to support the ‘business as usual’ activity. Businesses bring in specialist advisors such as legal and HR when needed, so it makes sense to apply that model to IT too. Why try to replicate decades of technical and industry knowledge, when you can work in partnership with someone who already bears the cost of maintaining that knowledge base?

All trends are driven by customer demand on the back of proven success, and the rise in managed services is no different. So if you are looking for an IT model that offers low capital outlay and predictable costs, which gives you access to high level expertise and has the flexibility to match your business strategy, managed services could well be the way forward for your business too.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by ITPS Ltd .