Managed services

Managed services is the practice of outsourcing the responsibility for maintaining, and anticipating need for, a range of processes and functions in order to improve operations and cut expenses.[1][2] It is an alternative to the break/fix or on-demand outsourcing model where the service provider performs on-demand services and bills the customer only for the work done.[3][4]

Under this subscription model, the client or customer is the entity that owns or has direct oversight of the organization or system being managed whereas the Managed Services Provider (MSP) is the service provider delivering the managed services. The client and the MSP are bound by a contractual, service-level agreement that states the performance and quality metrics of their relationship.[5]

Advantages and challenges

Adopting managed services is intended to be an efficient way to stay up-to-date on technology, have access to skills and address issues related to cost, quality of service and risk.[6][7][8] As the IT infrastructure components of many SMB and large corporations are migrating to the cloud,[9] with MSPs (managed services providers) increasingly facing the challenge of cloud computing, a number of MSPs are providing in-house cloud services or acting as brokers with cloud services providers.[10][11] A recent survey claims that a lack of knowledge and expertise in cloud computing rather than offerors' reluctance, appears to be the main obstacle to this transition.[12][13] For example, in transportation, many companies face a significant increase of fuel and carrier costs, driver shortages, customer service requests and global supply chain complexities. Managing day-to-day transportation processes and reducing related costs come as significant burdens that require the expertise of Transportation Managed Services (or managed transportation services) providers.[14][15]

History and evolution

The evolution of MSP started in the 1990s with the emergence of application service providers (ASPs) who helped pave the way for remote support for IT infrastructure. From the initial focus of remote monitoring and management of servers and networks, the scope of an MSP's services expanded to include mobile device management, managed security, remote firewall administration and security-as-a-service, and managed print services. Around 2005, Karl W. Palachuk, Amy Luby (Founder of Managed Service Provider Services Network acquired by High Street Technology Ventures), and Erick Simpson (Managed Services Provider University) were the first advocates and the pioneers of the managed services business model.[16][17]

The first books on the topic of managed services: Service Agreements for SMB Consultants: A Quick-Start Guide to Managed Services[18] and The Guide to a Successful Managed Services Practice[19] were published in 2006 by Palachuk and Simpson, respectively. Since then, the managed services business model has gained ground among enterprise-level companies. As the value-added reseller (VAR) community evolved to a higher level of services, it adapted the managed service model and tailored it to SMB companies.

In the new economy, IT manufacturers are currently moving away from a "box-shifting" resale to a more customized, managed service offering. In this transition, the billing and sales processes of intangible managed services, appear as the main challenges for traditional resellers.

The managed services market is expected to grow from an estimated $152.45 billion in 2017 to $257.84 billion by 2022, representing a CAGR of 11.1%. With IT driving all business operations, the significance of aligning managed IT services with all levels in an organization has grown to ensure reliability and continuity of business goals.[20]

Common managed services

In the information technology area, the most common managed services appear to evolve around connectivity and bandwidth, network monitoring, security,[21] virtualization, and disaster recovery.[7] Beyond traditional application and infrastructure management, managed services may also include storage, desktop and communications, mobility, help desk, and technical support. In general, common managed services include the following applications.

Name	Functions	Providers
Information services	* Software – production support and maintenance * Authentication * Systems management * Data backup and recovery * Data storage, warehouse and management * Cloud transformation * Network monitoring, management and security * Human Resources and Payroll	IT managed services provider HCM Platforms
Business-to-business integration	* Supply chain management * Communications services (mail, phone, VoIP) * Internet * Videoconferencing	Internet service provider, Video managed services provider
Supply chain managed services[22]	* Supply chain planning, monitoring and control * Sourcing and procurement * Logistics and distribution	Supply chain managed services provider
Transportation[23]	* Daily transportation planning * Process execution and enforcement (freight audit/accounting & payment)	Managed transportation services provider
Marketing	* Marketing strategy, planning * Integrated marketing / advertising agency services (graphic design, copywriting, PPC, social media, web design, SEO)	Marketing managed services provider, outsourced marketing providers
Media	* Systems operation and support services * Broadcast managed services	Media managed services provider
Water[24]	* Water quality testing * Water storage and transfer systems management * Smart irrigation monitoring, scheduling	Water managed services provider
Power[25]	* Advanced metering infrastructure * Smart grid deployments	Power managed services provider

Managed services provider

Definition

A managed IT services provider (MSP) is most often information technology (IT) services provider that manages and assumes responsibility for providing a defined set of services to its clients either proactively or as the MSP (not the client) determines that services are needed.[26][27] Most MSPs bill an upfront setup or transition fee and an ongoing flat or near-fixed monthly fee, which benefits clients by providing them with predictable IT support costs. Sometimes, MSPs act as facilitators who manage and procure staffing services on behalf of the client. In such context, they use an online application called vendor management system (VMS) for transparency and efficiency. A managed service provider is also useful in creating disaster recovery plans, similar to a corporation's. Managed Service Providers tend to prove most useful to small businesses with a limited IT budget.[28]

The managed services model has been useful in the private sector, notably among Fortune 500 companies[29] ,and has an interesting future in government.[30]

Main players

Main managed service providers originate from the United States (IBM, Accenture, Cognizant), Europe (Atos, Capgemini) and India (TCS, Infosys, Wipro).[31]

Company	Country	2017 revenue
IBM	United States	$79bn
Accenture	United States	$35bn
Cognizant	United States	$18bn
Tata Consultancy Services	India	$18bn
Atos	Europe	$16bn
Capgemini	France	$15bn
Infosys	India	$10bn
Wipro	India	$8.5bn
HCL Technologies	India	$7bn
Computacenter	United Kingdom	£4.4bn
Datapipe	United States	$2.4bn
ALTEN	France	$2.4bn