Businesses are increasingly relying on information technology to carry out their processes in today’s market. It is difficult for businesses to maintain a competitive advantage in a landscape that is constantly changing due to the daily emergence of new technologies. It is not surprising that businesses are weighing the pros and cons of managed services versus professional services because of the high expectations to meet, limited budgets to work with, and daily business operations to fine-tune and maintain. This blog discusses the advantages of professional services and managed IT services.
Managed IT Services
IT is outsourced to a managed service provider (MSP) under a managed service model, where role-specific IT experts manage some or all of an organization’s IT. The service model of an MSP and a company is the factor that determines their level of service. A service level objective is typically provided by managed service providers and is typically influenced by an organization’s size, needs, complexity of the industry, Service Length Service level objectives, or SLOs, are an important part of managed service objectives because they specify the responsibilities that an organization and its managed service provider share.
SLOs are regarded as essential due to their clear definition of all relevant information for both parties. The managed services model offers additional advantages to an organization, including the ability to offload some or all of its IT responsibilities:
- Enhanced services: Better is a group of minds than one. Using an MSP, businesses can use their IT staff to fill specific skill gaps. Businesses can also benefit from improved customization options and enhance their IT capabilities.
- Lowering Costs: Time and money can be spent on hiring an internal specialist. For a fraction of the cost, businesses can benefit from IT experts’ specialized knowledge through managed services. For small or rapidly expanding businesses, managed service rates can be an extremely competitive option in an industry where IT talent is scarce.
- Focus on a Specific Industry: You can rest assured that your IT infrastructure, uptime, and data protection are handled and protected by industry professionals when your company uses a managed service provider (MSP).
- Take Advantage of Newer Technologies: In terms of hardware and software acquisition, MSPs have access to superior technologies than the majority of businesses could independently acquire. As a result, businesses that partner with MSPs frequently outperform those that operate independently in terms of productivity and efficiency.
- Accelerate Your Response Time: Companies benefit from faster ticket response times, expedited IT issue resolutions, and the capacity to address other issues faster with greater mastery than an in-house team when they have access to more IT support personnel.
When compared to traditional IT solutions, managed services are the logical next step for fast-paced organizations looking to overhaul their IT support and internal capabilities while delegating IT responsibilities to seasoned IT professionals.
Professional IT Services
Professional IT services are more on-demand services and solutions that are utilized as one-time projects or short-term company changes, whereas managed IT services are always available. Professional services might be considered by businesses in the following use cases:
- New IT deployments: creating and launching new software and hardware rollouts with success.
- Planning for Business Continuity: Implementing and consulting on comprehensive data backup, business continuity, and cyber security to prepare for the worst-case scenario and the unexpected.
- Services for Digital Transformation: improving the efficiency of cloud readiness testing, staged or full-service cloud migrations, and technology virtualizations.
- Training on Cyber Security Awareness: enhancing their first line of defense against cyber threats by receiving comprehensive training from local IT experts in the areas of cyber security awareness and anti-phishing.
- Implementation, Design, and Planning: Developing, designing, developing, and putting into use new information technologies frequently necessitates IT expertise that is outside of a company’s core competencies. This is where professional services come into play.
- Professional services are, as a whole, more specific one-time service exchanges.
Professional Services versus Managed Services
The main differences between managed services and professional services are the scope of work and the amount of time required for services. This means that managed services can take advantage of unlimited ongoing IT support, whereas professional services are expected to end when a particular project or business goal is achieved.
Although managed IT services typically include predictable billing estimates, professional services may appear to be the more cost-effective option in the short term. Professional services are frequently utilized by businesses that are less concerned with IT management for the completion of specific IT tasks, and they are later rehired if required again.
DiligenTrust, a leading managed service provider, provides expert guidance and technology management services in addition to managed and professional IT services that can assist you in achieving all of your business objectives.
Contact us right away for more information on whether your company requires managed or professional services, and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
