Imagine that you are the head of the technology department of a big business firm. Your IT department has to provide support to multiple locations. Also, there is a time zone difference between multiple locations. IT infrastructure failure or broke applications can cause support costs to spike. This is not good for your business. If you have a limited number of experts in your team, then it will become harder to manage the IT department. You will pray every day that all your experts are healthy.
This is one of the main reasons why companies are outsourcing their IT department. Outsourcing is not a new concept. It has been around for a long time. In 1989, Kodak decided to outsource its IT operations. They will be unable to handle all their IT operations. Since then outsourcing has evolved a lot. Now, you can even outsource your business process. Business Process Outsourcing or BPO has become a very regular term. You can also host your applications on various hosting websites. The dot com boom in 2000 also increased the demand for outsourcing. There were various companies that were providing application services. But, they disappeared after the dot com crash. Soon cloud became the new hot topic. Everybody now knows about cloud services.
But, outsourcing has become a term that you can use to describe any third party service. It has become meaningless due to this. This is where managed services come in the picture. Most people think that managed services are just another term for technology outsourcing. The term outsourcing has lost its charm in recent years. Most people assume that managed services also have semi-trained workers who can barely understand anything.
Is managed service and outsourcing the same thing?
The answer is no. You are indeed hiring an external organization in both outsourcing and managed services. But, they both have different goals. Managed Services is a management option whereas outsourcing is a deployment option. Managed services can deal with any technology. The technology you are using is not important to them.
Difference between outsourcing and Managed services
You can compare managed services to a skilled chef. A skilled chef can cook in your kitchen, garden or even in a ship. The place doesn’t really matter to the chef. It is possible because the chef is highly skilled. He knows the tools that he needs to execute the tasks. Managed Services Provider or MSP is pretty similar to a skilled chef. A good MSP can deal with any kind of technology. Thus, it doesn’t really matter which technology you are using. They could deliver you great services remotely through the cloud. A good MSP can manage your services which are hosted in a third-party data centers or in your premise.
On the other hand, outsourcing firms don’t have such skilled workers. You can use them to handle simple business tasks. For example, it is best to outsource your IT helpdesk. You can even outsource small IT tasks like document scanning or data entry. When you are outsourcing, you can only pick some specific services. The third-party company will provide you that specific service.
Managed services take a broader approach when it comes to technology. They deliver excellent technology services to their clients. A good MSP will offer a large range of IT services. They can work with many different technologies. Most managed service providers have a large team of IT professionals. They know how to create superior IT products. They will provide you great operational support. A good MSP will also provide you various enhancements for your IT services and applications.
The best thing about managed service providers is that they become an important part of your business. They will try their best to increase your business revenue by providing excellent services. Most of the outsourcing firms don’t care about your business. But, your MSP will help you in identifying the areas that you can improve. Thus, they will help you in achieving your goals quickly. A good MSP will monitor your whole system. They will make sure that you are always online. If any system failure occurs, then you don’t need to call any technician. Your service provider will automatically take care of it. Most of the good Managed services provider also tries to minimize the chance of any downtime. Thus, they will help you in maximizing your business profitability.
An outsourcing provider will never help your business is growing. They will get you as many transcripts, shipping manifests, and invoices you want. But, they will never tell the most efficient way to improve your operations. They are not getting paid for this task. But, a good MSP will also provide you genuine feedback. They will give you long-lasting and effective solutions.
Sometimes the solutions that MSP proposes can transform your whole business. They might suggest you to use some other web APIs to increase your website functionality. These APIs might help you in creating new revenue streams. They might help you in developing an AI which will help you in optimizing the supply chain. Thus, managed services providers are not just some support guys. If you want your company to grow, then you should hire a good managed services provider. They can help you in saving millions of dollars every year.
Conclusion
These were all the differences between outsourcing and managed services. Now, you can make the best decision for your firm. If you already have a good in-house IT department, then outsourcing might be right for you. It is more cost-effective when compared to managed services. But, if you are looking for better services then you need to MSP. If you are still confused between outsourcing and managed services, then you can contact Bleuwire. Bleuwire experts will help you in crafting a perfect plan for your business.
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