Everything You Need to Know About Managed Network Services
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Do the tech tools your organization uses get in the way of productivity and efficiency?
It might sound absurd, but it is a very common complaint, especially from small to medium-sized businesses. However, it is also very prevalent in the enterprise space.
In the enterprise, layers of sophisticated network tools generate skills gaps between IT employees and their managers, who are constantly on call fixing problems that should never have occurred in the first place. Furthermore, corporate leadership is not always on the same page with its IT department, which can create communication problems.
Regardless of your organization’s size, the pattern remains the same. IT professionals have to deal with ever-increasing amounts of data, using ever more complex tools, and are more likely than ever to get overwhelmed.
Managed network services solve this problem by outsourcing low-impact work to a managed service vendor and freeing up IT resources for high-impact, strategic work. The case for network management service is stronger than ever and will continue to grow as the marketplace – and the world – modernizes.
Managed Network Services at a Glance
In theory, nothing stops you from developing and deploying your own network solutions to achieve any strategic goal your business has. In practice, however, the process of maintaining a complex and secure network infrastructure often requires dedicated resources that would be better devoted to your core business.
This simple truth is what drives the value of managed network services. Out-tasking network infrastructure to a responsible, reputable vendor does not mean forfeiting control over critical business functions. In fact, it empowers your organization to deploy cutting-edge technology and expertise towards those functions while determining exactly how much in-house management you actually need to deploy.
Most businesses approach network service management cautiously. Beginning with low-impact work, they gradually build up an infrastructure that is managed by third-party networking experts without having to pay the otherwise considerable upfront costs.
Those costs would include hiring top talent, procuring cutting-edge technology, and expending company resources to maintain and update hardware to ensure smooth operation. Managed services ensure that you can enjoy all of those benefits while only paying a fixed monthly fee.
Network management agreements can be delineated by individual processes. You probably wish to retain some network elements in-house – but there are plenty of options for out-tasking that can produce significant cost-savings and performance improvements.
What Core Services Do Businesses Usually Out-Task?
Relatively few businesses decide to entrust their entire network infrastructure to a managed service provider from the start. Cisco identifies several core services that most companies decide to out-task first:
- Managed VPN
- Intranet and Internet Hosting
- Data Storage
- Business Continuity
- Backbone Network Transport
- Managed Business Voice
- Managed Contact Centers
Cybersecurity is another very popular area where managed network services can provide valuable results. Managed service providers leverage relationships with reputable brands like Datto to create combined services that ensure easier communication, greater productivity, and enhanced security for entire organizations.
How Managed Network Services Save Money
The key value driver managed network services offer is cost savings. Rather than having your existing IT resources constantly stretched thin in a never-ending break/fix routine, you can dedicate your best IT assets to discovering new ways to streamline processes while leaving preventative maintenance to your service vendor.
Managed network service providers offer 24/7 monitoring services that would be prohibitively expensive in terms of man-hours for most businesses. There are many other ways that properly implemented managed services reduce IT spend:
- Reducing the cost of hardware maintenance and operation.
- Reducing staff expenditures on internal IT and information services.
- Reducing the operational expense of low-impact IT processes.
- Providing predictable fee structures for information technology.
- Generating economies of scale in the enterprise environment.
- Reducing training costs and IT staff turnover, which is typically high for IT positions.
Businesses that operate in highly regulated fields like finance or healthcare have an additional incentive to implement a managed network infrastructure, as well. Maintaining regulatory compliance is a powerful resource drain that needs to be achieved reliably and at as small a cost as possible.
Managed providers with experience deploying compliant solutions are able to leverage that expertise towards generating value for their clients. The ability to find and fix flaws that would otherwise result in noncompliance is a critical advantage in situations where mandatory regulation is paramount.
Learn more about managed network services by talking to a specialist about how it can help your business work more efficiently.