Increasing requirements for internal IT infrastructure pose a major challenge for many businesses. One possible approach to overcome this problem: purchasing managed services. What characterizes these externally managed IT services and the Managed Service Providers who offer them?
What is a Managed Services Provider?
A managed service provider (or MSP for Managed Service Provider in English) is a company that provides and manages a variety of IT services for its clients. By default, services are provided and managed remotely on the Internet, so customer visits are rarely on an MSP’s agenda. Managed Service Providers generally offer several billing models : Monthly billing for the management and maintenance of the respective MSP services is just as common as time-based pricing. Cost structures based on the number of users or devices are also common.
Note
Managed Service Providers often offer their services as part of a service level agreement (ALS). Such a contractual agreement between the supplier and the customer describes the basic data relating to the performance of the services provided.
Today, managed services are particularly attractive to small and medium businesseswho can do without internal IT support by outsourcing specific needs and thus save money. Originally, the principle of managed services, which emerged in the 1990swas intended exclusively for large companies. At the time, IT heavyweights like IBM laid the foundations for the business model of today’s Managed Service Providers by offering monitoring services to control servers and networks remotely.
What is a Managed Service?
The term “Managed Service” does not refer to a particular type of IT service. It is rather used to designate all IT services which can be outsourced and managed remotely by a external supplier.
Typical managed services include:
In addition to these very technical IT services, Managed Service Providers also offer support core business areas such as personnel management, process optimization or accounting.
The following examples of managed services are intended to illustrate the benefits and the features rented IT services, as well as mode of operation Managed Service Providers.
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Managed Services: example of IT security
IT security plays an important role in modern businesses. The loss of sensitive or secret data can not only cause financial damage important, but also compromise the picture of the company. However, many companies do not have the know-how or personnel to provide the required security, especially in the SME sector.
With a Managed Services Provider as a partner at their side, small and medium-sized businesses can relieve themselves of the responsibility for security structures and concentrate on their core activities with complete peace of mind. Typical MSP services in the security industry include:
- Management of firewalls and intrusion detection and prevention systems
- Manage enterprise-wide malware protection across devices
- Defense against hacker attacks
- Network and Security Monitoring
- Updating systems and applications
- Identification and elimination of vulnerabilities, for example through penetration testing
- Safety training
Managed Services: example of storage and backup
The question of security is also important when it comes to choosing a storage solution adapted to a company’s data flow: the data storage in the Cloud has been common practice for years. In recent times, the issue of security and data protection has become more and more pressing. Those who entrust their storage solution to a Managed Services Provider not only save on the necessary hardware, but can also count on the security measures that the provider guarantees for its services.
Many providers also offer complete backup solution as part of their managed services. Regardless of the basic storage structures chosen, a backup system provides an increased level of security because lost data can be restored at any time. A Managed Services Provider helps implement the strategy appropriate, administers and monitors the backup process and stands by the company as a partner in the event of data recovery.
Managed Services: example of remote monitoring and management
Remote Monitoring, i.e. remote monitoring of IT structureswas the first managed service to be offered in the 1990s. However, current offerings no longer focus on large companies. The possibility of having your own IT structures monitored and administered remotely is now also of interest to small and medium-sized businesses that depend on a functional and efficient IT infrastructure.
THE possible functions Examples of today’s Remote Monitoring and Management Services (RMMS) include:
- Installing and updating software
- Remote configuration and control of servers and devices (desktop PCs, mobile devices, etc.)
- Monitoring system usage and performance
- Notification in case of problems
- Reporting
- Automated execution of routine processes (e.g. scripts)
- Remote IT support
Practical example of an MSP: what services does IONOS offer?
The range of managed services is not only diverse. The way suppliers position themselves in the market is also very different: while some companies act very specifically as a Managed Services Providermanaged IT services do not constitute only part of the product range other suppliers. Providers also differ in the number of services they offer.
IONOS also provides various Managed Services that help customers to be effective, efficient and successful in the digital space. The “managed” approach plays a more or less important role depending on the service, as shown by the example of server hosting. Customers can choose between the following models:
- Classic server hosting: customers borrow the hardware for the desired server structures. IONOS takes care of the availability of hardware resources and also offers support for software installation, in the form of ready-to-use applications. Server administration is the responsibility of the client.
- Managed server hosting: Those who opt for a managed server from IONOS also borrow hardware for the desired server configuration. In this case, IONOS also takes care of server administration so that customers can concentrate entirely on their daily activities.
- Managed CMS hosting: IONOS’s managed CMS offers go a little further. Customers not only receive the material for the CMS of their choice (including WordPress, Joomla, PrestaShop, Contao, Magento). As a Managed Services Provider, IONOS also ensures that the desired CMS (including the operating system) is correctly installed and always up to date.
IONOS is also clearly positioned as a Managed Services Provider for other products, in particular:
A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a company that provides and manages a variety of IT services for its clients. By default, services are delivered and managed remotely over the Internet, so customer visits are rarely on an MSP’s agenda. Managed Service Providers generally offer several billing models: monthly billing for the management and maintenance of the respective MSP services is just as common as time-based pricing. Cost structures based on the number of users or devices are also common.
The term “Managed Service” does not refer to a particular type of IT service. Rather, it is used to refer to all IT services that can be outsourced and managed remotely by an external provider.
