Selling Managed Services?
Depends On Who's Buying!

Those selling managed services are typically defined as information technology providers. They manage and take responsibility for providing a defined set of IT services to a client.

There are some 20+ services that can be provided including remote network, server management, application management, desktop and security monitoring, patch management and remote data back-up, technical assistance.

Managed services can be more attractive than some traditional outsourcing arrangements because they can be acquired on an incremental basis.

The best service providers do this proactively. They don't do "fix it when it breaks" management. The key is they have the needed organization, best business practices, way of working and management tools.

They can manage your environment effectively. If you're considering a service provider who does not demonstrate these abilities, then look for another provider who does. Do NOT accept anything less.

Convincing Senior Management

Selling managed services to your own senior management is not always a simple task. Here are some of the things you must say and provide in order to convince them:

1. It's not just about saving money and reducing costs. It's more about providing a proactive value added service 24 by 7, which you cannot do within your current environment.
2. It's about gaining access to the latest technology at a reduced cost rather than having to directly purchase it and hire the related technical expertise.
3. It's about having the IT infrastructure in place to proactively respond to the business needs of the company easier and faster than we are able to now.
4. It's about eliminating problems that impact user productivity by holding regular meetings with the supplier where they will present detailed management reports that document disasters averted and problems solved. Something you cannot do with your current staff and technology.
5. It's about our current staff being able to work on high priority tasks and long term projects rather than having to hire additional expensive full time expertise.
6. It's about having single points of contact and a single supplier rather than having to deal with managing multiple vendors.
7. It's about lowering our total cost of ownership.

Providers Selling Managed Services

Here are some of the issues you need to make sure of when attempting to deal with someone selling managed services:

1. Make sure your service provider begins by scoping out the services you require and then designs processes to deliver those services.
2. They must be providing solutions that provide greater overall value to the company and not just attempting to sell you infrastructure products.
3. Ensure you are getting a turnkey solution that provides a combination of technology and managed services without the need for up-front capital investment.
4. They must enable you to provide a higher level of service and eliminate costly downtime due to events like storage failures.
5. One of the most important parts of establishing a good relationship with a service provider is the building of a Service Level Agreement. Make sure it includes refunds if certain service levels are not met as proposed.
6. Do your homework (due diligence), talk directly with some of the service providers existing customers. How long have they been providing managed services? You want to be aligning yourself with someone who has been in this business for a number of years and not someone who is just starting to provide these services.
7. The service they are proposing MUST be proactive, contractual and repeatable. They must be masters at remote monitoring and management. You are about to enter a relationship that will be ongoing for a number of years.
8. There is a database of best practices for IT service management called the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) www.itil-officialsite.com. Are their staff certified members? If not, find out why not and look closely at their proposals to make sure they are following those best practices.

Importance Of IT Performance Agreements

Building a solid Service Level Agreement (SLA) is an extremely important aspect in building the relationship with a provider selling managed services.

It is here that you'll define strategic goals and business objectives, in clear, tangible, and quantifiable terms. You'll develop activities to ensure you attain those goals and regularly monitor actual performance versus those plans.

It's important when you analyze significant performance deviations, to advise key management, then formulate and implement corrective actions.

To learn more, visit our "IT Performance Management" page.

Selling Managed Services Outsourced

You're thinking of managed services as the direction you want to take for your IT project outsourcing, but you're not completely sure. What's stopping you? Do you need more information?

Perhaps trying to answer the questions and digesting the information raised on this next page will help you make that decision, or at least guide you in the right direction. Or find out more at our IT outsource services page.

What Is A Full Managed Server?

Having performance agreements is also important if your service provider is quoting full managed servers. This service includes the hardware, software and ongoing maintenance of the server that is dedicated to your business.

Security is also an extremely important factor when selecting a provider who is selling managed services. Why the need for a full managed server?

Companies that require dedicated servers usually have a website with a significant number of visitors. Or they may be running a complete e-commerce system and need to have full control over that environment.

To learn more, visit our "Full Managed Server" page.

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