The terms ‘managed services’ and ‘outsourcing’ are often used interchangeably and while both services involve an external IT vendor, the contrast resides in the level and type of services rendered. In the late 1980’s, outsourcing became a popular practice for many organizations and it wasn’t until recently that managed services began to disrupt the industry.
As a decision-maker, understanding the difference between managed services and an outsourced help desk is instrumental to choosing the right IT solutions provider for your organization. The most significant variations to consider are the following:
- Usually, outsourcing entails working with an IT firm to resolve specific issues through an employee who serves as a liaison between the organization and the IT firm. Managed services can be more specialized than outsourcing and involves an IT firm working in partnership with the IT team to keep all operations running smoothly. By partnering with an IT firm that provides managed services, they become part of the company and help in achieving business goals by distinguishing areas that may need improvement.
- Outsourcing is a viable option for short term tasks and projects, whereas managed services is considered a more holistic approach. Beyond troubleshooting, managed services allow providers to conduct assessments, perform maintenance, ensure support, security and continuous backups and monitoring .
- Managed services is a proactive solution while outsourcing can be considered a reactive option. This also means that the expenses associated with managed services are highly predictable. With an outsourced solution, expenses can vary significantly and may depend on the scope of work, including any unforeseen complications that may develop.
- While outsourcing relies on immediate action, managed services are built to ensure that compliance and principles are planned ahead of time and respected by the entire organization. Fencecore’s key elements of assessment include IT principles, security governance, supporting policies and rules and compliance.
When considering the differences between managed services and outsourcing , it’s essential to understand that each accomplishes a specific goal and one is not necessarily superior to the other. However, before signing a service contract, it’s important to be aware of the technical distinctions between the two in order to ensure that an optimal decision is made.
Fencecore offers hand-on, customized, end‐to‐end solutions to help support organizations’ IT infrastructure. Whether providing help desk support, conducting infrastructure assessments or providing 24/7 system administration, our team works with organizations to determine an IT strategy that is tailored to their needs.