Exploring Managed Services - Key Performance Indicators

All business has become global. Companies of any size can now market products and services worldwide over the Internet. At the same time, competition has intensified because customers can investigate global competitors with ease.

To compete effectively in the global networked economy, companies need new capabilities:

• Global procurement and sales 24 hours a day.
• Integrated internal and external business processes.
• Up-to-the-minute access to sales, order processing, production, and other business critical information required for informed decision making.
• Flexible processes that can adapt dynamically to changes in the business climate.
  

The application of Business Technology is now a primary enabler of strategic advantage. However, chief executives have become impatient, as their companies have failed to keep pace with these advances. There are alternatives, for those who choose to act. The managed services model can be applied to accelerate this much needed change.

Review the following common business needs to decide if managed services can provide benefits to your business. If you answer yes to these key performance indicators, then perhaps there are areas where out-tasking could help drive change.

Are you a candidate for managed services? Consider these scenarios.

Our business is facing challenges:

• Staffing IT professionals.
• Staying up-to-date with evolving technologies and IT skill sets.
• Managing and maintaining current infrastructure, hardware, and software.
• Securing data, transactions, and communications.
• Responding quickly to time-to-market demands.
• Remaining flexible enough to maintain competitive position.
• Reducing network overhead costs.
• Operating in real time in order to meet 24-hour demand.
• Delivering services to branch offices and remote workers.
  

Our business is in transition:

• We need to upgrade, refurbish, move, or relocate existing infrastructure.
• The scope or scale of current business operations is changing.
• A merger, partnership, or acquisition is altering operations.
• We need to increase the range and level of service.
• Our growth targets depend on implementing new technologies.
• We are expanding into new markets.
  

Our business must increase profitability:

• We prefer to dedicate resources to our core competencies and mission critical processes rather than network support activities.
• We view managed services as a good strategy for gaining efficiencies and reducing costs.
• We need to implement a global network service but lack internal global resources.
• We are concerned with our ability to keep up with the latest security threats and to meet privacy or security regulations.
• We are experiencing dynamic business growth while undergoing downsizing and hiring freezes.
  

Initiate a dialog with a managed service provider, and you can begin to explore the possibilities of how to effectively adopt Business Technology as a Service.