What are managed network services?
What are managed network services? And does your business need them? We consider why it can make sense to outsource network management to a trusted and experienced provider.
In today’s connected world, network connectivity is an essential part of day-to-day operations. Whether it’s connecting devices to your cloud services or your people to essential business applications, ensuring a high-quality and uninterrupted connection and service is vital to efficient and successful working.
What are managed network services?
Managed network services are simply those parts of IT network management you hand over to a specialist third party. This way, you can be assured that your network operates successfully and securely. Plus, your team is freed to concentrate on the activities that drive your business forward.
IT network management partners often offer other IT management services in parallel to the managed network services they provide. This way, you can streamline the outsourcing of more of the day-to-day IT activities that underpin your business operations.
What type of network services could be managed?
Managed network services range from the provision of telephony services through to complex network management incorporating virtual services and software defined networking.
Managed network services might include:
- Network provisioning
- Network administration
- Network monitoring and troubleshooting
- WAN optimisation
- Virtual private networks
- Installation of cabling, firewalls, etc
- Project work, such as introduction of SD-WAN, etc.
- Cyber security and resilience
What are the benefits of managed network services?
The key benefit of outsourcing the management of your network services to a third-party is the predictable nature of the service cost. When you outsource, instead of recruiting and managing an internal team, you gain the network management competencies you need by paying a single, affordable monthly fee.
This takes away not only the headache of managing your network, but also the time, effort and expense of recruiting the team of specialists you need to manage your network services. Training, retaining and covering holiday and sickness absences are no longer your responsibility.
Instead, for the cost of your predictable monthly fee, this is all taken care of by your managed network services provider.
Accessing specialist managed network services expertise
Not only can you save money by outsourcing your network services management, you also gain access to specialist expertise.
Networks are increasingly complex. Management of them covers a wide range of technologies and disciplines. Securing them effectively against today’s increasing cyber risks requires a whole range of specialist skills in itself.
Your managed network services partner will have all of these expert specialists on staff. This way, you can access the skills you need as and when you need them – without the unnecessary expense of having them on staff. This is particularly useful when you have network projects to undertake. You can scale up and down the resources you use with agility in partnership with your network services provider.
As well as having access to specialist skillsets, your managed network services partner will have access to specialist technologies for network monitoring and security (as well as the staff to use them effectively). These tools help to identify and troubleshoot problems, so your network and business operations are better protected.
Service level agreements underpin a high-quality service
Another major advantage of managed network services is the guarantee of good service levels. You can clearly define the level of service your business needs – and that you expect – in a set of service level agreements (SLAs).
Your SLAs can cover a range of factors, focused on what is important to your operations. This might include quality of service, reliability, availability, scope of services, response times and response periods.
Ideally, you should choose a managed network services partner that will take a proactive approach. This way, they will identify potential issues early before they begin to affect your business operations.