Introduction to Managed Network Services

Many companies find it expensive to keep up with new Business Technologies -- or simply prefer to devote their limited IT or Telecom resources to the core business, rather than routine ongoing network management.

Managed network services can quickly enable your company to evolve, by giving business decision makers access to leading network technologies and management expertise -- without requiring high initial capital expenditures (CapEx), or ongoing investments in technology upgrades.

Deploying a Managed Service Solution
When a company subscribes to a managed service, a service provider manages the network equipment and applications on the customer premises according to the terms of a service-level agreement (SLA) established to meet the company's unique business needs.

Some managed services are also hosted, meaning that the service provider hosts the equipment in its facility instead of the customer's, and delivers services to company employees over the Wide Area Network (WAN) to wherever they are physically located.

For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), managed services provide enterprise-class capabilities for a predictable monthly fee -- without requiring a large, initial capital investment.

The On-Demand Pay-as-you-go Model
Companies that out-task enjoy high levels of network support and availability, enabling internal IT staff to focus on strategic activities instead of network support, and pay only for those networking services that they need.

Managed services generally include software, hardware, and other Internet Protocol (IP) networking services. The service provider's highly experienced technical experts focus exclusively on providing the network services and support that customers need to meet their business requirements.

Companies have the option to out-task some or all of their network management and monitoring tasks and retain control of the rest -- even if the equipment is physically located at the provider's site.

Key Benefits of Managed Network Services:

• Reduces costs, including service call fees, hardware, operations, and network transport
• Eases adoption of new technology-enabled business processes
• Increases levels of support and network availability, without additional staff
• Makes your IT and Telecom budget more stable and predictable
• Provides access to the latest technology, with limited risk
• Provides access to an enhanced technical skills base
• Makes it easier to adapt to changing business conditions
• Enables the IT manager and staff to focus on your core business
  

In upcoming posts, we will outline some typical scenarios for deploying managed network service offerings -- including simplified application diagrams that explain the basic concepts.