Managed Services Lend Expert Support to IT Departments
Delegating some IT services to third-party partners helps in-house teams focus on strategic technology initiatives.
- COMMON CHALLENGES
- BENEFITS OF MANAGED SERVICES
- HOW CDW CAN HELP
Managed services have assumed a more significant role in IT operations, partly because they allow organizations to evolve their capabilities as needed, without redirecting internal resources. MSPs deliver expertise tailored to organizations’ needs, whether that means optimizing a hybrid work environment or managing compliance risks.
EASE CLOUD MANAGEMENT: Mass migration to the cloud solved certain problems, but many organizations need help to maintain proper security, visibility and expected savings. CDW found that 63% of IT leaders think their cloud management efforts are hindered by a lack of cloud governance or strategy — something MSPs can help to establish.
SIMPLIFY SECURITY: In 2024, 68% of organizations managed between 10 and 49 security solutions, CDW found. MSPs can streamline these efforts through extended detection and response, security information and event management, and other services. With state-of-the-art tools and 24/7/365 security operations centers, partners provide peace of mind that many organizations find elusive.
ADVANCE INNOVATION: Technical debt and daily maintenance that overwhelm IT teams can hinder business and technology innovation. Whether the burden stems from legacy infrastructure or insufficient staff, teams may struggle to prioritize upgrades that further business goals. Shifting routine IT tasks to MSPs creates space for internal teams to plan and strategize.
AUGMENT STAFF: IT leaders consistently report that insufficient staff and skills hamper technology operations. The fast pace of IT advancement exacerbates this problem, keeping many organizations playing a perpetual game of catch-up. Managed service partners ease this challenge by providing access to critical expertise tailored to an organization’s needs.
Click Below to Continue Reading
Managed services aren’t new, but many organizations are taking a fresh look at this efficient solution for modern challenges.
IT teams are multitasking like never before: managing daily operations, driving digital transformation to stay competitive, and keeping data and workloads secure amid a constant barrage of new threats.
Maintaining a deep bench of IT skills is an ongoing challenge. Finding highly skilled employees can be difficult, especially as technology rapidly evolves. Organizations often require help in acquiring the right skills at the right time.
Amid economic uncertainty, when organizations must be cautious about investing time and money, MSPs provide solutions tailored to meet specific needs cost-effectively.
The potential benefits of managed services can be as varied as IT environments.
Optimize IT Investments: Deploying an IT solution may be just the first step toward a desired outcome. But when IT resources are constrained, it can be challenging to achieve and sustain the maximum ROI on IT investments. MSPs can help organizations fully leverage their existing capabilities and integrate new solutions seamlessly, while enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of IT services over time.
Build Cybersecurity Maturity: Managed security offers a proactive, sustainable solution to the cybersecurity workforce shortage. For many organizations, building internal expertise and appropriately adapting IT environments to defend against emerging threats has become costly, complex and often ineffective. Partnering with MSPs to leverage their expertise and cutting-edge technologies can deliver better results from a security perspective while freeing internal teams for other initiatives.
Accelerate Cloud Maturity: Reaping the benefits of multicloud and hybrid environments — while avoiding their potential security risks — can be extremely tricky. Unfortunately, many internal teams lack the necessary time or the essential skills for this crucial work. MSPs that can design, build, implement, optimize and manage cloud environments can help their clients make strategic use of the cloud with less risk.
Manage Critical Applications: Effective management of data solutions, messaging and collaboration platforms, and other applications is essential for workplace modernization. AI initiatives require a solid foundation that encompasses data platforms, integration and analytics, together with database administration and management. MSPs can partner with internal teams to ensure clients are properly positioned for future initiatives while enhancing services for internal and external stakeholders.
Click Below to Continue Reading
4 Keys to a Great Managed Services Engagement
MSPs aren’t just for enterprises, although large organizations need a different service model and different skill sets than small and midsized businesses require. Businesses should be specific about what they want to achieve from a managed service provider. Defining areas where MSPs can help, what service-level agreements look like and which key performance indicators will be used to measure success is the best way to achieve desired outcomes.
Choose your model: In addition to ongoing management and support, investigate the other skills and capabilities the MSP has to offer your organization. Full, integrated technology lifecycle capabilities can maximize your investments and accelerate outcomes.
Evaluate the experts: Interview the senior technologists who will be on the team. Ask questions aligned with desired outcomes, including details about how the MSP will drive accountability and continuous improvement.
Include critical stakeholders: MSP engagements ideally start with a C-suite vision, but in practice, they often originate at the pain point. In either case, include team directors, managers and business leaders in the relationship.
Ask about automation: Even if automation is not a primary driver, it’s worth learning about the prospective MSP’s capabilities. After an initial observation period, the provider may offer valuable insight into potential automation opportunities.
CDW offers unparalleled expertise and experience to craft custom, vendor-agnostic solutions that help clients achieve critical objectives.
CDW Experience and Expertise: CDW has provided managed services for over 20 years, establishing a depth and breadth of expertise that is unique among MSPs. With more than 1,400 managed services coworkers serving clients as part of a global integrated solutions provider, CDW delivers comprehensive end-to-end IT services. Leveraging both technical expertise and strategic insights, CDW helps organizations align IT investments with business objectives in ways that are proactive, cost-effective and sustainable.
Our managed services practice comprises managed security, managed applications, managed infrastructure and managed hybrid cloud. Through tailored engagements and flexible consumption models, we focus on providing an experience for our clients that is consistently exceptional. We maintain operational excellence while continuously adapting our technologies and approach to ensure we exceed expectations in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
CDW’s Services Approach: Ideally, organizations that intend to utilize an MSP will engage that partner early in the process to allow for comprehensive planning. CDW is one of the few MSPs with the capabilities to accompany clients at every step of their technology journey.
In our consulting and discovery phase, we conduct a current-state assessment, define goals and outcomes, and develop a strategic roadmap that addresses staffing, performance metrics, compliance and other concerns. Our design-and-build expertise relies on enterprise-level strategy and industry best practices, with emphasis on integration and connectivity. We draw on our vast experience in technology deployments and project management to implement and optimize the services we offer. Finally, we provide management and support through a 24/7 global team in North America and around the world.
The CDW Difference: True managed services go well beyond transactional outsourcing. CDW’s managed services coworkers partner strategically with clients — not replacing teams but working alongside them — to achieve desired business outcomes. Our depth and breadth of expertise enable us to deliver a comprehensive, ITIL-based approach to IT service management that empowers organizations to think holistically about end-to-end IT services.
Learn more about CDW’s managed services
and how we can customize them to meet
the needs of your IT department.
Brad Grabill
Director of Sales – Managed Services
