When a function or even a full department is outsourced to a managed service provider (MSP), the scope of work, requirements and service needs can at times be hard to nail down, especially as the relationship with the MSP evolves over time and the needs of the business evolve. This is particularly true in the case of IT Managed Services – an area with frequent need for outsourcing due to resource constraints and/or technical expertise and an area where it is critical that services continue uninterrupted.
The managed services market has been an interesting one to watch from a consultant’s point of view. There was a heavy trend towards outsourcing many key areas within IT, only for the pendulum to begin swinging to the other end of the spectrum where clients are now pulling some (or all) of those same services back in-house. Nevertheless, your organization is likely to use some level of managed services within the IT organization given constraints on budget, resources or expertise.
Cloud adoption is on the rise. According to a recent Gartner prediction, the worldwide public cloud services market will grow 18 percent in 2017 to $246.8B, up from $209.2B in 2016. As more and more organizations move to the cloud, many IT teams are tasked with identifying the right infrastructure framework to ensure they meet their business and operational requirements – a challenging task considering there are so many options.
Readers of last week's Outsource Monthly email were treated to a unique gift when they opened their mail: a free copy of a report produced by Sourcing Industry Group (SIG) with the support of Jay Lash entitled 'A Business Case for Outsourcing the Management of Your Contingent Workforce'.
