What are Types of Managed IT Services?
Managed IT services are processes and tasks that a third-party vendor fulfills to assist with an organization’s daily IT operations. Since every organization has unique needs, managed service providers (MSPs) often offer many different types of managed services, and organizations can select the ones that will be most beneficial to them. Pricing can be offered in many different cost structures such as per-user, per-device, bundled, and all-inclusive. Types of managed IT services include:
Security. Managed security services relate to keeping infrastructure safe from compromise and maintaining security. Managed security services may offer real-time security alerts, application and hardware compatibility analysis, and cloud-based or physical security services. Other services may include VPN, firewall, anti-malware, anti-virus, anti-spam, intrusion protection, and network security monitoring.
Infrastructure monitoring. Managed networking and infrastructure monitoring services provide the management and administration of servers, mobile devices, and workstations.
Cloud infrastructure. A managed cloud infrastructure allows organizations to outsource the development, maintenance, and/or migration of data in a cloud environment.
Support services. Managed support services may include many different types of services including help desk support for technical issues, such as password resets or computer troubleshooting, and they may offer these services remotely or on-site, during set business hours, or 24/7.
IT consulting. For organizations that are understaffed or do not have IT staff, MSPs may offer managed IT consulting services to help identify how an organization can best utilize their current resources, and which managed services could be beneficial.
Communication services. Managed communications can also be referred to as unified communications, as they combine voice, video, and data communications on the same network. With unified communications, employees logging on to the network can access all of the different communication channels, and MSPs can manage, maintain, and monitor them. Managed communication services may include email, phones, file sharing, video conferencing, virtual environments, and instant messaging.
Software as a Service (SaaS). MSPs can centralize all of the software and software subscriptions that an organization has, communicating with software developers on their behalf and handling installation, troubleshooting, and updating.
Data analytics. Managed data analytics involves tracking website traffic, tracking social media engagement, identifying trends, making predictions, and generating reports.
Print services. Managed print services allow the MSP to remotely monitor equipment and to provide support, maintenance, repairs, and upgrades.
Managed Backup. Data backups may be bundled with other services or to be offered as a standalone service. Associated services may include cloud backup, physical server backup, and disaster recovery planning.