Cybersecurity, cloud systems design and build, and hardware infrastructure are vital to almost every modern SME. You also have to consider the costs (both directly financial and time-wise) of ongoing maintenance. An excellent option to allow you to focus on what you do best is working with a specialised IT services partner.
When you engage the services of an external IT company, there are two ways you can go about it – managed (IT) services or consulting. These are entirely different – almost opposite – ways of executing commercial assistance. This page will run through the differences between the two and explain the benefits of working with an independent ICT consultant.
So, what’s the difference between managed (IT) services and consulting? Read on to find out.
What’s the difference between managed (IT) services and consulting?
IT is a crucial part of all businesses. Consulting, as we mentioned, is about advising you on your options, especially when it comes to changes and modifications to your network. With less engagement but more insight, consultants offer a fresh pair of eyes to identify system bottlenecks and flaws and help you plan for improvement in the future.
When you use managed services, an external company will basically take over the day-to-day running of your systems and infrastructure. While they should never operate outside of your agreed requirements, they should go above and beyond to ensure your systems are well designed, executed and maintained.
Using a managed services provider (MSP) is a bit like outsourcing. You ‘buy’ the service and pass its delivery and management to the MSP to take responsibility for that service in its entirety. However, any customisations you may want to make must fit into those that the MSP offers, so flexibility is reduced in comparison to managing a service in house.
A consultant is like an adviser – they’ll work alongside your technology leaders but offer their ideas up to help your organisation’s growth. A consultant can advise on an in-house service, or a managed service. So, if your organisation is using a managed service to deliver an application, has an application delivered in house, or the whole of your ICT function is outsourced, you can still use a consultant to offer advise on how to improve the service.
But don’t ask your MSP to evaluate how good their service is for you. After all, when buying something on Amazon, you don’t rely purely on the seller’s description of the product. A consultant can help you identify how your service could be improved, and tell your MSP what you need changing.
Is IT consulting the right option for me?
Consulting, as we talked about earlier, is a form of IT advising. Consultants tend to be brought in for specific projects (including the development of your IT system) or when an organisation has expanded to reach the point that it needs some strategic guidance.
A consultant will initially focus on analysing the problem then creating a plan. They’ll find the problems and work hard to develop solutions that maximise your business’s efficiency and eliminate specific issues. Once a detailed plan has been made, they can help you put it into practice – if that’s what you want.
IT consultants are often be used for analysing a problematic service or application, developing custom networks, planning complex changes, digital transformation, or improving an existing commercial system. They’ll also create and implement the strategy that sits behind it, to ensure your business or organisation gets the maximum benefit.
When law updates or changes (as it often does), independent IT consultants can be engaged to plan and make the necessary changes to your IT.
Are managed (IT) services right for me?
Managed services are when you engage a company to help your IT department with the delivery, management and support of a specific set of services or applications. Smaller businesses, charities, public sector organisations or churches often have no dedicated team. In these cases, their managed services provider (or providers) becomes their IT department.
The organisation providing you with managed services is known as an MSP – a Managed Service Provider.
Consider managed services if specific services or applications are costing disproportionately more than other services or if you do not have in house expertise in a service or application. Using an MSP means you won’t have to employ dedicated IT staff to manage, maintain and support the service provided by that MSP. It often works out cheaper, too, since you’ll only pay for the work that needs doing. For example, if after working with an independent consultant to analyse your application portfolio you discover that your HR system is performing poorly and your support team are continually having to reach out to the vendor for support, then this application would be an ideal target for procuring from a MSP.
AMDH Services Ltd
At some point in your business journey, you’ll be faced with the question of whether to manage your IT in-house or work with an outsourced IT consultant or managed services provider.
If you don’t have any in-house IT resource at all, or have IT staff who are unable to handle the amount of support your business needs to grow, then an independent IT consultant is the best place to start.
They’ll help you review your IT hardware, software, systems, networks and working practices and identify your technology needs and advise you on the best places to utilise managed services. They’ll also provide the expertise you need to implement and manage the changes.
If this sounds like something you need, we’d love to hear from you. AMDH Services Ltd works as your technology partner. We’re a consultancy firm based in the East Midlands with experience working with small businesses, public sector and healthcare organisations, charities and churches.
As consultants, we focus on designing and implementing new and improved systems, networks and processes. We’ll send one of our highly experienced team members to work with your business leads and ICT staff so they can get an accurate idea of how you work and what you need. Together, we’ll use this information to develop a strategic plan for the future, taking into consideration efficiency, security and cost-effectiveness.
If your SME could use some IT insight, why not get in touch with us for a commitment-free, friendly chat? We’d love to hear about your situation and how we might be able to help. We can be reached at info@amdhservicesltd.com or by phone on 01332 322 588. We look forward to hearing from you.
