You may have heard of the term managed services several times before, but you could still be confused about what it really means. There’s nothing wrong with that. Not many are aware of this advantageous practice of business process outsourcing. Some even mistake it for service management.
To help explain the idea of managed services, it helps to get acquainted with its common forms. Described below are eight popular ways managed services are offered.
Managed information services
These services are typically supplied by HCM platforms and providers of managed IT services. They cover the areas of system management, authentication, data storage and backup, disaster recovery, network monitoring and security, human resource management, payroll, and software product and maintenance.
Business-to-business integration
This form of managed IT services applies to supply chain management, communication services, videoconferencing, and internet services. Internet service providers specialise in this kind of managed IT solution.
Supply chain managed services
As the term implies, it focuses on the management of the flow of goods and services, including sourcing and procurement, supply chain planning and control, and logistics and distribution. The service is provided by companies that specialise in supply chain management.
Managed transportation services
Businesses in the transportation industry also benefit from managed services as they outsource their daily transportation planning functions. They may also use managed services for their process execution and enforcement tasks, including freight audit and accounting.
Media services
There are companies that specialise in managed media services. What they do is primarily to operate and provide support in the operation of media systems. They also offer broadcast managed services, which is essentially the outsourcing of core broadcast operations. Many media companies worldwide take advantage of these kinds of arrangements to enable more efficient operations and significantly lower production and broadcasting costs.
Marketing
Managed services can also be applied in the field of marketing strategizing and planning. There are outsourcing companies that offer managed marketing solutions, which include copywriting, PPC management, social media marketing management, web design, graphic design, and search engine optimisation services.
Managed power services
Even the power sector benefits from managed services. Some power generation companies outsource their advanced metering infrastructure to third-party entities. There are also those that use managed solutions for their smart grid deployments.
Managed water services
Similar to power companies, there are businesses involved in water systems that use managed services, most notably in the areas of water storage and transfer systems management, smart irrigation monitoring and scheduling, as well as water quality testing.
It’s not a bad idea to operate a business with all operations tightly controlled under the management of the same company. However, there are many instances when using third-party managed services is more efficient. The examples listed above demonstrate the flexibility of managed solutions as well as their viability for different kinds of businesses. They are good options for many companies that try to reduce costs and make do with their limited resources and expertise.
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