We all know that outsourcing certain tasks - even if nobody likes to do them - can make people uncomfortable. This is the case in IT and management of IT infrastructure.

Many questions and fears come into play and make the decision difficult.

Here are the 4 most common obstacles to move towards the use of IT managed services.

You can refer to the article What do you really buy with an IT managed services contract to understand what is included.

1. Fear of not having an expert on hand to assist users

First, we must understand that IT managed services are not confined to a single call center like a technical support line that you use when your Internet service is not working. It is a complete and autonomous service, offering you the opportunity to have access to a network of experts at all times.

In fact, this feeling of insecurity linked to the physical absence of an IT expert is often more psychological than real. Moreover, one of our clients, particularly reluctant to make use of our managed services, recently recognized the importance when we pointed out to him that our IT resources ensured technical support not only for the Montreal office but for all the other subsidiary offices in north America from the one location, Montreal.

2. Fear of losing control

This fear is usually within IT teams themselves and not at the senior management level. We always suggest to analyze the option of outsourcing IT be with the financial director or stakeholders of the company who take into account the objectives of business growth and business development.

This prevents an endless and futile struggle based on individual skills. In fact, no doubt that your IT team has all the attributes required for the proper operation of your IT environment; that is not the issue.

In reality, managed services seek to liberate IT resources from tasks without added value, so that they can invest 100% into key projects for the company’s growth. It is a way to return to basics and focus on your primary expertise.

3. Fearing the confusion of roles

More common in medium and large companies who often keep some IT resources on site, fear that each of the roles and responsibilities be not well defined can dampen the ardor of several managers.

It is true that knowing who to contact depending on the scenario is critical, both in terms of efficiency and confidence for the users. the use of managed services should never jeopardize these factors for success. For a smooth transition to IT managed services the division of responsibilities must be made clear and structured at the onset of the services.

4. It’s never a good time

To implement IT managed services, represents a significant change within a company and the fear that this transition is at the wrong time is quite legitimate. However, it is possible to overcome this by recognizing the conditions that favor the implementation of managed services in your business.

These optimal conditions may detect when changes related to the structure or corporate IT environment can occur:

- A voluntary departure, dismissal or retirement;

- An acquisition or business expansion;

- A major restructuring;

- A new IT infrastructure.

The timing for a change is never completely perfect. But recognizing the best times to move to managed services, you will enable you to dispose of any concerns you may have. 

Take-away 

Today IT is at the heart of business operations, the daily management should not monopolize internal resources while specialized providers can keep your lights on without you having to worry about it.

Use the scorecard to assess whether the managed services can help you improve your daily operations.

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