Managed Services

Typically “Managed Services” refers to an IT company that promises to relieve the burden of PC and Server management from local control to a centralized, standardized “Managed Service”.  These providers promise to be readily available to dial/remote-into your equipment and fix any issues or problems that occur without having to pay for a technician to be on-site.  Charges are usually assessed by a fixed fee, per unit, per month.  In some cases, they cite the fact that you’ll also save money on “trip charges”.  Many MSP’s react when an issue or a threshold is reached…  I’d challenge one better… how about proactively knowing of issues prior to them having to occur… someone involved with your business and your network would already know these things…

MSP’s or “Managed Service Providers” typically provide those services around a document that actually defines what’s covered… and what’s not.  That document is typically called an SLA or a “Service Level Agreement”.  This document, as stated before, defines all of the coverage(s)… what hardware, software, issues and problems are covered, the time(s) they are covered and the up-charges (or not) for coverage outside of the agreement…  The SLA is a legal document that outlines almost everything you can think of related to the remote support of your network and the services associated with it’s maintenance…  Keep in mind that SLA’s should not be so limiting to the client that it seems like they’ve been handcuffed to their provider…  It should provide benefit for both the MSP and the client while also allowing the contract to be nullified if things really don’t work out.  One should always be wary of those contracts that are binding for lengthy periods of time, that give little or no control as to the definition of “successful services rendered”, and/or that don’t allow for prorated buyouts of the contract…  Probably not a popular statement I just made there…  it has everything to do with my 100% commitment to being a “client advocate” and doing the right thing 100% of the time to protect our client’s interests.

Let’s talk about yet another term that sometimes muddies the waters a bit… SaaS… or “Software as a Service”. These types of services can sometimes be offered as part of a “Managed Services” contract (SLA)… it just has it’s own term.  SaaS services are “cloud-based” services that replace a function that typically is served or managed locally… a good “for instance” would be an outsourced (cloud-based) email service. Stonetree’s STONEMAIL service is one such service… it’s termed SaaS because it replaces the need for a local email server for our clients… and it does qualify as a “Managed Service” because we take care of it for our clients…

Here’s where Stonetree’s philosophy differs from that of the standard MSP.  We believe that “Managed Services” as it stands today… the model of “remote support for a businesses hardware and software” will eventually, in the next few years, cease to exist.  That’s a pretty bold statement given that many IT companies are clamoring to build the “Managed Services” practices as we speak.

Here’s where we think things are going…  computers are a commodity.  You can buy throw-away laptops at all of the larger department stores for $200-300.  Cloud-based “subscription type “services are coming into their own and are a viable and cost effective way of running a business.  Exchange hosted email is nothing new and Microsoft plans on offering web/cloud-based Office applications (currently termed “Office 365″) in the coming calendar year.  We already have web/cloud-based backup with companies like Mozy, Carbonite and Iron Mountain.  We already have web/cloud-based file storage through countless companies offering free space on the web, we already have Google Docs and will soon have Office 365… what more does a person need…?  Cloud-based applications, email, file storage and backup…? Check.  That pretty much covers it.

Ok, so?  My point is this.  Device-based “Managed Services” will prove to be irrelevant because all of our data will soon be in the cloud…  why focus our efforts on troubleshooting a local PC or File-Server problem when it’s all going to be handled in the cloud?  Businesses won’t care (or want to pay for) services that focus locally.  So, what IF something “bad” happens…?  You drop your laptop and it shatters in hundreds of little pieces on the ground only 30 minutes before your big presentation…?  If you’ve all of your data locally with no backup… things are looking very bleak for you indeed…  However, if you have your presentation up in your DropBox or SkyDrive…  you’ll be able to login, download and be ready for your meeting.  If you have your system backed up with Mozy, Carbonite or Iron Mountain… you can login and restore to a new system you just bought at a local department store for $250… again… you’re “good to go”!

Stonetree’s stance is exactly this.  We offer “Blended Services”.  We will never focus on the non-personal “remote control of local hardware” model… A company like that (all services being equal) is only inviting pricing wars (If all the services are the same then the lowest bidder will always get the deal) into a business that will all be cloud-based very soon…   We are now and always will be our client’s advocate – a part of the team that shows up for work.  We’ll help you decide what vendors to purchase from, what equipment to purchase, the warranties and SLA’s necessary, assist with Disaster Recovery planning and backups and put it all together. We’re here to be your single source for everything IT… and we’re working inside the cloud to offer services that will be relevant to your business now and in the future!

In the mean time,  if you drop your laptop and it breaks into hundreds of tiny pieces on the ground… we’ll even run  to the local department store to buy you a new one…