Now is the perfect time to evaluate UC managed services
Now is the perfect time to evaluate UC managed services. Especially for companies facing decreasing budgets and staff, along with increased support of distributed workers. Those changes, along with increased adoption of complex UC applications are sure to strain even the most highly trained internal IT resources.
What’s a UC service, you ask? Nemertes includes managed solutions for VoIP, unified messaging, e-mail, instant messaging, audio/video conferencing and Web conferencing.
Typically, in a UC managed-services scenario, companies own the equipment and applications and house it in their own locations, or within a third-party’s site. They then hire an MSP to manage the application or infrastructure. Providers either install remote-monitoring tools and manage each site from a central location, or they assign their staff members to work on the customer premises, or a combination of the two.
Performance monitoring for applications such as VoIP/UM, audio/video and Web conferencing has gained traction for years now. For example, we’ve seen significant growth in managed VoIP adoption in just the past two years. In 2007, only 14% of organizations using managed services were using a third-party for VoIP management. That number jumped to 33% by the summer of 2008, and has now increased to 46%. More recently, management of applications such as e-mail and IM are being outsourced as providers offer management solutions for products such as Exchange, OCS and Sametime.
The level of management a company chooses varies greatly, from basic application monitoring and reporting to full remote provisioning and management.
Even if you don’t currently outsource any of your UC management functions, chances are you will soon. Or, at least you’ll be evaluating outsourcing options.
Let’s say you’re open to considering outsourcing. The first question is always, “What type of provider should I use?”. In past, the landscape was dominated by carriers and systems integrators (SI). Although that’s still true, we’re seeing a range of competitive providers cropping up. Increasingly, traditional resellers are expanding to offer ongoing application management. There are also more specialty providers that offer very specific managed services such as VoIP or video.
We’ve found a direct correlation between the size of an organization and the type of service provider they select. For example, 60% of SMBs use regional value-added resellers (VAR) or SIs for VoIP management, and only 20% use carriers. For enterprises as a whole, the ratio is inverted: 36% use regional VARs or SIs and 54% use carriers.
Why the difference? Smaller companies like the personal touch of a regional VAR or smaller SI, and often view them as an extension of their IT team. The same correlation is found with individual UC services in general. Larger organizations use carriers and large SIs, SMBs use regional VARs.
This may change going forward, as geographic reach begins to outweigh familiarity as a selection criterion. We anticipate that larger providers and SIs will be best positioned to deliver the scope and reach that enterprises need. Demand will increase for those that offer expertise in multiple disciplines.
Where to start? IT practitioners must cast a wide net when evaluating managed solutions. During the next few years, new and established MSPs will flood the market with additional UC offerings. Assess your IT needs, considering your internal staff’s core competencies. Analyze which IT tasks make more sense to keep in-house, and which make sense to off load.
