* The use of managed services at the branch is approaching universal
Fewer than four in 10 companies are managing their branch-office IT completely on their own. The rest? They’re relying on third-party Managed Service Providers (MSP) to help them with a variety of tasks.
This figure may not sound too surprising, based on the 11% annual growth in the number of branch offices, coupled with only a 2% to 4% average increase in the IT budget. The IT staff count isn’t keeping pace with the number of locations requiring management.
What is surprising, though, is the rate of growth for branch-office managed services.
Nemertes has been tracking these statistics for three years, and the growth has been steady and steep. In 2006, 27% of companies used managed services at the branch. By 2007, the percentage reached 46%, and our preliminary 2008 figures indicate the percentage has reached about 65%.
We’re expecting the number of companies using managed services to increase, as well as the penetration rate within those already using MSPs.
The IT executives say they’re using managed services for a variety of functions, including equipment installation, router & WAN management, training, troubleshooting, and truck rolls, among other things. They rely upon carriers, including AT&T, BT, Orange Business Services, or outsourcers, such as EDS, IBM, and CSC, or regional value-added resellers, including Black Box, Dimension Data, and hundreds of other small providers.
Organizations that are not using or considering managed services may be missing an opportunity. They may be devoting valuable resources to tasks that third parties can handle more efficiently. The MSPs can keep up with the latest monitoring and management tools, and leverage their expertise among multiple customers. The internal staff can then work on more strategic IT assignments.
Let’s face it: Without the right monitoring and management tools, it’s very difficult to effectively control the branch-office IT infrastructure. With dozens of management-tool options, companies either can focus on evaluating and obtaining the best products for their internal use, or rely upon third parties. Without a large IT staff, the former is considerably more difficult than the latter.
