NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As enterprise
organizations begin to adopt a digitally enabled, service-defined
approach to delivering IT services, it is becoming increasingly
clear that not all IT tasks need to be performed in house. For many
CIOs, developing a relationship with a trusted professional
services firm that can save them between 10 and 30 percent of their
current IT costs while freeing valuable in-house technical
resources for more strategic tasks is an attractive option. For
organizations just beginning their IT transformations, however,
choosing – and trusting – a skilled professional services
firm may be a daunting decision. To help, Logicalis US, an
international IT solutions and managed services provider
(www.us.logicalis.com), has examined CIOs' chief concerns about
working with professional and managed services firms, is offering
both a video and a webinar to help CIOs investigate what
professional services can mean to their organizations, and has
identified 11 steps to take when entering a relationship with a
managed services provider (MSP).
"Enterprise organizations today absolutely must embrace a
service mentality. At Logicalis, we call this the 'service-defined
enterprise,' and it's really about the consumerization of IT and
delivering the kind of user experience corporate workers get at
home and expect in the office," says David
Leech, Vice President of Professional and Managed Services,
Logicalis US. "To accomplish this, IT departments must
literally re-invent themselves, moving their staff into more
business-facing, application-centric, vendor management roles by
using a managed services provider as an extension of their IT
organization to deliver time-consuming 'lights-on' tasks."
Is an MSP Relationship Right for Your Organization?
To help CIOs in transition decide if partnering with an MSP is
right for them, Logicalis is hosting a managed services webinar
tomorrow, October 5th, and
is offering access to a WatchIT video, each featuring Logicalis
managed services experts.
- Webinar: In this web event, to be held tomorrow,
October 5th, Logicalis'
Kevin Clark, Director of Cloud and Managed Services, will discuss
the six surprise benefits of managed services as well as the best
ways CIOs can leverage outsourced resources to become more
strategic players in their own organizations:
http://ow.ly/uK9T304giO2.
- Video: In this WatchIT video, part of SmartPros' eCampus
Learning Management System, Logicalis expert David Leech discusses
the evolution and importance of managed services:
http://ow.ly/csVg304xJGq.
11 Steps to Take When Making the Move to an MSP:
"CIOs have told us their greatest concerns in partnering with an
MSP include fears about losing control over security measures,
concerns about vendor lock-in, and, of course, concerns about the
security of their own positions," Leech says. "Each of these,
however, can be resolved through a careful MSP selection process.
And what we're actually seeing today is that, when CIOs embrace MSP
relationships, they and their teams are becoming more strategic,
valuable assets to their organizations."
Ready to make the move to an MSP? Logicalis experts have laid
out an 11-step strategy to help CIOs jumpstart their planning and
internal conversations.
- Determine which components you need to outsource (i.e., service
desk, security, etc.).
- Don't provide an RFP that is too prescriptive; ask the provider
for recommendations on solving your business problem.
- Look for a firm that is adaptable and willing to meet the needs
of your organization, and be sure they are willing and able to
transform with you as your organization grows and changes.
- Be sure there is a cultural fit between the MSP and your
organization.
- Invite all business and IT stakeholders to the table.
- Bring the vendors that may be impacted into the
conversation.
- Clearly explain to your in-house IT team what their role will
be, including future career paths.
- Provide a clear transformational roadmap with identified
checkpoints.
- Determine a well-defined, two-way, tiered communication
schedule between the partner and each level of your own
organization that allows you to stay engaged and closely monitor
the quality of the services being provided.
- Define how you will measure the value of the project.
- Create a flexible contract so you're not locked in for multiple
years without an exit path.
"By outsourcing select time-consuming IT tasks," Leech says,
"CIOs are now freed to attend board meetings and product
development sessions and are able to better help their business
colleagues drive innovation and growth."
Want to Learn More?
- Find out what it takes to support business-critical operations
with mature managed services in this Logicalis video:
http://ow.ly/LoMz304xQwV.
- Explore the business benefits of managed services:
http://ow.ly/uhtG304zuwE.
- How much experience does a managed services provider need? Find
out here: http://ow.ly/hpJi304zuFp.
About Logicalis
Logicalis is an international multi-skilled solution provider
providing digital enablement services to help customers harness
digital technology and innovative services to deliver powerful
business outcomes.
Our customers cross industries and geographical regions; our
focus is to engage in the dynamics of our customers' vertical
markets including financial services, TMT (telecommunications,
media and technology), education, healthcare, retail, government,
manufacturing and professional services, and to apply the skills of
our 4,000 employees in modernizing key digital pillars, data center
and cloud services, security and network infrastructure, workspace
communications and collaboration, data and information strategies,
and IT operation modernization.
We are the advocates for our customers for some of the world's
leading technology companies including Cisco, HPE, IBM, NetApp,
Microsoft, VMware and ServiceNow.
The Logicalis Group has annualized revenues of over $1.5 billion from operations in Europe, North
America, Latin America and
Asia Pacific. It is a division of
Datatec Limited, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the
AIM market of the LSE, with revenues of over $6.5 billion.
For more information, visit www.us.logicalis.com.
Business and technology working as one
To learn more about Logicalis activities through
a variety of social media outlets, click here.
Media contacts:
Nickie
Peters, Director of
Marketing,
Logicalis US
nickie.peters@us.logicalis.com
920-338-7622
www.us.logicalis.com
Karen Franse, Communication
Strategy Group for Logicalis US
kfranse@gocsg.com
866-997-2424
www.gocsg.com
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