Managed IT services Or SaaS: What companies should go for?

Managed IT service providers in India are gaining momentum and an opportunity for startups to gain scale with the country’s largest IT services firms, to manage and implement digital transformation projects at a rapid scale. If you’re looking for custom options, managed IT services might be a better fit for you. Instead of owning the software, managed services provide you with the people and sometimes software to help you with your work.

Managed IT services are quite different from SaaS. While SaaS provides companies with software that they can use over the cloud (with all of the attendant benefits), managed services go a step further and often offer additional support by taking care of both networking and hardware requirements.

Customer relationship management tools also provide an excellent example of the difference between SaaS and managed services.

“A company like Salesforce offers CRM as SaaS. CRM facilities can be accessed through cloud portals, charging them a fee depending on the number of users (for instance, the number of customer reps at a real estate agency). Salesforce’s CRM services only become managed services when clients outsource tasks like communicating with customers or analyzing CRM data to Salesforce itself.”

Benefits of choosing Managed services:

Managed services can also go further than only managing software and can help businesses to grow. Suppose, for instance, that a firm outsources the task of maintaining security on its IT network to a third-party firm. That third-party firm might do things like event reporting and threat detection, but it could also offer firms support to upgrade and improve their hardware. A managed security company, for instance, could recommend that a firm switch out its ailing servers and replace them with services rendered through the cloud. Managed services, therefore, are more comprehensive than SaaS, and can spur the transformation of the overall company IT strategy.

Skilled and observant managed services providers are capable of optimizing the network in real time, thereby reducing downtime and improving performance. Having a reputable SaaS startup at your disposal is another major advantage. It means that you can outsource a considerable amount of work, freeing up valuable time to focus on your startup and growth potential.

Understanding the Costs:

SaaS compensates for this lack of control by offering less expensive subscription costs than are typically associated with managed services. With most, you can pay monthly or yearly, often with a discount for a longer subscription. There are often video tutorials that help you get acquainted with the new software and that you can use to help train your employees to use the SaaS.

Managed services come at a higher price, but you get your money’s worth in flexibility. With SaaS, you are literally paying a subscription cost for a software program. Managed IT services connect you with real people, giving you access to the people behind the computer and the ability to alter the software or platform you are using to fit your needs. You do not get complete control, and there is a limit to how far managed services can flex to suit your needs, but their adaptability is far greater than SaaS.

Artificial intelligence continues to grow by leaps and bounds, but there are still some services that need a more personal touch. When technical issues escalate beyond rebooting the computer or reinstalling software, it is helpful to have a real, living person on the other side of the screen rather than a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

“With the growing needs of an organization, you will find the overall Gross Revenue [= Total outcome / cost involved (capital expenditure + operating expenditure)] is increasing for many companies by choosing the right mix of technologies provided by Managed IT service providers.”