Holiday time, carefree time. Finally relaxing properly without feeling responsible? Anyone who has a pet will immediately disagree. Because the holiday trip with four-legged friend is by no means so easily implemented. And places in dog boarding facilities can become scarce in the summer. Even for those responsible for computer networks in companies, the holiday season traditionally does not mean as much relief as it does for their colleagues from other departments. Only managed services, i.e. the professional operation of IT and infrastructure by a third party provider, bring relief in the area of information processing as well.
Many managers are familiar with this: in search of security and a clear conscience, they take their laptops with them on holiday. At least to read emails and stay up to date. Perhaps also as an occasional emergency reserve when customers want to conclude urgently important business during their short absence. Or even to tackle tasks that had previously been left undone for a long time. When they switch on the device in the holiday hotel, the trouble quickly begins: the VPN connection (Virtual Private Networking) cannot be established, or the multi-factor authentication fails. A case for the IT administrator – if he wasn't also away at the same time. Only very few bosses then stay cool, have the substitution arrangement in mind and get help from their own company. Those who are stuck will now, at the latest, consider the holiday a disastrous decision that should be avoided at all costs in future. Or the practical shock will lead them to question their own IT strategy, examine outsourcing concepts and seriously flirt with managed services.
Peace and distance on holiday sometimes convey more reliably than day-to-day business what qualities are important for a critical corporate infrastructure. When suddenly nothing works and help is needed, every minute of waiting feels like an imposition. Nevertheless, such situations are the order of the day in many companies without external IT support – until the competent colleagues are available or back from business and holiday trips. A scenario that is no longer up to date for IT and information security as well as cybersecurity. Because data, systems and the cloud must be protected around the clock and serious security gaps must be closed as quickly as possible. A task that is not compatible with holidays and longer absences. Neither the availability of data can wait, nor its integrity or confidentiality. An example from logistics - if the company servers can no longer save the selected delivery time windows for notification shipments due to a technical malfunction: Without a monitoring solution, the error would possibly only become apparent at the end of the working day and the arriving packages would wait at least another day in the handling hall for delivery.
At the latest before cyberattacks cause serious damage to the company, there is pressure to act. The solution to these challenges is called Managed Services. With this concept of IT outsourcing, external third parties assume responsibility for the operation and security of the company's IT. As specialised service providers, they use software solutions for monitoring networks, systems and cloud applications. They also have extensive experience and offer their benefits all year round at fixed service times around the clock. Their portfolio includes, among others:
With this offer, providers take over all critical service tasks associated with computer systems and networks. This is an important step towards enabling business managers to sleep peacefully again – even more so when they are on holiday.
IT managed services are services related to the provision, operation and monitoring of IT systems consisting of hardware, physical and virtual networks as well as software solutions on site and from the cloud. The managed service provider (MSP) can take on all tasks as an external partner, including system recovery after faults and failures (disaster recovery). From hosting for the applications of a specific department to the service level in system support, the use of managed services in IT is linked to one defining principle: scalability. Companies can use individual software solutions purely as needed, provide new workstations as virtual desktops for fixed monthly fees, or coordinate emergency readiness in system support with critical system status. Depending on the service level agreement (SLA), application and security experts from the managed service provider are always available when they are needed – tailored to the needs of a closed value chain. Through the specialised company, they are also easily available during holiday periods – because the company's specialisation ensures that sufficient expertise is always available. This is a security of supply that can only be achieved in parallel to the core business with one's own employees at significantly higher costs compared to outsourcing.
Knowing everything important is in good hands: That is the key to relaxation during the holiday season. Having the good feeling that nothing dramatic can go wrong in business while you yourself are looking for relief. Managed services create this security in the IT sector because monitoring software and subject matter experts keep an eye on critical applications and systems at all times. With the possibilities of remote maintenance, they even convoy the company boss in his holiday hotel on a secure route to the firm’s network. The decisive advantage, so that he too can relax again and really unwind with his computer switched off.
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