TO succeed in today's highly competitive, globalised economy, it is vital for SMEs to be nimble. To achieve this, they need to make the most of their limited resources and continuously evaluate what is core to their business and what is not. They have to identify key partners who can help them to expand their business rapidly and contain their costs effectively.
It is important for companies to establish long-term partnerships with their managed service providers - partners who understand their business needs and can constantly add value.
Although infocomm technology (ICT) services are not core competencies for most SMEs, they are nonetheless important enablers for business growth, and at the same time, can help improve productivity and enhance customer services.
Most SMEs also face big hurdles in adopting ICT services, such as high upfront costs. Even after making such investments, the next hurdle is to find the scarce ICT talents to manage these services and minimise operational costs, address security concerns, and deal with issues such as changes in user requirements and deal with technology obsolescence.
It is important for companies to establish long-term partnerships with their managed service providers whom they can trust - partners who understand their business needs and can constantly add value.
Forge winning partnerships
How can these challenges be addressed? Partnering a reliable and innovative managed service provider is the answer.
Today, ICT managed service providers play an increasingly important role in the value chain for many SMEs.
They can take care of the SMEs' end-to-end ICT needs to help them reduce overheads and free up valuable resources within the company.
With ready infrastructure, rich ICT resources and expertise, they can relieve SMEs of the complexities of managing ICT systems. They allow SMEs to focus on their core competencies and yet enjoy the benefits of innovative ICT services.
ICT managed service providers today can offer utility-based pricing models.
Besides avoiding heavy upfront investments, SMEs have the flexibility to scale up their ICT needs as their business grows. Managed service providers offer superior cost structures and economies of scale that SMEs can leverage.
Selecting your provider
In choosing a managed service provider, enterprises should ask the following questions:
1 Does the managed service provider have the infrastructure, finances, technological expertise, reliability, geographic coverage and manpower to manage your service commitments?
2 How experienced is the managed service provider? Has it successfully implemented projects within the industry?
3 How effectively can the managed service provider share real-time visibility of service performance? What measures does the managed service provider take to ensure continuous availability and high performance?
4 Is the managed service provider able to provide a competitive and comprehensive Service Level Agreement (SLA)? This will detail the scope of services provided, processes, escalation procedures and committed response times.
5 Can the managed service provider offer one-stop-shop capabilities? Does it provide a single point of contact for all technical support matters with a clear escalation process?
6 Does the managed service provider have a plan to adjust its service as your business needs evolve with time? How quickly can the service provider respond to changing needs?
The adoption of ICT managed services is a growing trend. According to Springboard Research, the IT services market in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) is predicted to grow from US$37.5 billion in 2007 to US$55.9 billion in 2011.
ICT managed services provide businesses with peace of mind knowing that their ICT applications are managed in accordance with industry best practices.
With the right managed service provider as your partner, you can better focus on what you do best, be nimble and thrive in a fast-changing, globalised economy.
This article is contributed by SingTel, a leading ICT managed service provider and a member of the Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF).
Do you know what are the top three software services adopted by SMEs? They are: Accounting & Finance at 44 per cent, Human Resource & Payroll at 13 per cent, and 10 per cent of the SMEs have an Intranet.
