Who's managing your infrastructure?

If you're spending too much time managing your own infrastructure and still not achieving the service levels you require, then it's probably time you looked at a managed service.

Unlike some forms of outsourcing, a managed service can be relatively straight-forward to set up and manage. Services and service levels can be defined and agreed quickly. Lengthy contract negotiations, asset and staff transfer are all avoided. More services can be added over time as confidence in a new partner grows.

Picking the right partner is key. A good track record is essential, but more importantly the partner should exhibit similar values to your own company if the relationship is to be successful over the long term. Cost should not be the only consideration, as the opportunity to improve existing service levels can be significant. Location may be important to you, but offshore partners are all adept at providing staff to cover 24x7 and therefore shouldn't be ruled out on this basis.

A balanced scorecard is often used to measure the quality of service received. This allows multiple dimensions to be considered as part of the overall service level. Partners can be further incentivised by having bonus payments aligned to achieving certain targets.

As with any form of outsourcing there are pros and cons that you need to consider. However, when it comes to the remote management of infrastructure, the arguments 'for' can be compelling and your time can be better spent focusing on the value-adding part of your job.