When managed services are used by German companies, they are rarely used strategically, but predominantly in the short term. The main advantage, according to 93% of respondents, is the avoidance of staff shortages and greater flexibility in personnel deployment. Around 71% therefore only want to use such services for the implementation of individual projects, for example in application management. Their main aim is therefore to cushion their own skills shortage.
Added value of managed services as part of the corporate strategy
However, managed services today offer companies far more than just traditional outsourcing and the opportunity to close staffing gaps – even if this continues to play a role. Embedded in a long-term corporate strategy and as part of a trusting collaboration with a technically competent partner, even entire processes or business areas can now be placed in the hands of external experts. International companies have long recognized the advantages of a strategic view of managed services. With appropriate offerings, they completely close their own competence gaps and increasingly focus on activities that differentiate them from the competition. In other words, they concentrate on their core business and at the same time gain speed in the continuous modernization of their IT landscape. These companies also cite
- a faster pace of technology development and digital transformation (62 percent),
- access to new features and capabilities (56 percent),
- more complex cyber security threats (54 percent) and
- a change in business strategy and business model (38 percent) as reasons for using managed services.
Smart shoring: no compromise on quality
The promise of cost savings, which is often cited by German companies as the main argument for managed services, plays a subordinate role in the strategic approach. Above all, companies do not want to compromise on quality when it comes to externally provided IT services. According to the market research, 89% of companies in Western Europe rely on IT sourcing, but predominantly prefer onshoring (35%). Pure offshoring and nearshoring are less popular among respondents (18%). The situation is different when it comes to combining all three variants as part of so-called smart shoring. Around a third (29%) of companies use this approach to combine the highest quality with the best possible cost savings and other benefits, such as round-the-clock service. Managed services providers who can offer smart shoring via their own resources therefore have a clear competitive advantage.
“Managed services enable companies to focus on their core competencies and thus achieve a decisive competitive advantage,” says Ertan Mutlu, Partner Managed Services at adesso, and adds: “Application management, cloud platform management or security and compliance management are highly complex tasks that can be handled more efficiently with competent partners. This gives companies the freedom they need for their business development or for more urgent transformation tasks.”
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Further links
👉 www.adesso.de
👉 To the complete study
👉 To the infographics
Graphic: adesso
