Inadequate internal IT support drives managed services in Indian SMBs


The opportunity for remotely
managed information technology services (RMITS) will
increase by 23 percent (CAGR) through 2015, according to AMI-Partners’ 2011
India Managed Services Study.

 

In the face of tighter economic conditions and in a bid
to getting lean, remotely managed information technology services show a high
uptake amongst Indian SMBs.

 

Indian MBs are turning to RMITS to assist them in keeping
up with alerts and basic infrastructure maintenance, thus freeing their
internal IT teams to manage more sophisticated solutions.

 

Indian SMBs’ IT investments show healthy growth, as
businesses leverage technology to facilitate business operations.

 

Indian SMBs are faced with a challenge in terms
technology management, with less than a quarter of Indian SBs (companies with
up to 99 employees) having full-time, internal, dedicated IT employees to
manage their technology infrastructure.

 

Though nine in ten MBs (companies with 100-999 employees)
do have some internal IT staff, they are frequently caught up with
troubleshooting and dousing fires” on routine issues instead of using IT
advantageously to foster greater business growth.

 

In the past year, some of the pain points India SMBs
experienced were reduced revenues, restricted cash flows and slow payment
realization. Coupled with this, the economic environment has become more
competitive and cost efficiencies are now a priority area. By outsourcing their
IT management, India SMBs are assured of guaranteed service levels with an OPEX
model rather than a CAPEX model, thereby limiting total risk.

 

No doubt, RMITS offer best of breed service,” said Rati
Ghose, director Market Insights at AMI-Partners. It includes 24X7 support at
reduced costs and a whole bouquet of offerings which would otherwise be out of
the reach of India SMBs. Manageability is also better as these SMBs now have
one person to talk to instead of dealing with multiple vendors.”

 

For India SBs the main IT challenge lies in the initial
buy in and putting processes in place. In the case of India MBs, who have an
internal IT team, the challenge primarily lies in server management, and the
everyday handling of ongoing user and hardware issues.

 

India businesses in the 20-249 employee range are the
ideal target market for RMITS services, notes Ghose. These businesses are
caught in a situation where their usage of sophisticated IT solutions is
increasing rapidly, leaving their internal teams unable to cope with the
complexity of their infrastructure. They have a latent need for expert
third-party support.


By Telecomlead.com Team
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