IT managed services

Cloud computing and IT managed services

IT managed services based on cloud computing are catching on with many small and medium-sized businesses as a way to offload the burdens of buying and maintaining software and hardware.

The idea is simple: instead of buying and managing your own IT assets, your company pays to use a system owned by a third party. A simple free version of the idea is Google Drive, which allows users

anywhere to work and collaborate on word processing, spreadsheet and other applications hosted on Google’s servers.

The cloud’s key benefit is that it saves companies money because they don’t have to purchase, implement, maintain and update hardware or software. For example, some experts estimate a company can save about 65% on an ERP system by implementing it through the cloud rather than buying the software.

Cloud computing vendors offer two main types of services – IT managed services

• Infrastructures-a-service: Servers and network equipment that clients access via the web.
• Software-as-a-service : On-demand software that clients access online. For example, businesses can use such a service to run an ERP system or accounting software without needing to buy it.

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