CompTIA Managed Services Summit Shifts Focus To Sales And Marketing

(Coronado, CA) — When I was asked to moderate a panel on the topic of partnering at CompTIA's (Computing Technology Industry Association's) Managed Services Summit, I envisioned the audience questions split between technology requirements and business needs. While the queries included platforms and other component requirements, the focus quickly shifted to how MSPs (managed services providers) should sell and market this new services delivery concept.

Based on discussions with MSPs, vendors, and CompTIA executives, it appears that managed services is being adopted faster than projected by many industry analysts. An increased awareness and business case is driving the demand, and service providers are quickly upgrading interested customers. But for those clients that aren't as educated on the benefits of managed services (e.g. reduced network downtime), how do you sell them?

The first step is defining managed services. From a recent CompTIA survey of prospective and current MSPs, the organization put together a framework of an industry definition. "Managed services is the ongoing management, monitoring, and maintenance of networks, software, hardware, and related IT services by an external organization," said Brian McCarthy, COO of CompTIA. "Managed services is often marked by detailed service level agreements [SLAs], which typically include provisions for performance, security, efficiency, accountability, response times, and relevant upgrades."