Article: Are You Ready To Sell Managed Services?

Just what are managed services? Ask five VARs this question, and you will get five different answers, depending upon their business model and role in the IT services ecosystem. Autotask is a company that provides professional services automation (PSA) software for VARs. Bob Godgart, president and CEO of Autotask, defines managed services as "the day-to-day monitoring, operational management, and ongoing maintenance of hardware, software, systems, or a complete network, by an outsourced service provider compensated through a predetermined fee on a recurring basis." That's a mouthful, but it very accurately depicts most managed services models. Used with permission from Business Solutions magazine