The concept behind the well-known Swiss Army Knife offers an apt analogy on the important topic of Managed Services, and whether or not you own a Swiss Army Knife, you probably still understand what they are. Now, the Swiss Army Knife as we know it was not the first multi-use pocket knife. Indeed, a similar device is referred to in Moby Dick, published way back in 1851. Still, the origin story of the Swiss Army Knife begins in the late 1880’s when the Swiss government issued a tool which came in useful when opening canned food, and more important, while disassembling/reassembling the Swiss service rifle.
As time passed, the brand came to represent an essential portable tool which came in handy in a multitude of different situations, saving time and often space. However, as the need for more tools continued to rise, pocket size and instrument size mattered. And the one-size-fits-all concept doesn’t work for many real world situations (Please See: Wenger Swiss Army 16999 Giant Knife, 87 Implements / 141 Functions for an impractical and discontinued example).
Imagine if you will, to solve this one-size-fits-all dilemma, a magical Swiss Army Knife was developed which easily and automatically adapted to the problem at hand without taking up too much time, space, and operational costs. Not only seamlessly taking ownership of the issues, but shepherding the issues through until their completion, and maintaining them beyond. This means understanding opportunities and preemptively providing solutions before there is an apparent need. This would change the world as we know it, because well, our real-world physics would be turned on its head. And who knows what would come after a physically-self-altering Swiss Army Knife? Still, there’s a connection to be made here, think of managed services as this magical Swiss Army Knife like no other.
An organization has its core business, of course. Let’s not forget about the multitude of individual operational needs within the core business. There is the internal investment needed to maintain, grow, create opportunities, and there is the outsourcing investment which ultimately frees up experts to do what they do best internally. Managed services represent the outsourcing, external investment of a range of processes and functions in order to improve operations and cut expenses.
Managed services are often configured based on needs, and the right implementation team understands what’s needed; like the magical Swiss Army Knife. Managed services can be initiated as a temporary cost-savings tool in the short run. Or, depending on the need, utilizing managed services for longer offers scalability to match an increased support model quickly, not to mention essential visibility into operations affecting the bottom line, and other impacting factors. Managed services, when executed correctly, own the environment and ecosystem of services they’re designed to provide and manage.
Here’s hoping it doesn’t happen to you or your company, but IT continuity or recovery after a tech disaster is greatly enhanced by using managed services, especially if IT and the like are not your core, or internal focus. You get the idea. One can only imagine the complexity of these situations, and if they're not your strong suit, utilizing managed services is certainly the way to go.
Now, of course, the magic Swiss Army Knife doesn’t exist. Just as the one-size-fits-all approach is often lacking simply based on the complex set of needs one organization can have. Still, the concept and utilization of managed services can act as that magical tool, suited to your needs, and ready to be implemented in either the short or long term. Success happens when we do what we do best, and trust others to do what they do best, all while working toward the same goal. This is what managed services do best.