Managed IT Services Users Benefitting from Real Cost Savings, New CompTIA Study Finds

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Organizations that rely on managed services providers for some or all of their information technology (IT) needs are reaping significant annual costs savings, according to a new study published today by CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the IT industry.

The new CompTIA study Trends in Managed Services reveals that among current users of managed services, 46 percent of firms have trimmed their annual IT expenditures by 25 percent or more as a result of their shift to managed services, including 13 percent that have slashed annual IT expenditures by 50 percent or more. An additional 50 percent of organizations have saved between 1 percent and 24 percent in IT costs annually.

“This is compelling evidence that managed services, even when implemented on a small scale, can deliver significant cost savings, freeing up cash for other business needs,” said Carolyn April, director, industry analysis, CompTIA. “More importantly, these savings are accomplished without impacting the availability and reliability of the technology solutions the company relies on to conduct business.”

Indeed, the CompTIA study reveals that 89 percent of current managed services users are very satisfied or mostly satisfied with their experience. Performance and uptime; agreeable contract terms; a secure environment; and the flexibility to easily and quickly add new services all contribute to customers' satisfaction.

Another critical factor is good communication between the customer and their managed services provider (MSP). Among companies that are highly satisfied with managed services, three-quarters say their MSP provides regular activity reports on all of the steps they take with the customer's IT environment, including documenting any problems averted to keep the customer up and running.

“This shows return on investment and fuels accountability, which builds loyalty and raises satisfaction among customers,” April noted. “From the MSP's perspective, these are opportunities to make recommendations on new services to add to keep pace with business growth. Customers are engaged even though they're not managing their own IT.”

While costs savings are the top factor in deciding to turn to managed services, more than half of respondents in the CompTIA survey said a major reason they are contracting with an MSP is to free up their internal IT staffs to work on projects that fall into the business' core competencies – in other words, revenue-generating activities.

Looking ahead, 62 percent of end users surveyed said they plan to increase their IT spend on managed services over the next two years, with the balance opting to remain at current levels. Among the IT needs that companies intend to move to managed services in the next 12 months are security, such as firewalls and antivirus, cited by 38 percent of customers; web site hosting, 36 percent; network administration and maintenance, 34 percent; and help desk and IT support, 31 percent.

The View from the IT Channel

The managed services model had borne fruit for the IT channel. A full 15 percent of companies offering managed services today reaped more than 75 percent of their revenue from these contractual services last year. Nearly half said that managed services accounted for between 50 percent and 75 percent of sales during the last 12 months.

“Growth expectations are not overly aggressive, perhaps reflecting the tepid economy,” April said. “Still, a quarter of respondents project growth of more than 10 percent and a full two-thirds expect modest growth. None of the sample predicted any level of decline in MSP business in the coming year.”

CompTIA's Trends in Managed Services study is based on separate online surveys of 400 IT and business professionals in the United States involved in IT decision-making; and 364 IT channel firms in the U.S. Both surveys were conducted in June 2011. The complete report is available at no cost to CompTIA members who can access the file at www.CompTIA.org or by contacting research@comptia.org.

In addition to comprehensive market research, CompTIA offers the IT industry a broad selection of other resources related to the managed services market, including:

• The CompTIA MSP Partners Trustmark, a business credential designed to qualify and differentiate organizations providing on-premise IT services via a managed services business model.
• The CompTIA MSP Partners Community, industry leaders focused on the creation of industry standards and resources to improve managed services marketing and delivery.
• CompTIA IT Channel Training, a full portfolio of live workshops, on-demand webinars, printed and downloadable training guides and other tools.

About CompTIA

CompTIA is the voice of the world's information technology (IT) industry. As a non-profit trade association advancing the global interests of IT professionals and companies, CompTIA is the recognized authority for IT education and credentials and the primary advocate for IT businesses and workers. Through its foundation, CompTIA also enables disadvantaged populations to gain the skills they need for employment in the IT industry. CompTIA's vision of the IT landscape is shaped by more than 25 years of global perspective and more than 2,000 members and 1,000 business partners. For more information, visit www.comptia.org or follow CompTIA on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/comptia.