Today’s managed services providers (MSPs) are not the outsourcing vendors of yesteryear. They have evolved into strategic partners, leveraging their deep domain expertise and advanced technologies to drive digital transformation and operational excellence for their clients. 

In CGI’s An executive's guide to managed services, we review current trends in the MSP landscape, provide an overview of current service provider capabilities, and lay out a recommended approach to building more collaborative relationships. In this article series, we take a closer look at the strategic function team: Its role within your organization, key responsibilities, and required skills and size.

What is a managed IT services provider?

Managed services providers, or MSPs, are third-party companies responsible for proactively managing, monitoring and supporting a client’s infrastructure. By keeping a close eye on cybersecurity, network management, cloud services, help desk support, data backup and more, a managed IT service provider helps you replace your traditional break/fix model and think ahead to avoid unnecessary disruption. 

Why should you work with a managed IT services provider?

Outsourcing the management of IT systems and services to a managed IT services provider leads to improved operations and massive cost savings in the long run. MSPs ensure all networks and applications run smoothly and effectively, monitoring and offering remote support 24/7. Offloading these responsibilities facilitates greater agility in an organization, freeing up more time and energy to focus on the goals and outcomes you dream of. 

Key benefits of managed IT services: 

  • Reduced downtime
  • Predictable IT costs
  • Access to expertise 
  • Strategic IT planning
  • Advanced tools and technology
  • Enhanced cybersecurity
  • Scalability and flexibility

How managed IT services providers can help in a variety of industries 

With the ability to tailor services and SLAs to fit the needs of any organization, any of the main industries can benefit from working with a managed IT services provider. For financial services, MSPs help maintain always-on systems and safeguard sensitive transactions. 

In healthcare, providers protect electronic records and uphold HIPAA compliance. Within manufacturing, MSPs optimize the supply chain and support IoT integration. The list of services is ever-growing. 

The importance of the management team for IT managed services

Every managed IT services agreement is only as effective as the team managing its implementation. At CGI, we recommend the creation of a strategic function team to do just that. 

Generally, this people-centric MSP team should be set up early in the exploration and focus on a clear mandate: building and cultivating a strategic partnership between the service provider and your organization’s business communities. Specific areas of responsibility include governance, relationship and change management, and strategic oversight of supply and demand to ensure it addresses your organization’s business requirements.

Defining the role of IT MSP management

All MSP partnerships feature a robust governance model that clearly articulates how and by whom the agreement will be supported. We recommend a three-legged-stool framework for governance.

MSPs are responsible for:  

  • The strategic function team is a team within the client organization that is responsible for overseeing the managed IT services agreement with a service provider. This team should retain authority over critical components of IT strategy. It should primarily focus on decisions related to architecture, security, standards and project priorities. The provider can deliver valuable advisory support in these areas.
  • The managed IT services provider should control the “how” of service delivery. This encompasses network administration, application management, infrastructure and more. The managed services provider assumes complete responsibility for these services and works to determine the best solutions to effectively meet the client’s needs. It is important that the provider keeps in close communication with the strategic function team.
  • The business units or internal clients must actively participate in articulating their business requirements in terms of IT deliverables, including projects, services and service levels. Although this responsibility should belong unequivocally to the business, the strategic function team should provide some oversight to ensure alignment with the contract. Typically, the service provider does not want to undertake initiatives without clear business ownership and clarity on deliverables.

Core responsibilities of IT managed services providers

Your strategic function team plays a critical role in balancing internal client requests with provider priorities and capabilities. The team’s core responsibilities fall into three areas.

3 main responsibilities of IT MSPs:

1. Manage demand: Ensure that services are aligned with business priorities and affordability.

  • Work with internal clients to predict changes in business drivers that may affect services and volume
  • Encourage a culture that embraces synergy and shared services across internal client communities
  • Prioritize and approve business requirements for services and projects
  • Track service utilization versus forecast or budget
  • Allocate costs across business units
  • Align user requests with contractual terms and processes

2. Manage the partnership: Continually evolve the relationship to meet changing business requirements.

  • Communicate with internal users throughout the agreement term to confirm they understand the service provider’s capabilities and objectives
  • Verify appropriate stakeholder representation within the operational teams through the change management process
  • Confirm appropriate client participation in IT projects
  • Ensure that the appropriate internal clients review and approve project plans and provider deliverables
  • Assign appropriate business review and approval of technology plans
  • Validate compliance with security and audit requirements
  • Have the appropriate business stakeholders address recurring issues and help resolve major incidents

3. Manage supply: Make sure the service provider is meeting its contractual obligations.

  • Monitor service-level performance
  • Ensure rigorous application of pricing terms
  • Remain connected with industry pricing
  • Confirm the business addresses vendor-initiated change requests

With your strategic function team owning these critical workstreams, the IT managed services provider can channel efforts into execution while internal teams focus on core business priorities and innovation. Better yet, by fostering open dialogue and transparency between the organization and provider, the team builds the trust that’s foundational to a successful partnership.

Partner with CGI’s managed IT services today

Want to learn more about CGI’s managed IT services? Watch our webinar with Circle K on CIO.com or contact us.