A recent survey of executives and IT leaders at large U.S. companies by Boston-based market research firm, Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB) indicates that enterprises are increasingly relying on managed network service providers.For example, one large fast-food franchise wanted expertise in restaurant operations and the ability to deliver industry-specific solutions like managed PCI Wi-Fi security, digital signage, or employee video training over the WAN.
In large part, the desire for managed services is a resource issue. IT departments are stretched thin and need to free internal resources up from basic tasks to focus on more-strategic priorities.
Strong customer support is considered nearly four times as important as technical criteria such as the provider's network architecture), when evaluating suppliers, the study suggests.
Strong service level agreements, a provider's understanding of their unique business applications and related industry expertise also were considered important.
Improved IT security, simplified compliance and better application performance are among the reasons managed services increasingly are favored. Demand for managed services also benefits from a preference to avoid new full-time hires.
The survey also suggests enteprises increasingly favor specialty service roviders that have high-touch customer service, vertical market expertise, and offer managed applications specifically tailored to their business.
A majority of respondents favor providers with managed WAN optimization technologies that overlay their existing slower WANs, providing WAN acceleration and Quality of Service (QoS) performance without the associated costs and complexities.
CMB surveyed 342 decision makers at large distributed enterprises with WANs ranging from 100 to more than 500 networked sites, and typically more than 5,000 employees.
The study was commissioned by Hughes Network Systems.
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