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It is hard to provide a “package” that addresses a customer’s needs without first engaging with the client to properly ascertain what they want to do and what are their limitations and expectations.

As I said, if you allow the customer to select from a range of packages, unless they know preciously what they need and what each service entails etc. they will most likely expect more than you offer or get more than they need. In either case neither is good business. In my opinion managing someone’s server is not as easy to define (or sell) as a t-shirt where all that matters is colour & size.

This is were, I believe, virtualisation can make the client experience and the provider service a better match. This is especially true if a client isn’t sure of their needs and more so to the benefit of the provider if they use the right virtualisation solution. While it can simply be a virtual environment (VE) on a single server there is no reason it can’t a VE on a grid or cluster, thereby eliminating many single points of failure. This would give the provider an easier platform in which to control access, drag and drop OSes and near instantly provide resources as required. It is also a standard platform which is the same for each of the provider’s clients and therefore much easier to support.

Thankfully many virtualisation systems are already on the market that can cost effectively do this and are mature enough to be seriously considered for most customers.

Ultimately it comes back to what the clients expects to achieve from the server, what business services it will preform or provide and what fault tolerances are appropriate… in this case one size certainly does not fit all and there are many additional service to consider.  Such as back-ups.

I question whether this can be done effectively if the server being managed is not local, to the managed server provider, unless that server is virtual and is not on a single physical server.  It is far easier to resolve problems when you can simply mount the server in another grid or stop it add resources and then restart it. Patching becomes easier if the managed service provider maintains a test environment (again virtual) where updates can be evaluated before going onto production systems.

While this kind of redundancy maybe overkill for most requirements it is vital to an enterprise operation and if it can be provided at a price point that is both reasonable for the client and profitable for the provider then there is every reason to consider it. Doing so is the very definition of ‘proactive’ and I would add it is what the client would do as only they know what their business truly means to them.  Business continuity is always the paramount concern of any business.  Such safe guarding becomes more important when the client chooses to outsource their support.

For many of the clients I have worked with my perspective as both a consumer and a provider of IT services has served me and them well.  I am always looking for ways to do a better job and making sure the best job is done for my clients when I am not the one providing the service.  To me it is why I am hired and brought on board to deal with whatever is required.  I am able to anticipate what the client may not and also determine if the provider is assuming too much in their offerings.

If I were to suggest to my clients that for this rate, or this package of services, you only get a portion of my abilities I wouldn’t last long nor would I be a professional.  So too when this firm asked what services it should include in its managed services offering did I question the professionalism and the abilities of the firm.  I responded with the statement below, which doesn’t take them to task.  I am hopeful my words will be instructive and perhaps they will use them to decide if they are qualified to provide said service.  It would seem they don’t know what it entails, not if they want to do it properly that is.

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I don’t think you can properly manage a server without monitoring it.  At a minimum you must have some alert system that you respond to within a given time frame based on the nature and/or severity of the issue.

Naturally one could argue that a properly managed server would never have any issues but in the real world where one must provide a cost effective and profitable solution to one’s clients the best choice is proactive monitoring.

No client should ever have to call you up and tell you there is something wrong with their server that a monitoring system could have (and should have) caught.  Client’s invariable go for the least expensive option when they know little of what is required and strangely enough for the most expensive, if they can afford it, as they assume it will cover them for everything.

I know it was a sample list but if you are responsible for managing their server and it gets hacked – recovery from that would be your responsibility.  Granted the client could have done something that caused it to happen.  But you would need proof and in my opinion the best way to get said this proof is with monitoring and access logs.  The server’s use may make it more or less prone to hack attempts and if the server is remote to you then there are other factors you can’t control… such as: network, power, DDOS etc.

When providing managed services of any form we must remember the client is looking to us for expertise.  We can not feign ignorance or say: “well you didn’t pay for our most expensive package which would have covered this” etc.  We must provide services that don’t have loop holes that cover for our mistakes.  We must provide service within a clearly defined scope of actions, activities and client expectations and responsibilities that are well documented.  You don’t go to lawyer and then tell how to win your case; you are hiring her for her expertise and wouldn’t accept any excuse for not getting her best.

So too with IT services and specifically server management… Client’s could argue that you should have identified areas in which the client’s access could create problems and therefore establish a very clear demarcation line between your services and the client’s responsibilities.  Server management isn’t about a list of offerings.  It is about applying the appropriate administrative and monitoring methodology to ensure the server performs as expected for the client’s needs.

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I would add that it is the specific knowledge which gives your service value.  Too often companies try to do more than they are capable of because they need to make money or want to make money.  There are many approaches to a successful business but no one ever failed for finding out what they do best and doing it consistently for their clients.   When looking for IT support you shouldn’t have to ask “what am I not getting that I may need?”  Though it would seem you should definitely get several quotes and ask lots of questions before selecting the right IT service provider for you.  You can also contact me to assist in the search.