If you have a poor-performing network, you may want to consider managed network services to help you improve your network performance.
Poor-performing networks can hinder production among employees leading to increased costs for the organization.
With a poor-performing network, you may receive slow response times or dropped calls resulting in poor production among employees.
Coeo understands how important it is for an organization to have a reliable network.
We want to give you all of the information you need on managed network services so your organization can utilize the capabilities that best meet your telecom needs.
By the end of this article, you will know what managed network services are, what managed service providers are, and the pros and cons of having one for your network.
What are managed network services?
Managed network services are network applications and services that are outsourced, managed, and maintained by a managed service provider.
Managed network services range from basic network software like traditional WAN to newer services like SD-WAN.
Managed network services can be thought of as outsourced services. These services are contracted to be managed by third-party providers.
What is a managed service provider?
Managed service providers deliver and maintain the contracted services as if they are part of the organization’s staff.
This enables the contracting organization to devote their resources to more strategic initiatives or areas where their staff has greater expertise.
Managed service providers host these services in their own data centers and facilities. These providers range in size from small organizations to large, national providers.
Managed service providers typically offer solutions that are covered by service-level agreements (SLAs).
These SLAs are contracts that determine and articulate the responsibilities between the managed service providers and the customer.
Pros and cons of having a managed network service
Pros of a managed network service
Some of the advantages of having a managed network service include IT expertise, the flexibility to free up IT staff, and a greater ability to resolve IT challenges.
IT expertise
Managed network services allow your organization to obtain IT expertise. Some organizations may have no expertise when it comes to IT so a managed network service can bring that knowledge to the customer.
This increased IT knowledge will help your organization understand more about its network and potentially discover problems within your network.
This can lead to prioritizing network issues that you may otherwise didn’t know needed to be prioritized
Free up IT staff
If you do not have an IT staff or are overwhelmed with other responsibilities, managed network services can help your company better utilize its resources or gain expertise that doesn’t reside in the organization.
Because a managed network service is the responsibility of outside experts, it frees up time for your internal staff to focus on things they’re good at and have a greater strategic impact on your business.
Helps prevent IT problems
Because network services are managed by providers who have expertise in the services you are purchasing, they will identify issues in advance and resolve issues quickly if they do occur.
For example, if you have a poor-performing network, your managed service will help you avoid a slow or dropped connection.
Their expertise will help get your network up and running more efficiently with less latency and dropped connections.
Additionally, your managed service provider knows how important network security is.
They will ensure that your network is equipped with software that will help you avoid data leaks, cyberattacks, and malicious actors.
Cons of a managed network service
A couple of disadvantages of having a managed network service include the risk of choosing a poor-performing service provider, and customer support wait times that can be excessive.
Poor-performing service provider
If you choose the wrong provider, you may find that their performance metrics are lower than your expectations or even lower than what you had previously been delivering internally. This often results in a poor return on your investment.
Making sure you fully understand your organization’s needs and what you want from a service is important before evaluating managed service providers.
Once you understand your needs, make sure to research each provider you are considering to make sure that they have services that meet your needs and read reviews on the quality of their service so you don’t end up with a poor-performing solution.
Customer support wait times
Since your network service is managed by the provider you selected, it can be hard to resolve technical issues quickly. A managed provider is outsourced, therefore it is its own organization and can be hard to reach.
Additionally, a managed provider more than likely manages more than one service for more than one company. It can be hard to get a hold of them if another one of their companies has an unresolved issue as well.
Depending on your managed service provider, customer service wait times can be far too long when attempting to resolve a system issue that might have real urgency.
Use this free tool to learn how you stack up against your peers and learn how to stop poor network performance, reduce outages, and learn best practices for maintaining a resilient network. 
Next steps to purchasing a managed network service
Now you know what managed network services are and the pros and cons of having them. This will help you figure out if a managed network service is the right fit for your company.
If you have an underperforming network, it may be costing your business time and money and you should make a change sooner rather than later.
A poor-performing network can lead to lost customers, lost revenue, and poor production among employees.
Coeo has managed hundreds of customers’ networks and knows how important a reliable network is to an organization.
We want to give you all of the information possible on managed network services so you can make the best buying decision for your company.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about managed network services or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment. 
Now you know what a managed network service is and the pros and cons of having a managed service. Read this article to learn how SD-WAN can benefit your organization:
