Bytes takes managed services to the next level

Bytes Systems Integration has launched an innovative managed services offering that extends beyond the traditional hardware, network and storage levels to include the software platform (operating systems, databases, application servers) as well as business applications like SAP and Oracle.

"There's a real market need for managed platform services in particular. It's an area that needs scarce, highly qualified skills, and currently it's an area under-serviced by small niche companies," says Mark Neethling, divisional manager at Bytes Systems Integration. "We believe there is a clear need for a big, stable managed service provider, like Bytes, who can deliver the full range of services clients need."

Neethling says that because of its size and inherent efficiencies, Bytes can deliver these services at vastly reduced cost - anything between two to four times less is possible.

"Cost is a significant pressure in today's economy, and everybody has to do more with less," Neethling observes. "This magnitude of cost reduction is valuable because it allows clients to look beyond just keeping the lights on, to focus on innovation that can generate competitive advantage and accelerate growth."

International research shows that companies cite possible loss of control and security issues as concerns when considering moving to managed services. Neethling argues that adopting the managed services approach actually improves control because CIOs no longer have to manage individual staff, but just service level agreements. Bytes also provides a dashboard, allowing clients to monitor the health of their managed services in real-time.

When it comes to security, too, large providers like Bytes are able to provide much better protection than most individual companies - a point that analysts like Gartner and Forrester are making more frequently these days.

"Our managed services offering is truly differentiated because it can be combined with business services (for example, architecture guidance or consulting around services-oriented architecture and business process management) and cloud services, which include software as a service, platform as a service and monitoring as a service," Neethling says. "We also understand that clients have varying needs, so they can choose which parts of their IT environment it makes sense to pass onto us - it's not an all-or-nothing decision as it is with a pure-play outsourcer."