As our market becomes more and more saturated with “Managed Service Providers” I find myself struggling to believe that a one/two-man shop can be a true managed service provider.  AndersonPC has been working this business model since 2007 and has just recently felt like we’ve developed the correct infrastructure, process, procedures, and product offerings to truely call ourselves a Managed Service Provider.

I suppose the basic level of Managed Services can be defined by wikipedia:

“Managed services is the practice of transferring day-to-day related management responsibility as a strategic method for improved effective and efficient operations.  The person or organization who owns or has direct oversight of the organization or system being managed is referred to as the offerer, client, or customer.  The person or organization that accepts and provides the managed service is regarded as the service provider.”

To me, this definition just defines IT Outsourcing at its basic level.  Is that all that MSP’s (Managed Service Providers) do?   Are we just and IT Outsource provider standing under a different tent?

I suppose the question is:  how do I define managed services?  It seems to me its got to be much more than just IT Outsourcing.
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