Deirdre Joubert, Application Managed Services Architect, EOH AMS Centre of Excellence, says that to derive optimal performance from IT investments, it is not enough to design your infrastructure and applications to provide the desired business outcomes. You must also ensure high availability, high performance, and high service levels by putting in place robust IT services. In this regard, the key challenge for IT organisations is to deliver efficient and high-quality services for managing IT, at optimal cost.
All businesses, Joubert says, need applications that are secure, reliable, and always up-to-date. However, the in-house operation and maintenance of these are labour-intensive and costly. This is why application managed services is an attractive alternative. An experienced, reputable service provider can deliver the high standards of quality, reliability and security the business relies upon – while reducing costs. A managed service option allows the business to concentrate on its core business for greater competitiveness, agility, and profitability.
An application managed services provider supports an organisation’s systems on their behalf, and, where required, enhances the functionality of these according to the company’s needs – and in line with a service level agreement. The infrastructure and applications remain in-house and the company benefits from the economies of scale that the provider can achieve. Application managed services are dynamic in nature and can be adapted to suit changing, real-world demand.
“Organisations eager to develop, maintain, and manage a diverse application portfolio often face costly challenges. If you add in the mandate to ensure that the portfolio operates with benchmark efficiency, while ensuring the highest quality of service, the complexity can seem insurmountable. Professional management of support mission-critical tasks, access to skilled resources (without having to hire, train and retain staff), and reduced operating and support costs are but a few of the benefits of investing in application managed services,” says Joubert.
An outline of the fundamentals of AMS:
- Flexible and effective ongoing support to deliver services at predictable costs and defined service levels.
- Build a stable application environment and implement processes with defined service levels.
- Provide business-proven management solutions that reduce the cost of ownership while increasing service delivery.
- Processes and methods aligned to ITIL
- More control over change/enhancements requests through better governance
An outline of what AMS must achieve:
- Reduced cost of ownership
- Improved business performance
- Proven methodologies and best practices
- Improved service levels
- Optimisation and continuous improvement
