RampRate Sourcing Advisors, Strategic Research

Network & Bandwidth  |   Data Center & Colocation  |   CDN  |   Managed Services
Payment Processing  |   Insource vs. Outsource  |   Strategic Business Planning

Managed Services: Benchmarking, Sourcing & Procurement

Managed services is one of the most nuanced nascent disciplines in the IT sourcing landscape. Key challenges for transforming the business using best-in-class outsourced infrastructure help include:

• Complex in-source vs. outsource decisions - with hundreds of cost and service quality dimensions, the initial decision to outsource can be fraught with risk.
• Variety of approaches - options range from full-service outsourcing to local and remote device, management, narrowly targeted professional services (e.g. remote DBA), and user support domestic, near shore and offshore.
• Dozens of pricing models - unlike other IT outsourcing disciplines, non-traditional pricing strategies such as revenue share, SLA-driven compensation, and both hourly and per device / instance fees open opportunities for optimization of existing arrangements.
• Long path to support of critical processes - installation and ramp-up timelines are often measured in months, and lack of documentation and/or resistance to change on the part of incumbents - internal and external alike - can undermine the process at critical junctures.

The impact of positive change can be staggering in terms of cost, service uptime, process visibility / transparency, metrics, and the ability of IT to absorb and respond to business needs. The downside can be crippling, with many instances of high frustration and near-insurmountable switching costs.

RampRate's Managed Services Practice

RampRate's managed services practice has identified and actualized millions in savings for buyers of remote and local application management and full-service hosting. Transcending in-house shared services and various levels of outsourcing; on-shore, off-shore, and hybrid; and payment models ranging from per-transaction and revenue share to simple hourly services.

RampRate's successes include:

• Identified up to 51% cost reduction by moving from a shared services architecture to an outsourced model, while shoring up the current in-house services with a stronger SLA.
• Removed more than 90% of hourly billed project charges and established clear delineation for in-scope vs. out-of-scope services, reducing ongoing costs by more than $1M / year.
• Oversaw a successful major restructuring of an e-commerce website, with a move to a fully outsourced model charged on a per-transaction basis, resulting in increased uptime and decreased support costs.
• Provided full cost certainty for advanced remote DBA services, while enabling the client to reduce its budget by 30%

Our practice's client roster includes top names in retail, publishing, financial services, and high tech.

Request A Complimentary Top-Line Benchmark

If you are spending more than $250k per year on Managed Services in a per-device pricing / utility model, you may be eligible for RampRate to perform a complimentary review of three of your current contracts in the form of a no-cost Top-Line Benchmark.

The Top-Line Benchmark will identify opportunities to improve your contractual positions with respect to service levels, costs, business terms, and risk mitigation.

The Top-Line Benchmark is a no-cost, confidential service performed by our analyst team.

If you have general exploratory questions or would like a consultation with one of our Managed Services experts, please contact Michael Hoch, Chief Strategy Officer, (310) 319-1599.