Good, experienced IT professionals are hard to find and hard to keep, and IT organizations are continually getting squeezed, having to do more with less. Outsourcing remote management as a solution to this includes everything from basic monitoring only to completely outsourcing enterprise management of systems, networks and applications. Clearly, the ability to have someone else providing a 24-7 watch over IT operations is attractive to many. For some, the attraction is simply insurance. Having the outsourcing vendor provide proactive management is the next big plus.
Opinions vary widely on how much to outsource.
For those that are currently outsourcing at least some remote monitoring functions, most seem to be largely satisfied with the results. Improving availability by decreasing problem identification and resolution time seems to be viewed as one of the biggest benefits. Another word of advice from those experienced in this area is that remote management must be looked at holistically. While a remote management service must be based on some solid technology, that alone is not enough. The process around the technology is also key to success, as are the people providing the service.