How to navigate the co-management conundrum in MSP engagements
Co-management is a key part of many arrangements between enterprise IT teams and their managed service providers (MSP), but it’s not always clear where the management boundaries and overlaps exist and how they should be handled.
Oftentimes, enterprises land on a co-management approach because they don’t want to give up total control, and the MSP may be promising productive cooperation with prospective customers to provide reassurance and close the deal. In practice, co-managed technology services can vary widely depending on the type of services being offered and the parties involved.
For the sake of this article, let’s assume that enterprises are already committed to outsourcing some elements of their IT and communications services to an MSP partner. The benefits of outsourcing – such as expense or headcount reduction, increased expertise, improved productivity, core business focus and enhanced capability – are well established, and the potential risks and concerns – including loss of control, reduced flexibility, dwindling internal expertise and fears about data protection and ownership – are also well known.