How Does Managed IT + Hardware as a Service Work?

How Does Managed IT + Hardware as a Service Work?

In this article, we discuss

• The correlation between managed IT and hardware-as-a-service
• How Hardware-as-a-service works
• Advantages of Haas and why businesses should choose it.

To put it simply, managed IT services ensure the right attention is given to your firm. When an organization encounters problems, they have to designate more resources and time to ensure it is fixed as soon as possible.

This invariably leads to less revenue for the company because more focus is placed on fixing or reducing likely problems to the barest minimum. For this reason, it is important for companies to take advantage of the benefits managed services have to offer.

Why Managed IT Services?

With managed IT, a business transfers its IT operations to an MSP i.e. a Managed Service Provider. The provider assumes around the clock responsibility of managing and resolving problems for the company’s IT systems.

Some companies may decide to outsource their entire IT operation or specific parts of it. This depends on the company’s needs, their internal structure and most importantly, their IT requirements.

Managed IT + Hardware as a Service

Several people are quite familiar with managed IT, unlike HaaS or Hardware-as-a-Service. HaaS offers businesses an affordable and flexible way to keep their IT infrastructure up to date.

There’s a key difference to note between managed services and HaaS. For managed services, the provider manages and monitors the equipment owned by the company while the second option allows the company to rent some or all of their computing power/equipment for their IT support services.

Although HaaS is relatively new, several businesses are adopting it at a fast pace due to the advantages they get from it. By adopting the HaaS model, companies especially start-ups don’t have to spend excessively on equipment purchases upfront.

How Hardware-as-a-Service Works

There’s no denying aging computers have a negative impact on productivity due to slow performance. This is a problem most companies battle with on a regular basis.

Worse still, the cost of upgrading computing equipment is quite substantial while the purchase process can also be time consuming. HaaS takes care of these problems for companies that don’t have a dedicated IT budget or department to periodically change hardware.

You can compare the hardware-as-a-service model to leasing or licensing because the computing gear is borrowed instead of being bought. An MSP buys the equipment and also help to install it for the company wherever they state.

The SLA (Service Level Agreement) and contract explicitly defines the kind of service expected, equipment description and other extras like security tools, printing or disaster recovery.

When it comes to payment, there are several options available to the customer. They can go for a package that entails installation, maintenance and monitoring or they could pay a monthly subscription for the equipment.

If the hardware breaks down or degrades, the MSP will replace it. The provider can also change the entire equipment after an agreed period – it all depends on the terms of the agreement. The decommissioning process starts the moment the device is replaced.

Proprietary data are permanently deleted while broken, old or outdated equipment are legally recycled. Hard drives are also destroyed physically.

Why Should Businesses Choose Hardware-As-A-Service?

By choosing HaaS, capital expenses are freed up and it can be converted to other uses like operating expenses.

With this model, businesses can pay attention to more important work without bothering about infrastructure problems like expiration of licenses or coffee spills on laptops.

HaaS is not a one size fits all kind of model as it can be customized to suit the needs of specific companies – from managed software and hardware down to metal servers.

Any business that chooses the managed services hardware-as-a-service model is ensuring its employees stay ahead of the curve because they’ll use the latest hardware.

Types of Technology Available As Hardware-as-a-Service?

The types of technology available to businesses that choose hardware-as-a-service are:

• Dedicated Computers
• Virtualization Technologies
• Firewalls
• File Servers
• Switches and Routers
• Storage Devices

Advantages of Hardware-as-a-service

Avoid the obstacle of upfront costs 

With HaaS, you don’t have to save to buy or finance buying expensive equipment. The MSP offers the exact hardware you need while you pay a usage fee and/or a subscription fee when the service(s) is used.

For most start-ups or companies, not owning an asset is economical. This way, they can take it off their balance sheet while managing costs as an operating expense.

Avoid Tech’s Fear of Missing Out 

As components and hardware become outdated at an alarming rate, so does new tech emerge. This leaves most customers with tech FOMO. By providing these needed assets as a service, it is left to the company to either update, upgrade or replace hardware.

Getting Value

The value a business gets by choosing HaaS is in line with its actual need instead of just getting the equipment for the sake of it. The hardware-as-a-service solution is built around the actual needs of the business and it’s aligned to provide solutions to those needs.

This way, the business does not fall into the cycle of buying a solution with unnecessary features that may never be used.

No Maintenance 

If the equipment develops a fault, all you need to do is to contact the MSP and they’ll see to it that it’s fixed. In most cases, there’s someone that monitors the equipment from time to time and they carry out updates or proactive maintenance to ensure things run smoothly and securely.

The cost of repairs are often factored into your monthly payments which doesn’t change from what’s in the SLA. In addition, the MSP can simply change the defective unit if repairs will take time so you don’t suffer downtime for too long.

Conclusion

HaaS gives you the freedom to use the latest and the best hardware to achieve your business goals with little risk and less cost. As luck will have it, several businesses are joining the fray and it can only evolve and get better with time.

If this is something you’ll like to explore or you want to know more about it, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.