Managed Data Services – what you need to know

According to Global Newswire, there has been a shift from traditional in-house towards outsourcing models with around 60% of organisations being dependent on outsourcing companies. There is no evidence of a decline in this shift or approach as managed services offer several benefits, most importantly a reduction in costs. Managed services are becoming paramount across a number of technology fields including cloud and data engineering.

In this article, we will explore what managed services for data are, what you need to know and how to get started.

What are managed data services?

Managed data services are when an organisation will outsource data projects on an ongoing basis to a data engineering company. These services can range from operational monitoring and support, and data management to data warehousing. There are many benefits on offer when it comes to managed services, which is why it is becoming increasingly popular for organisations of all sizes. We will now cover these benefits and limitations below.

The pros of managed services for data

Reduced costs – One of the biggest benefits on offer when it comes to the pros of managed data services is the reduction in costs. You can save costs in multiple including avoiding recruitment costs and salary costs. Building a high-performing data engineering team can be a costly venture, therefore many businesses will opt for a managed approach.

Peace of mind – Peace of mind is another winning benefit as your data and the data infrastructure will be in expert hands. If you choose the right company, they will have processes in place to ensure your data is running in line with expectations.

Improved security – Data security is a priority for managed data services providers as it can make or break their business and can also be detrimental in terms of costs and damages. Hence, the majority of good data services providers will have robust data security measures in place or have acquired data security certifications such as ISO 27001.

Access to expert skills – For most businesses, the salaries of their employees will be one of the biggest expenses especially if you have highly skilled and highly experienced individuals on the team. So, a great alternative is accessing those expert skills and experience through managed data services.

Avoid licensing costs – More than likely, you can avoid licensing costs of technologies used to build the data infrastructure. However, keep in mind if you are using cloud services, then you will be covering the costs for those services.

The cons of managed services for data

Data security – Robust data security is a benefit; however, some organisations may find it difficult to trust the data security of providers, especially when sensitive data is concerned. Consequently, due diligence needs to be carried out when it comes to selecting the right partner.

Physical presence – When you have an in-house team working for you, there is a clear physical presence which some businesses may require, whether it is down to preference or security. However, the vast majority of the world is moving towards remote work, therefore this does not have to be a concern, especially if you have regular communication with your managed services provider.

Reduced knowledge retention – If you are outsourcing all your data services, then you are not retaining any knowledge within your team and organisations. However, this can also be a challenge with in-house teams if there is a high staff turnover.

How to get started with data managed services

Getting started with managed data services may be daunting as you may have concerns about some of the limitations listed. However, ensuring you choose the right data services partner is crucial. Here are factors to look into if you are looking to work with a third party:

• Expert skills
• Relevant experience
• Problem-solving and error-reporting processes
• Structured communication approach
• Robust security measures
• High level of knowledge to provide advice and guidance
• Capacity to deal with your project and data

Ardent managed services for data

Whether you are looking to meet and increase service level or customer expectations, the Ardent team can help. We offer multiple services such as data engineering teams, operational monitoring and support, project-based teams and software engineering teams. However, if you are looking for a more bespoke approach, then we can also accommodate that. Explore our customer success stories to find out how we are providing managed services for data to our existing clients, and how we can help you.

Making data science efficient with trusted expert operational monitoring and support

Improving data turnaround by 80% with Databricks for a Fortune 500 company

Driving powerful insights with Robust, scalable data pipelines built on AWS infrastructure

Get in touch to find out more or explore our managed services. 

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