Not only is revenue necessary to a business’ survival, but it remains at the core of which operational and IT management decisions are based upon. With shrinking budgets, cash-strapped organizations are increasingly adopting managed services – or the outsourcing of IT functions – as the premier alternative to internally managing network, telephony, and mobility and security services.

According to a recent study from CompTIA, four in 10 of today’s channel companies are reportedly offering managed services, and this adoption isn’t showing any sign of slowing down. The growth of MSP-based environments is projected to steadily continue over the next several years and will be catalyzed by the motivation to reap significant annual cost savings.

A variety of types of service providers and value-added resellers are embracing the managed services model to offer their customers innovative and cost effective ways to outsource IT functions so they may focus on their core business models. The proof is in the numbers, as findings from CompTIA (News - Alert) show that 46 percent of end-user organizations already utilizing external service providers have cut down yearly IT expenditures by 25 percent or more, 13 percent have trimmed their costs by 50 percent or higher, and another half of organizations have saved between 1 and 24 percent in annual IT costs.

Businesses turning to MSPs are quickly discovering that this method will not only boost revenue in the long run, but also empowers their IT teams to be more strategic and flexible in effectively deploying new applications. And with many businesses experiencing limited resources and expertise, MSPs have proven to alleviate the maintenance and risks associated with internally managing IT deployments.

To learn more about what business scenarios may pose the need for a managed or hosted service, how managed services can ease the adoption of new technologies and trim costs, and factors to consider when selecting a provider, Sprint (News - Alert) will be hosting a free webinar entitled “The Bona Fide Value in Managed Services,” this Thursday, Dec. 1, 2 p.m. EST/11 a.m. PST. There’s still time left to sign up – register now!

Tammy Wolf is a TMCnet web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Carrie Schmelkin