What are managed infrastructure services (MIS) in IT? Guide for businesses

Managing an enterprise IT environment can be a complex, time-consuming and – if handled incorrectly – even risky task. This is why many businesses turn to managed infrastructure services (MIS). But what are managed infrastructure services and what do they mean for your business IT infrastructure?

In Evernex’s simple guide, discover the business benefits of Managed Infrastructure Services, what MIS covers and how it differs from Third-Party Maintenance. Let’s get started!

What are managed infrastructure services?

When a business employs Managed Infrastructure Services for their IT, this means they outsource the monitoring, management, maintenance and optimization of their data center or IT infrastructure to a third-party provider.

Essentially, MIS provides a comprehensive, proactive suite of services to ensure the consistent availability, security and efficiency of business IT systems.

 

Why do businesses use MIS?

IT infrastructures are crucial to almost every aspect of business operations, from virtual communications to data storage to transactions. Their continued performance, reliability and security allow operations to run smoothly, while IT failures can cause significant disruption. Therefore, keeping their IT systems in good condition is a must for any business.

However, this process can be complicated and expensive.

A data center consists of a range of hardware and software components. Each requires expert knowledge and sometimes specialist equipment to maintain at their best.

A key reason businesses choose to switch to MIS is that IT maintenance requires advanced technical knowledge, especially to resolve complex issues or failures. Not all businesses have internal IT teams to fix unexpected server problems or optimize their systems. Indeed, some businesses find that having an internal IT department on hand is not cost-effective. This is because it represents a considerable long-term expense even when it is not consistently necessary.

While data center hardware is under warranty, the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) should provide support and updates. However, after this warranty ends, OEM support phases out and eventually ceases altogether. If a business does not have alternative support in place, their infrastructure could become vulnerable to failures and security breaches. MIS ensures that their IT hardware stays secure, compliant and functional.

Key takeaway: Business may decide to employ MIS because:

• Their hardware’s OEM no longer provides support
• Multi-vendor, large-scale or virtualized IT environments can be complicated to manage
• The internal IT team doesn’t have the necessary skills or resources
• It is more cost-effective than employing an internal IT team

 

What services does MIS include?

Managed Infrastructure Services covers a range of IT support and maintenance services. These cover key aspects of business IT, such as its hardware components, software programs, networks and storage.

The main Managed Infrastructure Services include, but are not limited to:

• Hardware inspections
• Repairs or replacements of faulty components
• Software updates
• Security testing and patches
• System optimizations
• Virtualization assistance
• Troubleshooting

In combination, these services help get the most out of IT systems, maximizing their value for money and improving professional efficiency.

 

Who is it for?

MIS is, above all, for businesses. More specifically, it caters for companies which do not have the resources internally to manage their IT systems.

Alternatively, some businesses have said resources but find that an internal IT support team is not cost-effective. In this case, they may choose to switch to third-party data center maintenance or managed IT infrastructure services.

MIS is also useful for businesses undergoing significant growth or evolutions in their IT infrastructures, such as shifting to hybrid formats.

Outsourcing the management of these evolving systems to experts removes the responsibility of staying on top of IT changes, especially if the systems are already complex.

In-house IT management vs Managed Infrastructure Services

In-house

The company’s internal IT team is responsible for the entire infrastructure lifecycle. This includes:

• hardware procurement
• system configuration
• security monitoring
• patch management
• Backups
• Compliance
• troubleshooting

In this case, the business must allocate staff, training, and budget to maintain these systems internally.

Availability, security, and recovery capabilities depend on internal staff and infrastructure investments. While this approach offers maximum control, it can also create vulnerabilities if resources or skills are limited.

MIS

With MIS, the MSP (managed service provider) handles day-to-day infrastructure operations and is responsible for tasks such as:

• Infrastructure monitoring
• Maintenance
• Updates
• Optimization
• Incident response

The internal IT team remains responsible for strategic oversight, governance, and alignment with business goals.

MIS also reduces operational risk by distributing it across specialized providers which leverage standardizes processes, redundant infrastructure and trained security teams. This can improve resilience, monitoring, and response times in case of issues.

<tbody>agement

Aspect	Managed Infrastructure Services	In-House IT Management
Responsibility	Monitoring, maintenance, patching, performance optimization, and incident response. Internal teams focus on strategy, governance, and business alignment.	The internal IT team is responsible for the full infrastructure lifecycle.
Operational Risk	Risk is managed and reduced by specialized providers with the appropriate systems, teams and infrastructure.	Operational risk is concentrated in the company and depends on internal resources, expertise, and infrastructure investments.

What parts of an IT infrastructure does MIS cover?

In principle, Managed Infrastructure Services cover every aspect of business data center maintenance. Here are the main ones:

Data center aspect	Why?
Networks	Configuring, maintaining and optimizing networks for top performance ensures the quick and fluid transfer of data throughout the enterprise.
Security	Implementing, monitoring and testing security protocols safeguards systems against unauthorized access, cyber threats and data breaches.
Data Storage	Managing and optimizing data storage solutions ensures reliable access, scalability and protection of critical business information.
Hardware	Keeping hardware such as servers up-to-date, functional and secure facilitates efficient operations and reduces downtime.
Systems management	Overseeing operating systems and enterprise applications maintains stability and performance while streamlining operations.
Cloud computing	Supporting cloud infrastructures integrates on-premises systems with virtual environments, promoting scalability and flexibility.
Disaster recovery	Establishing recovery plans protects your data integrity and helps the rapid restoration of services following outages or failures.

What is the difference between TPM and MIS?

Managed infrastructure services are closely related to Third-Party Maintenance. However, there are some important differences between the two.
Key Differences:

Feature	Third-Party Maintenance (TPM)	Managed Infrastructure Services (MIS)
Focus	Hardware maintenance	Full infrastructure management
Scope	Corrective support and reparations, part replacements	Proactive maintenance, includes monitoring and optimization
Lifespan	Often used for legacy systems	Suitable for modern, evolving infrastructure

TPM is ideal for businesses with older hardware models in need of maintenance, without paying OEM prices. Meanwhile, MIS is a better option for companies looking to outsource a more holistic IT management.

Is there a difference between Managed IT Services and Managed Infrastructure Services?

Yes, there is a difference, although the two are closely linked. Managed Infrastructure Services focus on core enterprise IT hardware, as well as operating systems and virtualized environments, such as those built on platforms like VMware. Managed IT Services are broader, taking into account software, applications, end-user support and collaboration tools.

What are the main benefits of managed infrastructure services?

Here are a few of the main ways businesses benefit from using Managed IT Infrastructure Services:

Reduced costs

Gartner famously confirmed that outsourcing to Third-Party Maintenance can save businesses up to 70% in maintenance costs. Similarly, infrastructure management services also offers considerable savings. Above all, reasons for this include:

1. Flexible Service-Level Agreements mean you only pay for the services you will use. This contrasts to paying for overpriced OEM contract renewals or perhaps unnecessary in-house support.
2. Prevention is better than cure. Regular inspections help to diagnose potential issues before they worsen, minimizing downtime and the lost revenue it causes.
3. Repairs and refurbished part replacements avoid the need to replace entire IT infrastructure. Certified refurbished parts, such as those provided by Evernex, are also far more affordable than brand-new models.

Access to cutting-edge support

Providers such as Evernex supply on-going training for its engineers. This ensures that their knowledge and practical experience align with the latest technologies, industry standards and best practices. This means businesses benefit from services that reflect the most current innovations and problem-solving approaches.
Here’s how this helps businesses on a practical level:

1. Engineers handle new technologies and evolving infrastructure challenges efficiently, reducing downtime to a minimum.
2. Proactive updates and modern support strategies reduce the risk of outdated methods compromising system performance.

Consolidated contracts

Consolidation of  business’s IT management into a single point of contact, with complete visibility on every asset and system, simplifies administration and reduces the risk of blindspots.

Regular, expert IT maintenance

With MIS, skilled engineers are on hand to perform routine support services. Without regular maintenance, your business IT systems are liable to become outdated or damaged.

Expert technical maintenance extends the lifespan of hardware through careful repairs, part-replacements and optimizations. Across the IT industry, awareness of the importance of lifecycle extension is growing rapidly. Here’s a few ways MIS supports IT lifecycle management and extension:

• Proactive maintenance keeps your IT assets working better for longer, maximizing uptime and reducing the costs of upgrades and unnecessary replacements.
• Elongating your data center hardware’s lifecycle avoids the production of e-waste. It also lowers the demand for new hardware manufacturing, and the carbon emissions and resource extraction it causes. This helps your business meet its sustainability goals.
• Thoughtful optimizations improve operational efficiency, increasing productivity by allowing businesses to carry out more functions more quickly and with fewer errors. They also reduce system downtime, which can affect businesses’ operational efficiency and income.

Protection from burn-out and skills gaps

The benefits of managed IT services don’t stop at your infrastructure, but also directly affect your teams. Managed services can plug the hole in case understaffed IT teams, rather than allowing excessive workloads for existing employees.

IT is changing rapidly, and not all companies have the resources to invest in on-going training for their IT teams. In this case, managed infrastructure service companies make up for any gaps in your team’s IT knowledge and abilities. This relieves some of the pressure on your employees and prevents long-term issues such as burn-out.

Evernex and Managed Infrastructure Services

Evernex is a leading provider of Third-Party Maintenance and IT lifecycle management services for business IT infrastructures and data centers. We offer comprehensive support services for servers and other enterprise IT hardware performative and secure in every stage of its lifecycle.

Here are just a few of the top benefits of collaborating with Evernex for your TPM and MIS needs:

Benefit	What does it mean?
Skilled engineers	Evernex’s technicians receive ongoing, top-quality training. This means they can efficiently diagnose and resolve any hardware failure or issues in your system.
24/7 availability	Our expert engineers are available any time of the day or night, in case of any unexpected problems.
Spare-as-a-Service (SPaaS)TM	Evernex’s TM program provides certified refurbished replacement parts for your data center infrastructure. The restored and rigorously tested components offer a sustainable, affordable alternative to new hardware.
Inspections and repairs	We routinely inspect your data center to ensure that all components are in top condition. We then repair any damaged or faulty elements, maximizing their service life.
<strong>Global reach	With a presence in over 165 countries, Evernex can assist you, wherever your data center is in the world.
Single point of contact	Evernex offers multi-vendor, multi-model expertise. This means that you can rely on Evernex to support all your devices instead of juggling several contracts.

Managed Infrastructures Services ensure your business IT systems receive the support they need, for a significant cost saving. To find out if it is time to make the switch from OEM support to MIS, or Third-Party Maintenance, check out our blog post 4 Signs It’s Time to Switch from OEM Support to Third-Party Maintenance. Otherwise, talk to an Evernex expert today.

 

The future of infrastructure management services

IT is facing dramatic and quick-moving changes, influenced by factors such as the rise of AI and cloud-computing. Businesses are having to race to keep up in an increasingly online market and with evermore complex cyber security issues. Such developments require sufficiently powerful, connected and secure infrastructure.

In line with this shift from traditional data centers to hybrid, cloud, hyperconverged and converged data center models, infrastructure services companies will need the skills and tools to deal with evolving IT trends, such as server virtualization. This will affect MIS operations by shifting the focus toward centralized monitoring, lifecycle coordination, and cross-domain expertise. It will also require agility, ongoing training and investment in their teams, as well as in cutting-edge resources.

As business IT infrastructures become more complex and the skills gap widens, Managed Infrastructure Services will see a lot of opportunities. However, this also means staying ahead of the curve to keep up with changing IT trends.

Frequently Asked Questions

See below for quick answers to common questions about MIS: