The document discusses IT managed services and the benefits of a fixed bid model. IT managed services involves outsourcing IT projects and functions to a third party vendor. A fixed bid model provides known costs, deliverables, and a flexible team size. This allows clients to free up time for IT managers and add staff as needed. Benefits include establishing rates with multiple vendors, improved staffing options, reduced project costs and legal obligations. The document cautions that projects require clear definitions and contingencies to avoid potential issues between multiple outsourced vendors. Establishing checkpoints and a post-production support period helps ensure successful delivery and transition of projects.

1. Presented by:
Gene Pogreba
Technical Account Manager
Aptude Webinar Series
What You Need to Know About the
IT Managed Services Model
The Ins & Outs of the New Fixed Bid

2. What are IT Managed Services?
The “new” fixed bid
Known set of
deliverables
Known costs
“Too much”
Client
involvement
“Too little”
Client
involvement

3. How Does IT Managed
Services Model Fit Into Your
IT Project Portfolio?
Need
Additional
Staff
Need to
free-up time for
IT managers
FTEs
Managed
Services

4. Benefits of IT Managed Services

5. • Getting to know
multiple vendors
• Establish
– Rates
– Effort
– Location of work
– Known project costs
• Base price
• Travel expenses
• Contingency

6. • Flexible team size
• Knowledge building
on vendor’s time
• Improved staff
augmentation pool

7. • Project cost
• Travel expenses
• Contingency
– Overrun
– Minor changes
– Missed requirements

8. • Define:
Processes
Document
deliverables
Development
deliverables
QA Deliverables
Implementation and
warranty deliverables

9. • Legal transfer
– Contractual obligation
• “Good will” transfer
– Vendor wants the
client to succeed
– Vendor wants to
build relationship
– Vendor wants the
next project

10. • High level oversight
– Weekly status
– Issue escalation
• No HR admin
– Reviews
– Time tracking
• No transition
planning
– Resources go away

11. Things to Watch Out For

12. • Low definition of
deliverables
• Missing rates
• Missing effort by
deliverables
• Low-ball bids
– What’s the vendor
benefit
– Will the vendor try to
make it up elsewhere
• Client-known “gotchas!”

13. • Clear project definition
– Understanding of the
desired results
– Ability to “spec out”
a valid estimate
• Consider breaking apart
larger projects with
greater unknowns
– Analysis project
– Development project
• Losing core
competency experience
• Crossing vendors

14. Crossing Vendors: Cautionary Example
•SIT
•UAT
•Performance
testing
•Data modeling
•Development
•Unit testing
•Business
requirements
•Analysis
•Functional design
Analysis &
Design
Development
TestingMaintenance
Vendor 1 Vendor 2
Vendor 3Vendor 4
Vendor
Potential breakdowns between Vendors 1 & 2:
• Loss of continuity
• Added expense
• Missed information
• Specific requirements
• General knowledge
• Finger-pointing

15. • Defined process
– Add to plan
– Ensure delivery
• Contingency
Consideration
• Number of changes
• Maturity through
relationship growth

16. • Known vendors
– Leverage relationship
• New vendors
– Adds competition
– New resource pools
– Request samples
– Request references
• Beware of pure offshore
– Communication issues
– Reduced visibility

17. • Remember, client is
engaged in process
• Checkpoints
– Reviews of designs
– Reviews of code
– User Acceptance
Testing
– Production turnover
• Readiness
• Support transition

18. Development Phase
Closed
Statement of
Work
Project Plan
Functional
Design
Technical
Design
Test Plan Test Cases
30-day
Post-production Support
IT Biz & IT Biz & IT IT
Testing Phase
ETL & BI
Report Dev.
Unit Testing
System
Integration
Testing
IT IT IT
Requirements
Document
Client
User
Acceptance
Testing
Client

19. Summary
• IT Managed Services optimizes client/vendor
involvement
– Helps free up your time for other projects
– Relieves you of project staffing concerns
• Managed Services should be a natural
extension of the IT department
– Statement of Work provides peace of mind that
costs and deliverables are known
– Relationship provides flexibility

20. Thank you!
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Aptude Webinar Series
What You Need to Know About the
IT Managed Services Model
The Ins & Outs of the New Fixed Bid