Why outsource network services?
Outsourcing network services allows organizations to reduce costs, gain 24/7/365 monitoring and support, fill gaps in staff expertise, and gain an expert consulting perspective. Flexible providers can easily work alongside a customer’s existing IT staff, which means outsourcing network services isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition.
Here are the detailed benefits of outsourcing network services.
1. Improved network reliability
A managed network services provider will give you a well-defined SLA for network uptime and support response time. Since the agreement is governed by a contract between two businesses, rather than a relationship with an employee, customers can trust that their provider will fulfill their promises or face consequences.
2. Improved network flexibility and scalability
Network requirements frequently change over time. A company may open a new location, acquire another company, or launch a new line of business. Network management services offer the flexibility and scalability that growing businesses need.
3. Reduced costs
In-house network management can become quite expensive. Consider the latest salary data for network professionals:
In today’s labor market, it’s difficult to hire and retain these resources. They can make a great salary anywhere they go. When you outsource network services, you get a single line item, a firm contractual commitment, and a guarantee that top professionals are handling your network.
4. Staff can refocus on core responsibilities
Internal IT teams often struggle to keep up with a wide range of responsibilities. Outsourcing network services allows your IT staff to focus on helpdesk, end user support, strategic or value-added activities, or wherever their time is best spent.
5. Gain visibility into future network spend requirements
A strong network services provider should help you plan your technology roadmap over the next several years (typically three years). This ensures that you aren’t surprised by massive investments that are required ASAP to keep the business running. A roadmap allows you to determine where you need to go as a business, and what changes may be required to support that strategy.
6. Gain integrated network management and security
Network management and network security are no longer separate concerns. They should be treated as a single, integrated discipline. Network support services empower an organization to hand off both management and security to a single provider, as long as that provider has deep cybersecurity expertise (as Corsica Technologies does).
Unfortunately, some providers want to design and manage a customer’s network, but they don’t want to handle security. They will typically outsource network security services to a subcontractor. This can lead to providers and internal IT pointing fingers at each other.
This is why organizations should choose a network managed services provider who handles both management and security with one integrated team. This is our approach here at Corsica Technologies.
What equipment is typically covered by network management services?
Managed network services should cover all equipment related to your network infrastructure. Not every network has every type of device, but here are the main ones that your provider should manage.
- Modems. These devices connect your network to your ISP. Sometimes a modem is housed in the same package as a router.
- Firewalls. These essential devices check network traffic against predetermined rules to detect and block malicious activity.
- Routers. Routers sit between networks, where they look at data packets and forward them to the appropriate network.
- Switches. Switches sit between devices on a network, where they look at packets and forward them to the appropriate physical device.
- Wireless access point (WAP or AP). This is a radio device that provides internet access to devices like laptops or mobile phones.
These are the most common managed network devices. Other devices may include bridges, different types of gateways, repeaters, and hubs. A good provider will align their hardware coverage, as well as their services, to your needs.
What services are included in managed network services?
Managed network services cover everything related to your network infrastructure and performance. Ideally, these services should cover cybersecurity as well, as it’s impossible to manage a network safely without an integrated security practice.
Here’s everything that’s typically covered.
24x7x365 monitoring, troubleshooting, and support
Things can go wrong on a network at any time. That’s why 24x7x365 monitoring is essential, and a good managed services provider will cover this responsibility.
However, monitoring alone isn’t enough. When something does go wrong, who’s going to deal with it?
Look for a managed provider who not only monitors the network but supports it too. This type of provider will notify you, but it won’t be your responsibility to address the issue. Your provider will cover it.
Preventative maintenance
Network services should never operate in “reaction” mode only. Proactive maintenance is an essential part of preventing outages and security incidents. This is why the best network services providers don’t only respond to alerts—they actually plan for the future, keep equipment up to date, and conduct maintenance before problems arise.
Ongoing performance optimization
Today’s businesses demand more from their networks than ever before. Between VoIP and video calls, cloud applications, and universal internet usage, business networks are often strained to the breaking point.
The result is laggy video calls, dropped connections, lost work in the cloud, and a negative impact on productivity.
Hence the need for ongoing performance optimization. A dedicated provider will review network performance continually, identify weaknesses, and devise plans to address them. Your provider will also implement the changes and provide any necessary support.
Network security services
Gone are the days when you could treat IT and cybersecurity as separate things. Every IT responsibility is also a cybersecurity responsibility—because every network, device, and user can be targeted.
A good provider will include managed network security as part of their services package. They’ll recommend and implement essential controls, such as:
- Identity verification
- Access control
- Authentication
- Authorization
- Cryptography
- VPN
- Email security
- Zero Trust controls
This list is not exhaustive. Your network may require unique controls. Your managed provider should understand your situation fully so they can advise and implement accordingly.
Network performance analytics
Modern networks are too complex for manual analysis. You need automated systems that report on network usage and performance in quantified terms.
But having automated analytics isn’t enough. Do you know what to do with that data?
A managed network provider works with this data every day. They know what they’re looking at, and they can easily compare your performance to an acceptable baseline. They can spot issues—and opportunities for improvement—that internal IT is too busy to handle.
What types of networks are typically covered by network managed services?
A good managed provider should tailor their network services to fit your needs. Depending on your scenario, you may require:
- LAN (local area network) services
- WAN (wide area network) services
- Cloud-based network services
- WLAN (wireless local area network) services
- CAN (campus area network) services
- SAN (storage area network) services
- EPN (enterprise private network) services
- VPN (virtual private network) services
If you’re not sure what type(s) of services you need, reach out to a managed provider like Corsica Technologies.
Hint: We’ll be happy to explore your current setup, diagnose any issues you’re facing, and chart a path for the future of your network.
Are managed network services different from managed connectivity services?
Yes, managed network infrastructure services and managed connectivity services are different, although they partially overlap and are frequently bundled together. At a high level, network services cover the entire network under scope, while connectivity services cover the ability of that network to connect to the outside world.
Here’s a comparison table that shows all the details.
Aspect | Managed Network Services | Managed Connectivity Services |
Primary focus | Network performance, security, and operations | Internet and WAN connections |
What’s managed | Routers, switches, firewalls, Wi‑Fi, LAN/WAN | Circuits (MPLS, DIA, broadband, SD‑WAN links) |
Scope | End‑to‑end network management | Transport and access only |
Security involvement | Often includes firewalls, segmentation, monitoring | Limited or none (connectivity only) |
Monitoring | Network health, traffic, devices, incidents | Link uptime, latency, packet loss |
Change management | Config changes, rule updates, optimization | Carrier coordination, circuit changes |
Who provides it | MSSPs, MSPs, network integrators | ISPs, telecom carriers, connectivity brokers |
Typical buyer | IT/security teams | IT or procurement teams |
Value delivered | Operational stability and security | Reliable access and bandwidth |
When should we choose managed network services vs. managed connectivity services?
Choose managed network solutions when you need end-to-end management of your network (including connectivity). Choose managed connectivity services when your internal IT team has your network covered, but you need to ensure connectivity.
Here’s a table to help you understand which service is right for your organization.
If your primary need is… | Purchase Managed Connectivity Services | Purchase Managed Network Services |
Reliable internet or WAN links | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Potentially (if your provider offers end-to-end management) |
Managing ISPs, carriers, and circuits | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Potentially (if your provider offers end-to-end management) |
Improving bandwidth, latency, or uptime | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Potentially (if your provider offers end-to-end management) |
Router, switch, or firewall management | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
Network security and policy enforcement | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
24/7 network monitoring and troubleshooting | ❌ Limited | ✅ Yes |
Configuration changes and optimization | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
Reducing internal IT/network workload | ⚠️ Partially | ✅ Yes |
End‑to‑end network operations | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
Is network-as-a-service the same thing as managed network services?
No, although they’re very similar and partially overlap. Both solutions give you a network run by a partner, and both include monitoring, configuration, and support. The actual dividing line is ownership and procurement, not labor.
- With managed network services, you own (or lease) the hardware and buy a provider’s expertise to run it—i.e. your Cisco gear, their engineers.
- With NaaS, you buy the network itself as a subscription. The provider owns the infrastructure, refreshes it, and bills you per user, per site, or per port, and management is bundled in because they own the stack.
Therefore, NaaS almost always includes managed services, but managed network services don’t necessarily include network hardware under a hardware-as-a-service model. The practical trade-off is that NaaS moves hardware off your balance sheet and eliminates refresh cycles, at the cost of adopting the provider’s platform. Meanwhile, managed network services work with whatever you already have, which may fit better in mixed or acquired environments.
Managed network services vs. NaaS comparison table
Aspect | Managed Network Services | Network as a Service (NaaS) |
What you’re buying | Expertise applied to your infrastructure | The network itself, as a subscription |
Who owns the hardware | You do (purchased or leased) | The provider does |
Financial model | CapEx for equipment + OpEx for service | Fully OpEx, consumption- or seat-based |
Hardware refresh | Your responsibility (roadmap-driven) | Provider’s responsibility, included |
Existing equipment | Works with your current stack | You adopt the provider’s platform |
Scaling | Procure, install, then manage | Provisioned on demand |
Management included | Yes, that’s the product | Yes; bundled, not separable |
Vendor lock-in | Low; providers are swappable | High; network and provider are one |
Best fit | Mixed environments, prior investment, M&A | Greenfield sites, rapid growth, refresh cycles |
Is an outsourced NOC the same thing as managed network services?
No, they’re not the same thing, though they’re closely related, and they partially overlap. An outsourced NOC (network operations center) provides operational monitoring, while managed network services provide daily administration and management, which includes operational monitoring.
In practice, there’s a key difference in where the accountability sits. With an outsourced NOC, your organization rents eyes and hands while remaining the brain behind it all. You still own the architecture, define the runbooks, manage the carriers, and take the escalation when something falls outside the script. Managed network services move that ownership to the provider.
Outsourced NOC vs. managed network services comparison table
Aspect | Outsourced NOC | Managed Network Services |
What it is | A delivery function (the team + facility) | A commercial service agreement |
Relationship | A component of the whole | The whole; usually delivered via a NOC |
Core scope | Monitoring, alerting, triage, runbook remediation | Outsourced NOC plus design, security, lifecycle, strategy |
Who owns architecture | The customer | The provider |
Who writes the runbooks | You do; the NOC executes them | The provider defines and executes |
Escalation path | Escalates to you | Provider resolves it |
Strategy / roadmap | Not included | Included (vCIO, multi-year planning) |
Vendor & carrier management | Yours | Provider’s |
Accountability | Measured on MTTA/MTTR and tickets | Measured on network uptime SLA |
Typical buyer | MSPs (white-label) and internal IT teams | End-user businesses |
How much do network management services cost?
Managed network services typically cost $500 – $15,000 per month, depending on the scope and complexity of the agreement and whether security is included. The provider’s billing model also has a significant effect on the overall cost of network support. For example, most MSPs bill per network device. Here at Corsica Technologies, we bundle network services with other managed IT support at a flat monthly rate, regardless of service consumption. This helps our customers avoid surprise bills while achieving budget stability.
Note: You can estimate your costs by using our Managed IT Services Pricing Calculator.
Keeping that billing distinction in mind (flat rate vs. per device), here are the typical cost ranges in the MSP market for various levels of network complexity.
Pricing by network complexity
Network profile | Typical monthly cost | What it looks like |
Simple | $500 – $1,500 | Single site, under ~50 users, one firewall, a handful of switches and APs, business-hours support. Often bumps into the provider’s contract minimum rather than true device cost. |
Moderately complex | $1,500 – $5,000 | Two to five sites, ~50–250 users, redundant firewalls, VPN, managed WLAN, 24/7 monitoring with remediation, some cloud connectivity. |
Complex | $5,000 – $15,000+ | Multi-site or enterprise, 250+ users, SD-WAN, high-availability design, segmentation, compliance obligations (HIPAA/CMMC/PCI), 50+ managed network devices. |
Ready to estimate pricing?
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What should you look for in a managed network services provider?
Look for a managed network services provider who offers predictable billing, deep expertise, and knowledge of your industry. Here’s what that looks like in detail.
Look for a provider who offers 100% predictable pricing and unlimited service consumption
It’s rare to find a managed network services provider who offers this value.
Most providers will bill for time and materials, which creates fluctuating costs as your needs change from month to month.
Corsica Technologies is different. We offer 100% predictable monthly pricing and unlimited service consumption.
You get peace of mind, and it’s easy to stick to a budget.
Look for a provider who maintains expertise and certifications
Your provider should have demonstrated expertise and up-to-date certifications relevant to networking. Look for certifications like:
- Cisco CCIE Routing and Switching
- Cisco CCIE Security
- Cisco CCDE (design)
- Cisco CCNP Cloud
- CompTIA Network+
Look for a provider who knows your industry and compliance requirements
Do you know how industry regulations apply to your network?
Your managed provider should know.
For example, if you’re in a regulated industry like healthcare, your provider should audit your wireless network security controls for compliance with HIPAA. And this is just one example.
Make sure your provider has reference clients in your industry and proven expertise achieving compliance with applicable regulations.
Look for a provider who offers a strong consulting perspective
Managed network services should cover your network from top to bottom. It’s not enough to have “boots on the ground” monitoring and managing your network. You also need that 50,000-foot perspective on where you’re at today, where you’re going, and how to get there.
This is why a good managed provider will offer robust consulting as part of their services package. Look for:
- Network assessment and planning
- Disaster recovery and redundancy
- Network security completely integrated to managed services
Look for a provider who offers the right SLA(s)
How much guaranteed uptime do you need from your network? And what kind of response time do you need on tickets?
Your managed network provider should offer the service level that your business needs. Make sure to be your own best advocate as you explore options.
Look for a provider who offers continuous optimization
Today’s networks don’t look the same as they did five years ago—or even last year. Best practices in network design, management, and cybersecurity are always evolving. The right provider will:
- Stay on top of these trends
- Understand them completely
- Advise on what they mean for your organization
- Implement the necessary changes
Look for a provider who offers a 3-year roadmap defining network strategy and spending
As we mentioned above, no one should suffer from unexpected spend requests in IT.
When it comes to managed network services, the right provider will include virtual CIO services in their package. A virtual CIO is a fractional IT executive who consults on your current environment and advises on the future. When you work with Corsica Technologies, this expert gives you a 3-year roadmap that outlines your future IT journey. It’s an essential component in optimizing your network for evolving business needs.
Look for a provider with robust monitoring and reporting
This is the minimum you should expect from a managed provider. At the very least, they need to monitor your network for performance issues and threats—and they should report on their findings regularly.
But if that’s all you’re getting, you’re not getting enough.
How to evaluate network managed services
Evaluating network managed services is less about comparing vendor feature lists than about defining your own requirements first. Providers will happily scope to whatever you ask for, but most buyers don’t know what to ask. The single most useful question in the whole process isn’t “what does it cost,” but rather, “what’s out of scope” and “how is it billed.” These questions are critical, as most MSPs don’t offer flat-rate pricing with unlimited service consumption. (Corsica Technologies is the exception.)
Overall, you should plan on four to eight weeks to conduct a serious evaluation of potential providers.
The evaluation process:
- Inventory your environment first. Count sites, network devices (firewalls, switches, routers, APs), users, and circuits. Note anything legacy, acquired, or non-standard, as that’s what drives pricing and disqualifies providers.
- Define what you’re actually buying. Fully managed services, co-managed services alongside internal IT, or monitoring only? These are different products with different price points and different accountability.
- Write down your requirements before demos. Uptime target, response-time SLA, hours of coverage, compliance frameworks in scope, escalation expectations. An RFP template helps here even if you don’t run a formal RFP.
- Screen for security integration. Ask whether network security is delivered by the same team or subcontracted. Subcontracted security can lead to finger-pointing and lack of ownership.
- Verify certifications and industry fit. Current networking credentials (CCIE/CCNP, Network+), plus reference clients in your vertical who’ve passed the audits you have to pass.
- Interrogate the pricing model, not the price. Per-device, per-user, tiered, or all-inclusive? Ask directly: What’s out of scope, what’s billed hourly, what triggers a change order, and what does onboarding cost?
- Test the SLA language. What’s guaranteed, how is it measured, what’s the remedy when it’s missed? An SLA with no consequence is a marketing document.
- Confirm monitoring includes remediation. Monitoring-only providers alert you and hand the problem back. Establish who fixes it at 2 a.m.
- Ask for the strategic layer. Roadmap, lifecycle planning, vCIO access. Without it you’re buying hands, not a partner, and you’ll own every refresh decision alone.
- Check references on the exit, not the honeymoon. Ask referees about their worst incident and their renewal negotiation, not whether onboarding went smoothly.
- Model total cost over three years. Include onboarding, projects, hardware refresh, and realistic out-of-scope work, not just the monthly rate.
How can enterprises use managed network services to simplify complex multi-vendor LAN and WAN environments?
Multi-vendor sprawl is rarely a design decision. Rather, it’s the result of uncoordinated network projects occurring across time. Acquisitions and localized management decisions are the usual culprits. This creates an environment in which Cisco, Meraki, Fortinet, and something nobody wants to touch all coexist behind four support contracts with four renewal dates and four escalation paths.
Managed network services don’t make that complexity disappear; they relocate it. The provider absorbs the multi-vendor burden, holding the certifications, the TAC relationships, and the carrier accounts. The provider also hands back a single accountable party operating under one SLA. The value shows up in two ways:
- During incidents, when the provider handles the situation without finger-pointing.
- Over time, the provider pushes you toward rationalization and strategic consolidation rather than letting the sprawl compound with each refresh cycle.
How enterprises use managed network services to simplify multi-vendor LAN/WAN:
- Consolidate to one accountable party. Four vendor contracts become one agreement with one SLA. The provider owns resolution regardless of whose logo is on the failing box.
- Normalize monitoring across heterogeneous gear. A provider’s NMS/RMM tooling ingests Cisco, Fortinet, Meraki, and Aruba into one view, replacing four consoles with one operational picture.
- Rent multi-vendor expertise you can’t justify hiring. Staffing a CCIE and an NSE-certified engineer and someone who knows your legacy platform may be unrealistic for one internal team. A provider spreads those specialists across clients, allowing their customers to benefit from economies of scale.
- Offload vendor and carrier management. The provider holds the TAC relationships, chases the RMAs, and coordinates circuit changes across regional ISPs.
- Use SD-WAN as an abstraction layer. An overlay decouples transport from policy, so mixed MPLS, broadband, and LTE links across sites behave as one managed fabric regardless of underlying carrier or hardware.
- Enforce consistent security policy across platforms. Segmentation and firewall rules applied uniformly, rather than drifting per-site because each platform was configured by whoever inherited it.
- Rationalize deliberately via roadmap. A vCIO-led 3-year plan converges the estate toward fewer platforms at natural refresh points.
- Consolidate renewals and lifecycle tracking. One party tracking end-of-life dates across the whole estate, so nothing quietly falls out of support.
- Stabilize post-M&A integration. Acquired networks get absorbed into the same operational standard on a defined timeline rather than running as permanent islands.
Pssst: Don’t overpay for network services!
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