What is the Definition of Managed Services?

Managed services have been around for several decades now, and it has a lot of meaning to many people. But, is there a useful definition for this phenomenon we call managed services? Here is our official attempt to define the term managed services; and the answer just might surprise you. If interested, here is the "official" MSPAlliance attempt to define the term managed services.

Origins of the term

The term managed services came out of the mid to late 1990s ASP sector. ASPs delivered managed applications to users on a one-to-many basis, without the need to purchase a traditional software license. More interestingly, application service providers also helped managed applications belonging to other organizations, often delivering hosting, security, and general maintenance functions related to the application.