Managed services are the practice of outsourcing the responsibility for maintaining and anticipating the need for a range of processes and functions to improve operations and cut expenses. It is an alternative to the break/fix or on-demand outsourcing model where the service provider performs on-demand services and bills the customer only for the work done.

Adopting managed services is intended to be an efficient way to stay up to date on technology, have access to skills, and address issues related to cost, quality of service, and risk.