Elevate performance, reduce complexity and unlock innovation
Managed service take-up is rising, as the era of confident in-house management fades away. Businesses have realised that connectivity advances are increasing in complexity and are more of a burden than expected. SD-WAN, initially promoted by vendors as ideal for self-management, is a prime example.
Also, as the IT skills shortages bite, many businesses would rather invest time in building a productive partnership with a Managed Service Provider (MSP). However, many retailers don’t want to outsource management completely, so they have the freedom to support a store quickly when required. Elevate performance, reduce complexity and unlock innovation
UK businesses are feeling the pain of IT skills shortages
have been negatively impacted
currently work with an MSP
Your checklist for managed connectivity that delivers better retail outcomes
There’s no dispute that a managed service should allow you to hand off complex, time-consuming, yet essential tasks so your team can focus on running your core business. However, an MSP should offer more to maximise value. Here’s what to look for:
Deep experience in retail
Managing connectivity is one skill set; managing connectivity in retail is another. Expect direct contact with retail experts who can understand and guide your unique store, warehouse and head office requirements.
Vendor-agnostic approach
Going vendor-agnostic paves the way for flexible, unbiased solutions built around your needs, with product choice not limited to specific suppliers. This increases the resulting performance, value and adaptability.
A partnership approach
The baseline expectation is end-to-end management, from planning and procurement to deployment and support. Go beyond this and assess attitude: will they wholeheartedly align with your objectives and proactively generate innovation roadmaps to poweryour progress?
Your checklist for managed connectivity that delivers better retail outcomes
Data insights and network visibility
Ask about how the provider will surface insights into easy-to-action visibility. Explore possibilities around real-time dashboards and reporting to help optimise performance, pre-empt issues and plan future improvements.
Cost predictability
Transparent pricing structures, billing processes and detailed breakdowns of any future activity should be standard.
Strong SLAs with measurable outcomes
Demand clearly defined uptime service levels and guaranteed response and resolution times for different issues. Look for transparent performance metrics, proactive monitoring and support and a 24/7 single point of contact for support.
Quantifiable sustainable practices
Evaluate the MSP’s ability to support your sustainability with initiatives such as energy efficient data centres, electronic waste recycling programmes and practical carbon measurement tools.
Our research and development into automation and observability are defining the next wave of managed connectivity services.
What’s coming in automation?
Automated provisioning and self-healing capabilities allow real-time reactions to demand, issues or threats, reducing downtime and manual intervention:
- Automatically optimise store bandwidth during peak times.
- Configure new sites remotely with minimal disruption.
- Roll out security updates instantly and uniformly.
What’s coming in observability?
Real-time analytics deliver deep visibility into performance, user experience and potential faults before they become problems:
- Actionable insights into traffic patterns, application performance and security events.
- Faster issue pinpointing and resolution, with root causes fixed, not just patched.
- Connectivity becomes a real-time enabler of retail strategy.
© BT 2025
© BT 2025