What is the difference between a managed and unmanaged network?

• In a managed network, a third-party service provider handles many of the tasks of managing a company’s network, freeing internal IT teams to focus their attention on other areas.
• For a managed network, providers may handle everything from procuring and configuring hardware like servers, switches and routers, to installing and managing operating systems, firewalls, applications and other software. Managed network services may also include providing security for the network and the data that passes over it.
• An unmanaged network is one that is managed entirely by internal staff resources.
   

As IT networks become more complex and require greater expertise for effective management, many companies are moving to a managed network model. But what is the difference between a managed and unmanaged network, and why would an enterprise consider hiring a third-party to manage an internal network? Here’s a short introduction to the subject “What is the difference between a managed and unmanaged network?” that answers these questions and others.

What is the difference between a managed and unmanaged network?

In a managed network, a third-party provider takes responsibility for many aspects of provisioning, configuring, maintaining and upgrading network resources.

What is the difference between a managed and unmanaged network in terms of cost?

With an unmanaged network, an organization is responsible for the capital costs of procuring network resources as well as the ongoing costs of maintaining and upgrading the network. A managed network enables companies to avoid the initial capital costs – they pay a predictable monthly fee for network services instead. And because management tasks are handled by a third-party team of experts, the cost of a managed network can be lower than the cost of an unmanaged network.

What is the difference between a managed and unmanaged network for business continuity?

With a managed network model, network resources can be centralized in an off-site location with cloud backup, providing greater business continuity and allowing operations to continue during an outage or disaster.

What is the difference between a managed and unmanaged network for control of resources?

Businesses will inevitably have less immediate control of network resources in a managed network, while they retain complete control with an unmanaged network.

What is the difference between a managed and unmanaged network for the IT team?

A managed network allows an IT team to offload many tedious and cumbersome tasks to a third-party provider, as well as critical tasks requiring special expertise. With an unmanaged network, the IT team is responsible for everything, whether they have the necessary skills to manage it or not.

What is the difference between a managed and unmanaged network for handling downtime?

A managed network enables enterprises to minimize downtime through Service-Level Agreements (SLAs), and to improve network performance by putting network resources in the hands of specialists with deep experience and expertise.

What is the difference between a managed and unmanaged network with Spectrum Enterprise?

As a leading provider of fiber solutions for America’s largest organizations, Spectrum Enterprise provides managed network services that helps to increase performance, reduce costs and free IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives. Managed network services from Spectrum Enterprise include a Managed Router service, Managed WiFi service, Managed Security service and Managed Cloud services.