Managed Services Are Key in the Era of Government Efficiency and Shutdowns

Types of Managed Services for Government Agencies

A variety of managed services models are available to government, including full management, where the service provider handles the entire network lifecycle — design, deployment, 24/7 proactive monitoring, maintenance and optimization.

Agencies can also leverage a custom model, where the ownership of functions is tailored to the agency’s needs. The agency might own the security policies, while a third party such as Verizon manages day-to-day operational tasks such as monitoring, patching and configuration changes across WANs and LANs, says Amit Kapoor, associate vice president of technology solutions at Verizon Business.

Another option is the a la carte model, supporting specific functions such as incident response or patch management. There’s also managed capacity, in which the provider is tasked with providing a level of availability, security and performance to support a specific requirement.

Understanding the Benefits of Vendor-Managed Services

Agencies derive several key benefits from a managed services approach, particularly during a government shutdown. A fully managed network transforms operations with 24/7 automation and the ability to deliver a FedRAMP High compliance posture.

“This service shifts from reactive troubleshooting to proactive management, driven by advanced technology and expertise,” Kapoor says. “IT staff can focus on core mission objectives and innovation instead of network maintenance.”

Additionally, capital expenditures are converted into operational expenditures, providing immediate cost predictability and long-term savings, Kapoor says.

Managed services support modernization, giving agencies access to advanced technologies and improving their security posture through tooling, expertise and global threat intelligence, Kapoor says.

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Risk Considerations of Managed Services

Agencies need to be aware of certain risks as they engage with managed services.

“The most prominent for critical infrastructure are cybersecurity and compliance risks,” Kapoor says. “Agencies need a trusted provider with flexible managed models and the ability to meet rigorous service-level agreements to effectively manage and secure mission-critical services.”

Other risks include data breaches and privacy and compliance failures.

“Flexible delivery models allow agencies to choose the best option to satisfy their SLA, security and control requirements,” Kapoor says.

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Shutdown Considerations for Managed Services

Typically, the function specified in a managed services contract is labeled an “essential resource,” which serves as an “additional cushion” during a government shutdown, says Rob Davies, vice president and general manager of citizen security and public services sector at Peraton.

With contracts structured to deliver continuous support for IT infrastructure, cybersecurity and cloud operations, agencies can maintain essential functions even with much of the federal workforce furloughed.

“These services are often funded and staffed through pre-existing agreements, which provide insulation from the stop-and-start nature of federal appropriations,” Boyce says.

Still, the impacts of a government shutdown may vary depending on the details of the managed services contract.

“If a managed service depends on new appropriations or ongoing invoices, operations can freeze until the funding authority is restored,” Boyce says. “So, shutdowns tend to test how flexible and resilient those contracts really are, whether they’re built to simply serve or built to sustain.”