Managed service providers are essentially independent contractor solutions for information technology (IT) services that are generally responsible for providing specific services as they deem necessary. Most businesses are great at doing their job, whatever product or service that may be, but many are not equipped to handle all the IT needs required in a rapidly advancing technological world. Instead of recruiting and hiring full-time experts to work in-house, many companies turn to procurement solutions for convenience and efficiency.

Approximately 40.4% of the U.S. workforce is currently made up of contingent workers, according to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, and 66% of independent contractors work full-time. Why try to do it all yourself when you can get a professional business to come in and help you with exactly what you need? Here are three of the top reasons why businesses use managed service providers.

1. Defined Set of Services

One of the most appealing aspects of these management solutions is their cost-effectiveness. They will outline and define the specific set of services they will handle before you agree to anything. In most cases they will bill you an agreed upon upfront setup fee followed by a regular fixed subscription-type payment model. This allows businesses to plan and budget around their IT expenses as opposed to paying-as-you-go, leaving yourself open to volatile unpredictability.

2. Global Information

Technology and the commonness of the internet globally has made the world smaller in many ways. In order to effectively manage a company's ever-growing IT infrastructure you need access to top of the line software, hardware, and whatever particular service might be most beneficial. Managed service providers are not only experts in the field that will be able to determine exactly what you need, but also provide those tools and services at a cheaper price than hiring someone to take care of each problem individually. It also saves you time from constantly having to keep up with what you'll need next. Leave it to the experts to do and allow yourself more freedom to take care of your actual business and bottom-line.

3. Multiple Staffing Vendors

Managed service providers can act as the perfect neutral party when it comes to hiring and managing multiple staffing vendors. They will work with you to establish a set of standards and requirements and monitor their efficiency for you. By setting up these systems they can provide you with easy tools to see exactly how good/bad individuals are performing, allowing you to decide if/when changes need to be made. About 90% of firms use some sort of freelance or contracted talent, but it can be hard to keep track of them let alone accurately grade their ongoing performance. When you have all the data at your disposal it makes choosing who to keep on and who to move on from a much easier and efficient task.