Infrastructure Management Services has emerged as a preferred alternative for companies looking to optimize their IT infrastructure. Businesses today are more reliant on their IT infrastructure than before. In many cases, critical business operations are directly dependent on one or more IT services. Hence, disruption to IT services constitutes a strategic risk for organizations and managing the IT Infrastructure proactively has become a critical activity for organizations within any business. Traditional service providers are managing their client's IT infrastructure and enabling them to focus on their business. But Skylark, based in Chennai, is taking this model to the next level and helping its customers leverage on their IT investments. The company is redefining the IM services by climbing up on the value chain from being a service provider to playing the role of a trusted partner. Focusing on Business-IT alignment, Skylark's engagement model also helps the customer's IT Infrastructure to evolve as the business environment changes.

With the advent of technologies like Big Data, Cloud Computing, Networking and VDI which are fundamentally altering the foundations of computing - processing, memory, network, storage and even the physical boundaries, the adoption and its positive manifestations are ubiquitous in the Enterprise Solutions market, making it more promising. The latest developments and profound effect of the above technologies on the market and the clientele within it is a testimony to the fact. Skylark has been in the industry for over two decades now and is constantly adapting to new technological trends and transferring the same to Enterprise customers. It has enterprise customers from varied verticals such as media, manufacturing and automobile. Skylark, founded in 1993, has a track record of maintaining some of the best alliances in the industry. The company is among the top partners for organizations like HP, Fujitsu, Oracle, Cisco, Juniper Networks, Barracuda, APC, Emerson and many more.

Managed Services
IT Infrastructure Management services are today being spearheaded by Managed services. The current trend in the Managed Services is to develop a business model that delivers technology services and results in recurring revenue with a predictable operations model that charges the customer similar to a utility bill for the services rendered. This model is based on on-going contractual arrangement by which the service provider initially monitors, manages and updates customer's IT infrastructure remotely and as the engagement matures, the provider manages other areas such as business applications and analytics. Skylark undertakes multi-brand Annual Maintenance Contract, both comprehensive as well as professional services, based on the Customer's choice only. Currently it is maintaining more than 500 customers under its maintenance contract. "Managed Services are provided in alignment with the business needs of clients. This is a steadily growing market that has seen increasing trends of interest among the customers", says S Kumar, MD, Skylark.

Skylark is catering to the Infrastructure Management needs of enterprises through its flagship services which include Professional IT Services and Managed IT Services. Professional IT Services of the company cover solutions based on Server, Storage, Network, Virtualization and Personal Computing in a comprehensive manner from architecture to sales and implementation, while the Managed IT Services comprise of Monitoring and Managed Services, including FMS (Facility Management Services) and AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract) Services. Skylark's IT Infra Services follow a cycle of Planning, Designing, Building, Integrating, Maintaining and Evolving. The service provider has expertise in the key platforms that support business-critical operations across various type of Servers (both EPIC/RISC as well as CISC), Desktop, Network and application at any stage in the life cycle of an IT Infrastructure.

Taking research as integral to business processes, Skylark is enthused to score on the innovation front and grow dynamically; Skylark has a dedicated R&D Team which constantly keeps looking for new ways to offer the high-end solutions at low costs. Some of its SME-level customers have benefited from the offering of 'Enterprise level solutions at the budget of SMEs' for SMEs. "There could be no improvement or innovation without R&D. At Skylark we make sure that right investment is made for continuous growth and improvements," adds Kumar. Skylark has recognized that Compliance needs, Data convergence, IT Infrastructure consolidation and Information security are the market forces that will influence the customer needs. The company believes that the resultant new architecture is complex and beyond the scope of SMB IT staff's capabilities to implement and manage, but at the same time it presents business opportunities and will shape the future of the managed service offerings. Driven by qualities of leadership, creativity and integrity, Skylark strives to be the technology vendor of choice to its customers.