--- title: "What is an IT Service Provider?" canonical: https://wavect.io/glossary/it-service-provider/ language: en description: "A company that runs and supports your existing IT under an SLA: networks, devices, servers, cloud, helpdesk. Not the same as a software agency, which builds software that did not exist before." image: "https://wavect.io/img/general/bak/open_graph_preview.jpg" --- ENGAGEMENT # IT Service Provider A company that runs and supports your existing IT under an SLA: networks, devices, servers, cloud, helpdesk. Not the same as a software agency, which builds software that did not exist before. Last reviewed: 2026-08-09 by [Kevin Riedl](/team/kevin-riedl/) [wiki ↗](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q139796365) An IT service provider is a company you pay to keep your existing IT running. Networks, workstations, servers, cloud tenancy, backups, identity, patching, and a helpdesk your staff can call. In German-speaking markets the same firm is an IT-Dienstleister or a Systemhaus; internationally it is often a managed service provider (MSP). The commercial shape is a service contract with an SLA: response times, uptime targets, and a monthly fee per seat or per device. **This is a different business from a software agency.** The confusion is understandable, because both are “external IT people you pay”. The deliverable is what separates them. An IT service provider is measured on availability: things that already exist stay up. A [software agency](/glossary/software-agency/), also searched for as a software service provider or Softwaredienstleister, is measured on delivery: something that did not exist before now works and is in production. One keeps the lights on, the other builds the building. The contract types differ for the same reason. Managed IT sits on a Dienstvertrag or a Rahmenvertrag, an obligation of effort with an availability promise attached. Custom software delivery sits naturally on a [Werkvertrag](/glossary/sow/), an obligation of result. Comparing the day rates of the two is meaningless, because you are not buying the same kind of promise. Most companies past a certain size need both, from two different vendors, and that is the normal healthy arrangement rather than a failure of procurement. A Systemhaus that also offers “individual software development” as a side line usually staffs it very differently from its managed-services core, which is worth asking about directly. **When this matters in a software project.** At the point of writing the brief. If you ask an MSP to build a product, you will usually get a small team drawn from an operations culture, priced hourly, optimised for keeping things stable rather than for finding product-market fit. If you ask a product agency to run your helpdesk, you will get a polite refusal, ideally. **What buyers usually get wrong.** They send one RFP to both categories and compare the answers side by side. The proposals are not comparable: one prices availability per seat, the other prices a scope. Decide which deliverable you are buying first, then shortlist inside that category. **How Wavect handles it.** We are on the software side and only that side. We build and hand over custom software, and we do not run IT operations: no helpdesk, no workstation or network management, no 24/7 on-site desk. Where a client already has an IT service provider, we build alongside them and hand the running system over cleanly. On the [IKB](/case-studies/ikb/) engagement our work sat inside the utility’s own build, on infrastructure, devices and codecs, with a complete handover after year one. If you are still deciding which category you need at all, [the software build models](/software-development-options/) lays out the five options side by side. // FAQ ## FAQs ### What is an IT service provider? A company you pay to run and support your existing IT under a service level agreement: networks, workstations, servers, cloud, backups, identity and a helpdesk. In German-speaking markets the same firm is called an IT-Dienstleister or a Systemhaus, and internationally a managed service provider. It is measured on availability, not on delivering new software. ### Do I need an IT service provider or a software agency? Ask what the deliverable is. If it is keeping existing systems running, you need an IT service provider on a service contract with an SLA. If it is software that does not exist yet, you need a software agency or software service provider on a Werkvertrag. Most companies need both, from two different vendors. ### What is the difference between a Systemhaus and a software agency? A Systemhaus sells IT operations: hardware, licences, infrastructure, managed services and support, usually with certifications from the vendors it resells. A software agency sells custom software delivery. Some Systemhäuser offer software development as a side line, staffed very differently from their operations core, so ask who exactly would write your code. ### Does Wavect provide managed IT or helpdesk support? No. We build custom software and hand it over. No helpdesk, no network or workstation management, no 24/7 on-site desk. If you need that, hire an IT service provider for it. We are happy to build alongside the provider you already have. Related terms - [Software Agency](/glossary/software-agency/) - [Custom Software Development](/glossary/custom-software-development/) - [Staff Augmentation](/glossary/staff-augmentation/) - [Retainer](/glossary/retainer/) - [SoW](/glossary/sow/) Related services - [Custom Software Development](/services/software-development/) - [Software Takeover](/services/software-takeover/) Related case studies - [IKB](/case-studies/ikb/) Related comparisons - [software-agency-vs-it-service-provider](/compare/software-agency-vs-it-service-provider/) - [wavect-vs-dev-agencies](/compare/wavect-vs-dev-agencies/) Talk to us ## Structured Data ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@id": "https://wavect.io/#organization", "@type": [ "Organization", "ProfessionalService", "LocalBusiness" ], "employee": [ { "@id": "https://wavect.io/team/kevin-riedl/#person", "@type": "Person", "jobTitle": "Managing Director", "name": "Kevin Riedl", "url": "https://wavect.io/team/kevin-riedl/", 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