what exactly is involved in managing a server? what does it mean they are willing to do for you?Depends on company (and price).Some just secure your server and you do the rest.Some secure your server and install the software you need and you do the rest.Some secure your server and install the software you need and manage all server related issues. You only deal with customers.First and second is pretty common (and usually easy to find), the third is pretty rare and a bit more expensive.It depends on the provider. There is no single definition for "managed" services. You'll want to make sure you have a clear understanding of what the provider considers to be "managed" before you sign up.--TinaWell theres many different definitions of Managed and it depends on how much your paying and what company your with and whether the management is from your server company or externally BEWARE! If you have management from an External company and they screw up your server your server company will not do anything without you paying them as its the external company faultok thanks. so check the companies version of managed first.. 
Before buying a managed server you have to find out what they mean under such notion. I mean what kind of services they provide.That's why the prices can vary soo much.
We do quite a bit like setup the server, monitor your server, handle backup & recovery, security scans and Patching for our managed servers so at first glance it looks more expensive. It's not realy when you realise what you get for your cash... So you have to take each suppliers definition into consideration when pricing up a server.
Before buying a managed server you have to find out what they mean under such notion. I mean what kind of services they provide.That's why the prices can vary soo much.We do quite a bit like setup the server, monitor your server, handle backup & recovery, security scans and Patching for our managed servers so at first glance it looks more expensive. It's not realy when you realise what you get for your cash... So you have to take each suppliers definition into consideration when pricing up a server.