Advantages of Using Managed Services Alongside Cloud Deployments

April 25, 2017

Cloud computing has become a staple for doing business in today’s fast-paced mobile world but most organizations are yet to grasp the benefits of working with a managed service provider. Working with a managed cloud services partner allows organizations to adopt the cloud quickly and use cloud services effectively. Here are some of the benefits: Access […]

Cloud computing has become a staple for doing business in today’s fast-paced mobile world but most organizations are yet to grasp the benefits of working with a managed service provider. Working with a managed cloud services partner allows organizations to adopt the cloud quickly and use cloud services effectively. Here are some of the benefits:

Access to Cloud Talent

Every organization comprises employees who hold a host of skills, but hiring people to meet every need may not be sustainable or practical in the long run. An MSP can fill any skill gaps with qualified experts. Clients who utilize managed cloud services automatically gain an IT staff that is well-versed in the newest cloud technologies. After your organization’s data and workload has been successfully migrated to a more cost-effective, flexible cloud solution, it will demand a team with a specific set of skills to support your applications and infrastructure. This team must receive training on how to operate in a cloud environment successfully. Although training your current IT staff is also a viable option, it will take a considerably long time, plus resources, for them to reach an expert level. By leveraging managed cloud services, your business instantly gains a team of virtuosos that come with a diverse skill set and the operational know-how to resolve, mitigate, and prioritize a slew of issues.

Manageable Recurring Costs

Utilizing managed services allows you to save money by keeping network maintenance costs at bay. Staffing a full-time IT department is a costly expense on its own and is unnecessary with small-to-medium sized businesses with small undemanding networks. Teams must also manage and model their capacity plans and make sure the budget is adjusted accordingly whenever they deviate from it. Tracking and budgeting the costs associated with a cloud deployment is much more of an art than a science. MSPs typically provide a one stop shop that enables you to budget a fixed monthly cost without worrying about any underlying variable costs. Working with a cloud managed service provider grants you complete control over how much or how little IT services will cost during a quarter.

Focus on Your Core Business

Organizations that manage their own data centers typically end up maxing out the IT team, since they are incapable of handling the company’s overall IT requirements in addition to any cloud infrastructure issues. Working with an MSP allows your IT staff to focus on core enterprise innovations and function, instead of troubleshooting daily cloud environment issues that monopolize their time. There will be a brief adjustment period when the staff must adapt to the processes and operations with your managed cloud services provider.
By contracting cloud management to trusted experts in the market, who fully grasp the support, infrastructure, and security needs of cloud deployments, you reduce your time to market for new products and services, while increasing your organization’s productivity, scalability, and security. The provider you opt to go with becomes an integral part of the team. Once the relationship has been built and the cloud strategy is successfully implemented, your team will be all set to focus on the tasks at hand.

Maintain a Competitive Technological Edge

Migrating to a cloud environment is the first step of future-proofing a data center. With the rate at which new technologies are coming up, even the best and brightest IT personnel will have trouble keeping up with the advancement. The next phase in the cloud deployment process should be contracting a managed service provider to make sure the latest services and technology is available to you. Introducing new technologies to your IT staff typically involves costly training. However, managed cloud service providers are better equipped to react to constantly changing technologies and trends in the market.
Finding the right managed cloud service provider is daunting. You want your MSP to help manage your cloud environment more effectively and be flexible to your company’s requirements. The ideal MSP will have multiple areas of focus and will be capable of tailoring a solution that meets all your requirements. Like everything else, good MSPs don’t come cheap. But the benefits your company will enjoy will be worth the cost.

Author: Gabriel Lando
Image Courtesy: Jumpe, Freedigitalphotos.net

By Team FileCloud