If you’re wondering why you would want to consider a cloud-managed service then you are in the right place. There are many reasons and benefits to having a cloud managed services provider and we outline them here.
What is a cloud managed service?
A cloud managed service is IT management for cloud based platforms, applications and services. The service provider can help you by taking over day to day management for cloud based services.
Benefits of cloud managed services
Lets breakdown those benefits of cloud managed services.
You already have managed services for your on-premise infrastructure.
If you already have on-premise IT services which are catered by managed services then you will need a cloud managed services also. Many businesses assume that when they go through a cloud transformation to the cloud that your cloud providers such as Azure and AWS will handle everything.
A main difference between the cloud and on-premise is the tin, the physical hardware, for the most part, is no longer your responsibility to maintain.
This is of course not the case, designing, implementing, managing and supporting still remain important aspects regardless of your cloud environment.
You can concentrate your efforts on running your business
Unless you are a large enterprise corporation then chances are you do not have a vast technology team with technical skills touching every aspect of your IT operations.
Hiring cloud managed services providers will allow you to worry about keeping your business running, growing and making happy customers.
Managed services providers will take care of pro-active activity such as capacity and resolving any faults when they occur. This means an in house IT team can consist of just a few people not an army of IT staff.
Hiring cloud managed service providers will save you money
Having an in house fully functional IT team who can manage your cloud services and the array of technologies which come with this is not a cheap option by any means.
A cloud managed services provider is able to provide a shared service much like the cloud where support and management costs are shared between multiple clients.
You may only want 10 hours agreed support a week but require a 24/7 on-call service. These sorts of terms work out to be a lot more cost-effective when contracting a managed services provider.
No more headaches from IT changes
Business is booming, you are so busy you want to expand your business operation, your managed service provider can step into pickup IT requirements from your expansion.
With a managed services provider you already have an IT technology partner to call upon, whom you trust and have a relationship. They already understand your environment so can hit the ground running in delivering your new requirements without spending weeks getting to know your systems.
Monitoring and reporting
Setting up and maintain monitoring applications is complex in itself for any IT organisation. This is even more so when it comes to a cloud environment and criticality of your network to your business operation.
Your services and applications will be monitored by a managed services provider. Your business will merely have to deal with regular monitoring reports and advice your managed service provider will offer so you are aware of your current cloud environment status.
Guaranteed quick response times
A vast majority of your cloud managed service providers will build in a minimum response time for your services and cloud environment. Your not waiting for someone to get back from lunch or holiday, you can pick on a phone knowing you will get a response you agreed as part of your cloud management service agreement.
Response times are so critical when IT systems your business and customers depend on to deliver a service.
Disaster Recovery is managed and tested
Something every business hopes never happens is a disaster which could impact the way their business operates especially if you are dependant on technology.
A cloud environment allows for the development of environments within different sites within cloud regions and also even in different continents so you can create the best resilient setup to match your business needs.
Your disaster recovery (DR) process and steps still require to be documented and tested so should a disaster happen you are prepared. With managed cloud services you can ask for DR management to be included meaning you can sleep safely at night knowing your DR setup will work and have the reports and data to show it is fully tested on a regular basis.
Robust network infrastructure
The majority think when you get into the cloud that local infrastructure is no longer your concern. However, one thing that becomes more important with a move to the cloud is the network infrastructure. You require this network more than ever to work locally and to reach the cloud, a broken router can mean the difference between your business operations coming to a halt or services becoming inaccessible.
Often the network can be included in the services which are covered by your cloud managed service provider to ensure your operation has support for the connectivity which keeps you connected to your services and applications hosted in the cloud.
Cloud Security and your data
Unless you have been living under a rock for the last 30 years you will know that security and data are now more than ever two of the most fundamental cornerstones of any IT operation. A hack or data breach can set a company back years not mention the bad press and fines companies face for these.
The cloud managed services will have security taken care of with a managed cloud provider. They will stay update to date with the latest threats, ensuring that they’re reputation and there’ stay intact.
With cloud managed services providers their reputation is what sells their business, a security breach is often the nail in the coffin for any IT services company, it will be paramount to ensure your services are protected. Security recommendations should certainly be something you take seriously when you’re provided with feedback reports.
Unlimited choice of cloud services
Choosing an innovative cloud managed service provider means your business technology choices are not dictated by what your in house IT team can support.
You cloud managed services choices should get shaped by what can help and provide the benefits that your business needs.
Cloud managed services you select will be because they will take your business forward.
Future proof your businesses technology
No more constant training courses for an in house team members. Instead future proofing your business will be passed to your cloud managed services provider.
The step in future proofing is such an important role for any business to ensure you remain competitive with your competitors with technology advancements to ensure you continue to deliver the best service to your customers and clients.
Monthly service plan
Take the guess work out of your IT operational support costs. When your outsourcing your cloud support and management the cloud managed services provider will provide you with a fixed monthly cost for your requirements. Rather being slammed with a massive bill because you required a lot of support for an outage one month your costs will be spread regardless of the support.
While some months you may call upon the managed service provider as much as other months this monthly service plan ensures you have no unexpected financial surprises when things do go amiss.
Summary
If you’re still undecided about whether a cloud managed services partner is right for your business then I can say the above is just the tip of the iceberg.
Your cloud services will become your cloud managed services.
When you wake up in the morning knowing you’re going to focus on your business and not your IT operations this allows a company to grow.
Having cloud managed services should provide the basis for you and others in the business to do what they do best.
Want to learn more? Get in contact with the M18 Soultions team.
