When companies move their IT infrastructure to the cloud, they often ask who can take over cloud management ,and what a Managed Service Provider should offer. In the course of the digital transformation, more and more companies have already moved their IT to the cloud, are in the process of doing so, or are planning the migration.
Once the complex process has been mastered, companies manage their cloud services. Indeed, many tasks that used to be the responsibility of the company’s own IT department are now obtained from the cloud provider as a service. But cloud management is not one of them. Someone else has to do it. And companies also have to find a suitable support solution. Those responsible are faced with two questions: First, whether they should take the management into their own hands or have this service provided by a managed service provider. And secondly, whether they can handle the support themselves.
Cloud Management Requires Free Resources
It may seem attractive to do everything in-house. But companies should honestly ask themselves whether they even have free and qualified resources at their disposal. Because of the shortage of cloud experts, companies should not assume that they can quickly recruit experts in the labour market. And even if a company already has cloud experts on its staff, the company should ask itself whether it shouldn’t better use these scarce resources for its core business.
If companies decide to delegate their cloud management to a cloud enabler managed service provider (MSP), they should evaluate precisely who they are entrusting with this responsible task and what the price-performance ratio looks like. A few considerations: There should be no extra costs for essential cloud services such as regular checks by cloud experts at a basic level. There should also be no need for a long-term contract. Furthermore, the cloud enabler should provide a dedicated contact person.
Clarify Support After Cloud Management
Once it has been decided who will take over the cloud management, support must be covered. Can a company support its sometimes business-critical systems in the cloud itself, 24/7, 365 days a year? Personnel requirements and costs are high for 24/7 support: six people are needed 24/7 support on five working days alone. There should be two people for each of the three shifts to compensate for absences due to illness.
If the support is to be outsourced, the cloud provider or an MSP can be used. Support from a leading MSP offers many advantages over help from a cloud provider:
- It provides shorter response times.
- Support is provided.
- Second-level support.
If the MSP is also responsible for cloud management, there are also attractive synergies because the permanent contact person of the MSP offers excellent advantages in the event of support. He knows the customer and his cloud landscape and can act knowledgeably.
What Constitutes Good Value For Money
But back to the price-performance ratio: The support outlined above, i.e., 24/7 enterprise support with a German-speaking second level, should be part of the offer of an MSP even at the free basic level. In contrast, help from a cloud provider is always subject to a fee. This makes delegating cloud management to an MSP very attractive. Companies thus receive essential managed services, a dedicated contact person, and optimal support – without additional costs and long-term contractual commitments.
But the primary level is not everything. Many companies require more comprehensive managed services. Or they can already estimate that they will need it later in their growth. A good cloud enabler should also offer attractive managed services beyond the primary level. This includes infrastructure and application monitoring, security management, and application delivery. In addition, control of the data and analysis platform, backup and disaster recovery management, patching, and continuous cost optimization. Customers of such comprehensive managed services can also expect a 5-minute SLA and 24/7 infrastructure and incident management coverage.
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