Unlocking the Full Potential of Cloud Technology: The Benefits of Managed Cloud Services – DATAVERSITY

Cloud technology has revolutionized how businesses operate, offering scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions to everyday tasks. And further progress is on the horizon – by 2024, Gartner estimates the cloud computing market will eclipse $724 million, up from $490 million in 2022. Just think about the headway IT leaders can make with this degree of investment in cloud computing and security.

But without proper guidance, many leaders unknowingly neglect advanced cloud-native technologies and lose out on their attendant benefits. Thus, the increasing popularity of cloud computing has necessitated a similar rise in managed cloud services (MCS). These services are provided by a third party, an expert (or team of experts) who oversees the management, maintenance, and security of an organization’s cloud-based systems. These partners are known as managed service providers (MSPs).

MSPs are critical because they alleviate the burden of daily tasks for in-house IT teams, allowing them to focus on more strategic initiatives. Additionally, MSPs solve downtime-causing errors more rapidly than the antiquated but popular “break-fix” model. In this model, IT leaders contract a cloud expert only after a problem occurs. MSPs, on the other hand, are available 24/7 to provide software assistance and troubleshooting.

As more organizations adopt cloud-native services or transition to a cloud-based or hybrid strategy, leaders must consider the immense value an MCS partner can provide. To drive home this point, let’s discuss the four leading benefits of MSPs.

1. Increased efficiency

MCS can significantly improve business performance by streamlining processes and automating daily tasks, thereby increasing productivity. For example, cloud-based servers eliminate delays associated with procuring and installing physical hardware, processes that are typically necessary monthly for on-premise centers. Cloud-native servers are much easier to maintain and update – with little to no physical maintenance required and zero downtime to boot – and they allow IT leaders to spin up and scale services at a rate befitting their organization.

Additionally, a good MSP enables organizations to dramatically reduce their downtime. MSPs offer constant monitoring and maintenance for cloud systems, addressing errors swiftly — before they impact productivity. Prioritizing a robust cloud strategy is proven to combat downtime. According to the IDC, about two-thirds of IT leaders who observed less organizational downtime in 2022 cited improved cloud strategies as the leading driver of change. (In this study, “improved cloud strategies” included shifting to a hybrid public-private cloud strategy and moving more workloads to the cloud.)

2. Reduced costs

Sufficiently staffing a cloud infrastructure team is costly. To monitor cloud performance and uptime, organizations must staff their internal engineers 24/7 – or foot the bill for expensive downtime during off-hours. These overhead costs are particularly egregious for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), which lack the resources to properly maintain their cloud infrastructure. Yet SMBs are just as vulnerable to threats as large organizations. According to Verizon, 46% of cyber attacks in 2020 targeted organizations with 1,000 employees or fewer.

MCS provides a reprieve from steep overhead costs. Many MSPs offer pay-as-you-go subscription models allowing IT leaders to scale their offerings up or down as needed. Additionally, adopting a hybrid or full cloud operating model eradicates the cost of maintaining on-premise hardware, which requires expensive updates.

Furthermore, MCS can reduce staffing costs. Leading MSPs offer around-the-clock teams to monitor systems and resolve issues, driving down internal operating expenses and eliminating the need to contract IT experts in the case of failure.

3. Enhanced security

The most common misconception about the cloud is that it reduces organizational security. Three-fourths of cybersecurity leaders cite cloud security as their top concern, with 33% of leaders “extremely concerned,” according to industry research. Some level of concern is healthy with any crucial technology – forearmed is forewarned, after all – but leaders must not let historical views of the cloud prevent their organization from deploying MCS.

Cloud security mirrors on-premise security. The cloud faces numerous cyber threats that, left unmitigated, could harm an organization – yet the same is true for on-premise hardware. For example, on-premise servers typically don’t deploy 1-2-3 backup protocols. Thus, sensitive data may be lost forever if the system becomes compromised. 

The bottom line is that MSPs are critical for cloud security. They provide leaders with cyber defenses like ransomware protection services, continuous penetration testing, and zero-trust security frameworks. These protections together culminate in an impenetrable cloud server. Moreover, as organizations become increasingly remote and hybrid, cloud protections become necessary, regardless of infrastructure. Employees often access internal servers from home, abroad or on vacation – leaving organizations vulnerable to attack. MSPs monitor these virtual interactions and ensure all data is protected and all servers continue functioning.

4. Improved disaster and data recovery

We’ve discussed MCS’ ability to prevent downtime and mitigate cyber threats … but its utility doesn’t end there. Although most MSPs advocate for a highly preventative security stance, the best partners also acknowledge the importance of establishing robust cyber response protocols. 

Enterprises with 100% on-premise infrastructure open themselves up to substantial risk, as a disaster or critical server failure can easily disrupt their business operations – and, in some cases, irrevocably damage their data. Similarly, organizations without an MSP may be in the dark following an outage. MSPs can help leaders navigate the cloud environment following a breach, stepping them through critical response measures. The result? Less costly downtime and a quicker mean time to restore (MTTR).

MCS offers a myriad of benefits for organizations, including increased efficiency, reduced costs, enhanced security, and improved backup procedures. Choosing a reputable MSP is crucial to leveraging these benefits, particularly as the reliance on cloud technologies grows. 

Adopting a cloud strategy is one matter; maximizing its utility is another. By expertly handling the complexities of cloud management, MSPs free enterprises to focus on what they do best: driving innovation and delivering superior value.

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