The Cloud has allowed small and medium sized businesses to access enterprise level computing and data processing power previously available only to enterprises that could afford to host their own large datacenters. Because the cloud has revolutionized business in the 21st century, some may speculate that managed IT service providers (MSPs) will become less relevant.
The truth is, a forward-thinking, trusted MSP can help your business leverage the Cloud and create an information technology double header that can give businesses of all sizes a competitive edge.
Here are just a few ways a Managed IT Service Provider plus a cloud computing platform gives businesses a strategic advantage along with an optimized IT infrastructure:
Assist with Migrating to the Cloud
For a company that hasn’t operated in the cloud, except say for a few corporate online storage accounts, moving to the cloud can be a daunting task. While many cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure have tools to ease the migration process, in order to successfully move to the cloud, you need to have a solid plan in place. A managed service provider can assist your in-house IT team with building a plan for migrating to the cloud.
Your MSP can map out which non-essential items can move to the cloud first and then create a plan of action for migrating mission critical data and processes, to reduce major downtime. Some businesses who have tried to move to the cloud on their own have hit major roadblocks and have had to deal with loss of services as they transitioned to the cloud. You and your entire staff will be thankful for having your MSP, with years of experience in cloud migrations, help with the migration process.
Manage Your Hybrid Cloud
Many companies prefer to keep some of their data and processes on-site while moving the bulk of their IT environment to the cloud, in what is known as a hybrid cloud setup. As a hybrid cloud still has on-premise components, you’ll need to make sure that the hardware in-house is running smoothly at all times. An MSP can monitor your network and make sure that your hardware is running optimally and that the connection between your on-premise devices and your cloud resources is unobstructed. While your cloud platform will automatically push software updates and make sure that your cloud resources are the most up to date as possible, your MSP can make sure that your on-premise hardware has the latest updates and patches which maintain system stability and boost security.
Keep Your On-Premise Hardware Up to Speed with the Cloud
Cloud computing virtually eliminated the need for companies to upgrade their hardware. Over time servers can burn out, or shifts in company demand call for increased hard drive space and bandwidth. With the cloud, you can scale up or down on-demand through your cloud dashboard. The only thing that changes is the cost, as you only pay for what you use. However, companies that continue to operate some servers and data centers on-premise don’t enjoy the same hardware advantages as the cloud. Your MSP will not only keep an eye on your in-house hardware but can recommend solutions for optimizing (virtualizing) already existing hardware or for making system improvements and upgrades. This way your on-premise infrastructure stays up to speed with its cloud-based counterpart.
