Cloud Infrastructure Management Services boost productivity and business growth - Rahul S Kurkure, Founder and Director, Cloud.in

In 2023, Cloud adoption is already mainstream as organizations across industry verticals have witnessed the advantages of migrating to the cloud.  Failing to migrate to the cloud, businesses will certainly lose to the competition. Cloud as we know ensures business continuity and is flexible, scalable, and cost-effective.  More importantly, with huge volumes of data getting generated every single day, the cloud offers valuable insights from big data when compared to on-premise storage systems. Data is considered the new oil and in today’s economy, it is becoming more precious as a corporate asset, and those organizations which extract and leverage it reap rich rewards.  Big data enhances sales, improves customer service, and supports cyber security.   To secure data, increase integrity, and smooth delivery of services, the adoption of cloud computing is on the rise.  Furthermore, the increase in internet usage and smartphone adoption is driving Cloud adoption. Cloud houses data, applications, and services, and organizations require experts to effectively manage cloud services where monitoring and maintaining the cloud system is critical.

However, most in-house IT teams lack the necessary skill sets that are required to effectively manage the cloud infrastructure.  With technology and business needs evolving, organizations are required to fast-track their digital paths and deliver measurable advantages to their customers.  Many organizations continue to struggle to manage increasing costs and risks to match the speed of technological disruptions. To ensure constant innovation and to strike a balance between technology and business needs many organizations lack the IT talent, resources, and bandwidth. Hiring and retaining IT talent and safeguarding the IT infrastructure from increasing threat actors that use sophisticated technologies in their attacks is getting extremely challenging. 

In such a scenario, businesses should opt for an external partner with the expertise, skills, and experience such as a Cloud Managed Services Provider (MSP).

MSPs which are outsourced services ensure the organization’s gaps in managing the cloud are covered and operational efficiencies are enhanced, by providing support and management for the infrastructure, platforms, and applications. More and more organizations today are opting for Cloud Managed Services.  According to Markets and Markets, the Cloud Managed Services Market size as per revenue was more than USD 99.0 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 10.6% to reach over USD 164.0 billion by the end of 2027.

Businesses are realizing the advantages of partnering with a cloud infrastructure management service provider for the positive impact they bring on the organization’s product, security, cost savings, and more benefits.

Significant Cost Reduction

Organizations can rest assured that they don't have to concern themselves with the burden of investing in hardware maintenance or upgrades.  With this, businesses can save on operations and infrastructure costs, while utilizing the subscription or pay-as-you-use model.  Organizations can save on hiring and upskilling full-time employees to maintain their cloud infrastructures and networks.  The extra space for servers and other devices can be used optimally.  Businesses can opt for planned investments with a customized monthly service plan to suit their budgets.

Support in cybersecurity

Organizations of all sizes have to constantly face the fear of cyber-attacks which are evolving day by day.  Only robust cybersecurity measures put together with cutting-edge technologies can help strengthen the security pillar of the organization.  Such services can be provided by an MSP as they have a thorough understanding of the cloud infrastructure as well as updated information on the latest cyber threats.  Risks of losing key data to cybercrime are minimized to a great extent.

These service providers will implement the required security controls such as MFA, encryption, and more to proactively protect businesses and identify incidences and address them on time.  They also ensure timely backups and quick recovery across all cloud services and applications thereby helping in achieving business continuity.

Increase in Productivity

When the MSP manages all cloud-related services on behalf of the organization, then the latter without any further worry can focus on their core business objectives.  This certainly contributes to the productivity of the organization driving business growth. 

The service provider is constantly monitoring the organization’s IT ecosystem and addressing issues as and when they occur.  This quick response time saves the organization’s resources and boosts time-to-market as well.

Delivers automatic updates and upgrades

Competent MSPs will ensure the organization’s infrastructure is always up to date.  They will implement the latest security patches, and updates and ask the organization to go for system upgrades wherever necessary.  Service providers will have access to the latest tools and technologies and update themselves constantly with the latest technologies.

On the other hand, if the organization is still depending on its in-house IT team for regular upgrading of software and technology there could be delays in the process.  The organizations will consume more time and resources besides having to invest in ongoing training of employees.  With future-ready services, service providers can manage any new upgrades that suit the best for any organization’s infrastructure.

Enables seamless scalability

In today’s digital era, the market, customer, and business need constantly evolve.  Whenever there is a sudden spike in demand for the organization’s products and services, the service providers can make it easy for businesses to meet the demand.  This is due to their ability to scale storage and compute resources, irrespective of the time of the year.  Organizations need not worry about their infrastructure and just focus on increasing or decreasing the resources to keep up with the requirements of the business.  This operational agility of the MSP is very much appreciated by all organizations. Additionally, the flexible model offered also delivers customized services where businesses can choose from the range offered, freeing up budgets for business growth.

All organizations that are looking for future-ready business models will benefit from outsourcing their cloud infrastructure requirements, to focus on growing their business and expanding to larger markets.