Cloud services and managed services are not the same thing. A managed service provider (MSP) may provide cloud services, but a cloud provider does not necessarily provide managed services. Cloud services are hosted solutions — such as infrastructure as a service (IaaS), software as a service (SaaS), and platform as a service (PaaS) — while managed services are outsourced monitoring, management, and support services.
However, cloud fits into managed services in the form of managed cloud services, which can help you move to the cloud, evaluate your cloud resources, and derive the most value from your cloud investment.
MSPs deliver a wide range of managed services that can enhance your systems and augment your in-house IT staff. An MSP can even act as a strategic partner, identifying services that align with your business goals and developing a roadmap for growth.
Managed services include 24/7 support services to detect and fix issues. The MSP may have a fully staffed network operations center (NOC) and security operations center (SOC) to monitor your network traffic, identify malicious activity, and prevent breaches.
Other managed services include data security, data protection, disaster recovery, network connectivity, and unified communications. Managed services may also encompass managed cloud services.
Managed cloud services enable companies to outsource the management of their cloud resources. An organization can decide how much control of the cloud they want to turn over to the cloud management provider.
These services include migration services needed to implement private, public, hybrid, or multi-cloud environments. If your company is already in the cloud, the managed cloud services provider can conduct assessments and develop roadmaps toward cloud optimization.
Managed cloud services also include support.
The provider will have cloud expertise on hand so you can solve problems quickly.
MarketsandMarkets identified the key factors driving the cloud managed services market as the desire to transfer capital expenses to operational costs, as well as the ability to increase worker productivity by enabling IT to shift focus to the core business.
Working with a managed cloud service provider can take away some of the risk of migration by assessing and resolving compatibility and readiness issues. Cloud readiness assessments set your company up for a successful and seamless cloud migration.
Cloud optimization services use analytics to evaluate your real-time cloud usage and find ways to improve efficiency. The provider can assess your current cloud resources to find a way to make them run more efficiently so you can get more out of your cloud investment.
Managed cloud services reduce your dependency on the cloud vendor. Issues can be resolved directly by the managed cloud services provider. Turning security and maintenance responsibilities over to the managed cloud services provider can eliminate some of the confusion over what you or the cloud vendor is accountable for.
If your company partners with an MSP that is also strong in cloud services, you benefit from more options for managed services. Not only can you free your staff from the responsibilities of managing or monitoring your on-premises resources, but you can make your cloud models and services work harder for you.
Pegasus Technology Solutions provides Managed Cloud Services as part of our IaaS offerings. We serve companies at every stage in their cloud journey. Our customers can choose from Cloud Assessments, Cloud Migrations, Cloud Optimization, Cloud Management, and Cloud Support services. We have Cloud Management and Cloud Analytics packages available to ensure you are maximizing the return on your cloud investment.