These days, businesses are migrating to a cloud computing environment as it’s easier for business scalability and smoothens the operations flow. Thus, as the demand for cloud computing increases, the appropriate support is required to manage a business’ cloud computing environment. Hence, cloud managed service providers are able to help businesses manage their cloud computing operations by offering various effective services. If you’re not sure what is a cloud managed service provider, read on to learn more about how it helps and contributes to your overall business growth:
What is a Cloud Managed Service Provider?
Cloud Managed Service Provider (CMSP) is a company that provides services for cloud computing such as data storage, infrastructure, network management, security and application management. Some of the common tasks include 24/7 support, operations management, and cloud hosting. Businesses typically can choose for partial or full cloud management from the cloud managed service providers.
Why work with a Cloud Managed Service Provider?
When the complexity of cloud infrastructure grows, the resource and expertise required to manage the infrastructure rise together. Especially when the organization manages a multi-cloud environment, the cost will rise exponentially. If you think maintaining an in-house cloud expertise is too much of a cost for your organization to bear, working with a Cloud Managed Service Provider would be a better option.
With only a fraction of the cost, not only you can tap on the expertise of the CMSP, it also saves you from the high cost of investing into the management and monitoring tools.
What does a Cloud Managed Service Provider do?
After learning about what is a cloud managed service provider, here are some of the common services cloud managed service providers offer to businesses:
1. Managing cloud infrastructure
This is the main service offered by cloud managed service providers. They are able to manage and optimize the entire cloud infrastructure of a business. Some of the services include storage management, deployment of services, allocation of resources, and many more. Essentially, cloud managed service providers will ensure the service offered meets the requirements of the business.
2. Monitoring the performance of cloud services and infrastructure
To ensure the business operations are running smoothly and seamlessly, cloud managed service providers will constantly monitor the cloud infrastructure performance to ensure they are in optimal operations. Some of the tasks include regular checks of system health and keeping an eye on potential issues that may arise.
3. Business Continuity Planning
We can’t avoid unforeseen circumstances or events such as natural disasters from happening, but we can take the necessary precautions to be well-prepared when it happens. Cloud managed service providers will have the resources to back up all your data so that businesses can recover quickly without any losses.
4. Advanced security measures and compliance
Security and compliance are one of the most important aspects of cloud infrastructure as potential cyber-attacks, threats or data breaches can occur. This is why cloud managed service providers provide this service by ensuring the cloud infrastructure is in compliance with the latest industry standards and regulations as well as implementing advanced security best practices.
Types of Cloud Managed Service
There are three main types of cloud managed services which are:
1. Platform-as-a-service (PaaS)
PaaS is a cloud-based solution which offers on-demand access to a ready-made cloud-hosting platform. Businesses can perform a myriad of activities such as running, developing and managing cloud-based applications.
2. Software-as-a-service (SaaS)
SaaS offers a subscription model for businesses to run on a cloud-based solution which is ready-to-use cloud-hosted application software. The SaaS vendors host and manage the cloud infrastructure.
3. Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)
IaaS offers on-demand access to cloud-hosted servers, networking and storage which can be virtual or physical. Some examples of the top cloud service providers include Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and IBM Cloud.
Benefits of a Cloud Managed Service Provider
After understanding more about what is a cloud managed service provider, you should also learn the advantages of engaging with them and how it helps a business:
1. Cost-effective solutions
Instead of having to hire an in-house team, a business can benefit from having a fully-fledged team that already consists of many years of experience handling cloud infrastructure management. This enables businesses to only pay the required fees for the services needed.
2. Tight network security measures
Security is the most important aspect when it comes to cloud infrastructure. Businesses don’t have to worry about potential cyberattacks or security breaches as cloud managed service providers will be able to implement the required security controls as well as the necessary compliance regulations and standards.
3. Regular updates and upgrades
It can be troublesome trying to stay up-to-date with the latest updates for cloud infrastructure. Cloud managed service providers are always ready to upgrade or update the softwares and hardware whenever necessary.
4. Efficient and quick response time
It’s important for businesses to maintain high levels of uptime to prevent potential revenue loss. Cloud managed service providers usually offer 24/7 support so that whenever an unexpected issue occurs, the team of experts will immediately take action and resolve the issue as soon as possible.
5. Scalable and flexible solutions
With cloud managed service providers, your cloud infrastructure can be adjusted and modified accordingly to the growth of the business. Whether it is extra manpower or storage, cloud managed service providers are able to provide you with the resources needed so that you don’t have to spend extra costs for additional software or hardware.
6. Professional expertise
Since cloud managed service providers are professionals at what they do, businesses can leave their cloud infrastructure management to the team of experts. This frees up more time and resources for the business to focus more on other core aspects of the business which contributes to the overall growth.
How to choose the right Cloud Managed Service Provider
If you wish to hire a cloud managed service provider, here are some of the things to look out for to ensure you pick the right provider for your business:
1. Compliance regulations and security
One of the most crucial factors would be whether the cloud managed service providers specialize in compliance regulations as well as the security measures used to ensure the cloud infrastructure is secure.
2. Adequate skills, experience and expertise
While choosing a cloud managed service provider, you should always examine the skills, knowledge and experience so that you can fully trust them with your cloud infrastructure. Providers with ample experience and expertise are able to manage your cloud infrastructure seamlessly.
3. Defined Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
The service level agreements (SLAs) should be stated clearly and defined by the cloud managed service providers. Do check and read through the SLAs and ensure they are aligned with your business goals and requirements.
4. Ample support and effective communication
When it involves cloud infrastructure, it’s important for a cloud managed service provider to be available for support at all times. This is to ensure the business operations are smooth and seamless with high levels of uptime. If there are any problems or issues that may arise, the cloud managed service providers should be able to respond quickly to address the issues or questions.
Conclusion
To conclude, cloud managed service providers are important for businesses to manage their cloud computing needs effectively. If you’re interested in hiring a cloud managed service provider, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Qloud! Founded in 2008, we have more than 16 years of experience managing various cloud infrastructures. We offer secure, fast and reliable managed Nextcloud services which contributes to the business’s growth.
