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How Cloud-Managed Service Teams Can Help Your Business
Your business collects, manages, and processes a tremendous amount of information daily. Without using a comprehensive cloud management solution, your company is exposed to data loss, downtime, and security threats. Whether your current network sits in a hybrid cloud or multi-tenant environment, cloud-managed service organizations have extensive knowledge to fill in management gaps, support your environment, and deliver cloud compliance services. If you are considering implementing cloud-managed service into your business, it is best to understand the key responsibilities and benefits of having this service.
Key Responsibilities
Access Management
Cloud providers can manage network access by authorizing or revoking secure logins for users and services throughout various levels, including tester, developer, and user. The team can also remove complexities related to multiple authentication checks and permit single sign-on through corporate credentials of cloud application access.
Disaster and Recovery Management
One of the most crucial responsibilities for cloud-managed providers is disaster and recovery management. Cloud service teams ensure applications can maintain continuity in the event of a disaster with minimal downtime. Data must be secured across all applications and services to ensure there is no loss from a disaster.
Performance Monitoring
Cloud performance monitoring includes supervising CPU, VR memory, and disk usage and performance, user, and security metrics. Known as end-to-end infrastructure monitoring, this practice optimizes network performance while helping to reduce costs from inefficiencies. Cloud-managed teams create an alert to detect any issues, thus enabling network traffic monitoring while reducing downtime.
Security and Compliance
In addition to causing financial implications, security breaches negatively impact a company’s branding and reputation. Organizations that hold and transfer sensitive customer information, such as in the banking, healthcare, and financial services industries, must follow specific regulatory bodies and recommendations. These protocols can easily be adopted and managed by cloud service providers. Many IT regulations are standardized within the organization, so the cloud team can more easily follow them.
Reporting
Cloud-managed providers have an entire view of key performance indicators and can offer a monthly summary of those metrics coupled with operational activities and the overall impact. The report also highlights recommendations to optimize network performance better to improve cost efficiency.
Benefits of Cloud-Managed Services Teams
Cost Optimization
By outsourcing cloud-managed services, you reduce and control expensive network maintenance costs. Having a full-time IT department is expensive due to salaries, benefits, vacation days, training time, and other perks. This is typically an unnecessary option for small- to mid-sized companies that operate on simple networks. Outsourcing to a cloud-managed service team can save thousands of dollars annually from employing an in-house IT department.
Future-Proofed Technology
Transitioning into a cloud environment is the first step for future-proofing your network and information. Next, you must integrate the latest technologies into your business to improve efficiency. This can be done by hiring an in-house staff that requires spending company time training and learning the new technology or outsourcing cloud technicians who are already trained in managing this technology.
Improved Security and Governance Levels
Cloud-managed teams create a standard for new deployments while supporting corporate compliance by aligning with internal policies. The result of standardization and governance of compliance is ensuring endpoint protection of data housed on the network.
Increased Operational Excellence
Cloud providers manage all operations within the network infrastructure through automation and various tools. This allows the team to discover and respond to different events and quickly implement changes as necessary.
Increased Productivity
Taking a proactive approach with the cloud-based infrastructure helps limit business interruptions because of outages. This helps to maintain and even increase the productivity of users through business continuity.
More Robust Infrastructure
Cloud service providers deliver a more robust network infrastructure with around-the-clock management. Depending on the contract, a cloud-managed provider can scan and monitor the network for security patches and upgrades as soon as they are released. Managed providers also integrate your existing policies and practices to manage the network to align with company objectives.
Vendor Interfacing
For companies that work with outside vendors, when an issue arises, the cloud team manages suppliers’ contact to resolve problems. On the other hand, an internal IT team may not have time to assist external vendors since they could be resolving internal issues first. This could disrupt shipping, payments, and a variety of other business functions.
Hiring an entire internal IT department to manage cloud services is expensive and may not be as efficient as a cloud-managed services team. Before making that decision, it is important to understand the responsibilities and benefits of utilizing a cloud services team.
