The dramatic cost savings that cloud computing can deliver is driving more and more companies to migrate more resources to the cloud, including turning to cloud consulting companies for managed services. Computerworld’s Tech Forecast 2017 study found that 80 percent of enterprises have moved at least one application or infrastructure component to the cloud. And 27 percent of them plan to increase spending on cloud deployments next year.
While IT leaders used to think in terms of maintaining servers and data centers, outsourcing these resources to cloud platforms like AWS has freed them to focus more narrowly on delivering the services that businesses need to grow and thrive.
Outsourcing AWS Services on the Rise
This shift is leading companies to outsource services on the cloud as well as the infrastructure itself–especially services that are not part of the company’s core business. Website Channel E2E predicts that AWS managed services will grow from $107 billion in 2014 to nearly $200 billion in 2019. Analysts at Technavio point to “a shift towards service-oriented architecture as one of the primary factors impacting the growth of this market.”
As businesses come to recognize that migrating data centers to the cloud is a journey, not an event, they are recognizing the value of active management of more and more of the cloud architecture. The key benefits of managed services include:
- Proactive infrastructure management. To get the most out of AWS, you need to be an expert at AWS. Services like system configuration, resource optimization, security and patch management, access control, automation, and disaster recovery are each areas of specialization among AWS partners, and can be managed much more efficiently by AWS partners that are trained and certified in each discipline.
- Ongoing business evolution support. The cloud thrives on change. Your business needs will evolve and change, sometimes rapidly, requiring more or new resources and shifting workloads among different AWS products. Spinning up new resources, and taking down underused resources are key to making your cloud infrastructure efficient and cost-effective. Managed service providers that have been involved in hundreds of AWS environments will have a deep understanding of how to make your infrastructure more productive and efficient.
- Cloud operations management. The cloud is not just about infrastructure. It’s about people and processes too. Roles and responsibilities need to be reshaped and mutually understood. AWS partners can train internal staff as well as define processes that will support business-critical functions.
- Contractual agreements that structure responsibilities. It is best to have ground rules for unexpected events before they happen. On the cloud, this means documenting the specific parameters and minimum service levels for criteria like availability, response times, data access and ownership, disaster recovery expectations, and more. It’s important to involve your IT team in defining services levels, as what you get from an AWS partner should be clear on both sides, and, frankly, should be better than what you can deliver with your own resources.
And Cost Savings Too!
Of course, reducing operating expenses directly or indirectly is the benefit of any IT project. Outsourcing non-core functions to an AWS partner can pay dividends in reduced IT staff and equipment costs, but also indirect savings through increased network uptime, better security and protection, and better network performance. For more information see our blog and e-book, “Driving Business Innovation Through AWS Cost Optimization.”
Future Proof Your Infrastructure
Migrating to a cloud environment is the first step in future-proofing your data center. Making sure that the latest technology and services are always available to your business is the next step. AWS is constantly developing new products, updating existing products, and coming up with new best practices to wring more efficiency from cloud environments. A managed infrastructure can free IT departments from constant network monitoring and resource management to focus on critical business operations.
Onica is a top AWS Premier Consulting and audited Managed Service Partner. We’ve migrated 85,000+ servers to AWS, performing everything from basic “lift and shift” to helping re-architect and manage services on clients’ infrastructures so that they can take full advantage of cloud resources. If you’d like to learn how working with an AWS Premier Consulting Partner can improve your business, contact us for a quick assessment.
