| |September 20169CIOReviewTo reduce the risk, consumers will of course depend on MSPs who offer innovative, secure services in an industry which is consistently facing increasing data security threatsThe managed service providers through their expertise help in transformation of the client's environment to the next generation of technology. The model of managing everything as a service (Xaas) is increasing being adopted by the manager service providers, who help their clients with services such as implementation, integration and the day-to-day management of the solution.Key benefits:· Increased operational efficiency· Quick implementation of new technology· Reduced operating costs· Flexible services· Ensured compliance , highly resistant and secure infra-structure· Cost-effective access to enterprise-level support· Minimized downtime· Allows the focus to be on running the core business, and not the technology· Continuous monitoringManaged Cloud services Today many CEO's CIO's and CFO's are asking this question "What will take to move to cloud services?" or "Is there a need for MSP if you are moving to cloud service?"The answer to these questions is short that MSP's can be complementary to a cloud strategy. Also MSP's can act as an adjunct, not just as an alternative, to the cloud. MSPs can provide cloud integration or cloud connection services that let IT deploy assets in a combination of managed services and public cloud services, all going through the single MSP. That is, the MSP provides the management layer between the enterprise and the public cloud, as well as to those assets running at the MSP. This three-tiered architecture (enterprise, MSPs, and cloud) is often easier for enterprises to manage. Business impact of managed cloud services· Go to market time reduces for the implementation of any technology, thereby giving a competitive advantage to the customer·With the hybrid cloud model customers can gain a lot of flexibility·The right managed cloud provider enables the CIO to unify a disparate cloud IT environment, reduce operational costs and gain the comprehensive business insight needed to fulfil the innovator role.The future of managed servicesSome of the key trends that we can look forward to for manged services are:Emergence of cloud service providers (CSP): Most managed services providers will provide public cloud services as part of their services offering and will become leaders in the cloud solutions marketplace.The managed services will move beyond price wars: Although it's expected to play out for some time, consumers will soon start breaking away from the price battles and start focusing more on quality. They'll keenly assess the actual specs, features and benefits of individual packages rather than the price. Ultimately, service providers will be forced to shift from price to quality-centered battles to attract more consumerOptimized IoT (Internet-of-Things) is already gaining momentum and will be a significant device feature in the near future. Unfortunately, despite this excitement, there is a downside- security. To reduce the risk, consumers will of course depend on MSPs who offer innovative, secure services in an industry which is consistently facing increasing data security threats. Increased Application Portability Today, an average managed service user has a computer at work, laptop at home, smart phone and probably a tablet. With managed services busking in the glory of portability benefits, it's expected that providers will proceed developing products which are compatible with all these devices. Thus, the future holds both opportunities and challenges for the IT channel and managed services will help CIO's to adhere to regulation, reduce costs, streamline and ensure operations and improve customer's experience.
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