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The world’s increasing reliance on technology has reshaped our IT landscape and fundamentally transformed the way businesses use IT services. Companies must now re-examine their IT infrastructure and find better solutions to adapt to changing business and consumer demands.
This continually evolving landscape has resulted in not just more opportunities, but also challenges for businesses.
While in-house IT teams might have been able to manage basic infrastructure management, monitoring and reporting in the past, accelerated technological growth means that a managed service provider (MSP) like Experteq would be better equipped to handle growing customer expectations for quicker, safer and more efficient services enabled by modern technology and infrastructure like the cloud.
In Australia, where one report estimated that spending on managed server services is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% from 2020 to 2025, MSP reliance is rising.i
So, how different is the IT landscape today and how effective can an MSP be in helping companies overcome their digital obstacles?
Mass migration of enterprises to the cloud: Benefits and challenges
In the last few years, one of the biggest changes that businesses and industries have experienced is the shift towards cloud infrastructure, with many opting for a hybrid or multi-cloud strategy.
A recent survey found that 80 percent of its respondents have chosen to use a hybrid setup – utilising both public and private cloud services – and 9 percent have adopted a multi-cloud strategy with several providers.ii
The survey also found that many senior IT leaders have directed their focus towards cloud-first policies, leading to both increasing cloud resource use and expenditure.
Part of the allure of these strategies can be attributed to the scalability and added security that the cloud platform can provide. Business leaders are also being drawn to the apparent simplicity and availability of cloud infrastructure.
However, it’s important to note that this often takes place due to a ‘lift and shift’ model, where existing traditional systems are simply imported to the cloud as is.
While this can be relatively quick and easy, systems re-architecting and re-platforming to enable full cloud capabilities afterwards can be very expensive in terms of time and resource costs.
This is where an MSP can lend a helping hand.
The Managed Service Provider’s role: Optimising technology use to achieve positive business outcomes
Since the pandemic, teams have required seamless accessibility for remote work. The IT department has thus been given an additional responsibility: to support this with the appropriate levels of security, including identity management and data management.
This ultimately requires an effective end-point management solution, whether that is found internally or outsourced to a partner with the necessary expertise, such as Experteq. In this manner, MSPs have a critical role to play in helping businesses cope with their technological demands.
The involvement of MSPs is only set to increase further. The global managed services market is projected to exceed US$757.10 billion by 2030, up from an estimated US$280 billion in 2021, growing at a CAGR of 12.6 percent from 2022 to 2030.iii
Having an MSP to assist with the heavy lifting can give businesses a boost in terms of the IT support they need, without taxing their existing manpower and resources.
Through MSPs, companies can access a larger pool of talent that has more experience and exposure to deal with modern-day challenges.
This difference in expertise is proving to be vital with the move towards a more comprehensive management, strategy and protection approach.
MSPs have the skills and knowledge to ease the digital transformation journey
Digital transformation is not an end-goal, but a journey. For this journey to be as smooth as possible, there must be a clear understanding of what is core to the business or organisation and what its respective stakeholders demand so that it can attain digital success.
To meet those demands, innovation needs to be paired with a modern technological approach. However, this is often easier said than done due to resource and cost constraints. As such, effective partnering strategies are becoming the only practical approach.
In addition to finding the right MSP as a strategic partner, digital success also boils down to addressing the widening skills gap we’re witnessing currently.
Globally, nearly nine in 10 companies have already acknowledged that they are experiencing a skills and talent shortage or are about to face one in the coming years.iv
This skills challenge cannot be overcome quickly. Despite ongoing efforts to address this issue, such as the recent Jobs and Skills Summit, the reality is that businesses will face difficulty in achieving their digital transformation goals quickly due this gap, and an imbalance of resources and budget.
Ultimately, prioritisation is the key to an effective IT strategy and companies need to decide on what can be done in-house and what a trusted partner can provide.
How Experteq can help
Experteq delivers both professional services and managed services to support the ‘manage and transform’ agenda.
Our experience in designing, implementing and managing environments for clients, where security of data is more than ticking the compliance box, gives our clients assurance that allows them to focus on their core business functions.
Get in touch with our team today to see how we can help you with the support and agility you need to implement a successful digital transformation strategy.
1 https://www.arnnet.com.au/article/691726/msp-reliance-rise-server-market-complexifies/
2 https://www.flexera.com/blog/cloud/cloud-computing-trends-2022-state-of-the-cloud-report/
3 https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/05/11/2440965/0/en/Managed-Services-Market-Size-to-Surpass-USD-757-10-Bn-by-2030.html
4 https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/coronavirus-leading-through-the-crisis/charting-the-path-to-the-next-normal/mind-the-skills-gap