Managed Cloud Services has probably referred to something as simple as paying a cloud provider to manage some virtual machine that it runs on its own. Of course, purchasing computing or storage from a cloud provider is still a matter of primary use, but it is connected by a wide range of tools and services.
Previously, cloud-managed services were primarily focused on infrastructure services. However, it has migrated to include new complexities, which means organizations should now consider what they need from their cloud services.
At a higher level, a managed cloud can refer to any technology you receive from a cloud platform or provider – and the provider manages it for you on a large scale. A common example nowadays is the use of managed databases in the public cloud.
Previously, cloud-managed services were primarily focused on infrastructure services. However, it has migrated to include new complexities, which means organizations should now consider what they need from their cloud services.
At a higher level, a managed cloud can refer to any technology you receive from a cloud platform or provider – and the provider manages it for you on a large scale. A common example nowadays is the use of managed databases in the public cloud.
Consider Deploying Managed Cloud Services
Let us see four key things to remember when evaluating how to best manage cloud services in your business.
1. Managed cloud services are a little different
Do you have an organization where microservices are looking to move you into a space with application workloads to take advantage of the per-use-pay model and be flexible as your business or customer base grows?
It is highly customizable to motivate the organization to invest in the cloud. Businesses looking for cloud-managed services for price purposes will need services significantly different than those looking for cloud-managed services for enhanced capabilities.
Yet other organizations may need both – and then a specific cloud service for evaluation to understand how it helps to strike a balance.
Each company will have different needs for its cloud-managed services, and identifying those needs in advance will be the key to successful integration.
It is highly customizable to motivate the organization to invest in the cloud. Businesses looking for cloud-managed services for price purposes will need services significantly different than those looking for cloud-managed services for enhanced capabilities.
Yet other organizations may need both – and then a specific cloud service for evaluation to understand how it helps to strike a balance.
Each company will have different needs for its cloud-managed services, and identifying those needs in advance will be the key to successful integration.
2. Your managed cloud strategy should reflect the reality of your organization
Everything must not be migrated to the public cloud or used as a cloud service. Many organizations run diverse and complex applications, infrastructure, integration, and other services. Therefore, your architectural plans need to acknowledge your current status. When we ask IT decision-makers about their approach to updating applications, most take several methods – from keeping the system to replacing components with SaaS (Software as a service) or cloud services to developing in-house new microservices-based applications.
Updating does not mean automatically rebuilding or rebuilding the platform for each app. Of course, the cloud is central to IT, but you won’t find large or medium-sized organizations dumping their legacy applications and infrastructure together.
Cloud services can be an important part of the application update. But they need to understand the context of the overall application update strategy, which includes, among other things, assessing your in-house skill level.
Updating does not mean automatically rebuilding or rebuilding the platform for each app. Of course, the cloud is central to IT, but you won’t find large or medium-sized organizations dumping their legacy applications and infrastructure together.
Cloud services can be an important part of the application update. But they need to understand the context of the overall application update strategy, which includes, among other things, assessing your in-house skill level.
3. Yes, You still need internal skills
If you want to increase your ROI (Return On Investment), the managed cloud still needs in-house skills – you need to empower your IT team, not change it. You can certainly use cloud-managed services to do more with fewer resources – a stable system in today’s business world – and achieve a technology scale that would otherwise have been impossible. But still, you have to do it in terms of your current team and future job plans.
When developing a cloud-managed service strategy, you must remember that we are now combining two different aspects of infrastructure and application development.
Complex cloud service environments will require basic skills such as coding.
If you’re already a mature developer, you’re at the top of the game. However, other teams may learn something – and the leadership may realize that it can be difficult to find people who can fit into different job positions simultaneously – even if it’s not as impossible as it once seemed.
Fortunately, these roles are becoming more readily available as organizations adopt cloud strategies.
Fully-managed services can help fill a talent gap, but IT leaders need to figure out who will be responsible for internal affairs.
When developing a cloud-managed service strategy, you must remember that we are now combining two different aspects of infrastructure and application development.
Complex cloud service environments will require basic skills such as coding.
If you’re already a mature developer, you’re at the top of the game. However, other teams may learn something – and the leadership may realize that it can be difficult to find people who can fit into different job positions simultaneously – even if it’s not as impossible as it once seemed.
Fortunately, these roles are becoming more readily available as organizations adopt cloud strategies.
Fully-managed services can help fill a talent gap, but IT leaders need to figure out who will be responsible for internal affairs.
4. Hybrid clouds and managed cloud services pair well
It doesn’t bridge the gap between what is needed to develop an app and what is needed to run it reliably or ensure its security. So there’s still a need to split the two. There are many reasons this might happen, but here’s the big one: Most organizations don’t create fully cloud-native clusters shortly, if at all. If you’re a startup tech company of 40 people making everything in a new environment, you’re probably all in the cloud. But if you run IT for a government agency or elsewhere in the public sector, or in a medium-sized, privately-owned company that has been operating successfully for 80 years – or any other regulatory context – not too much.
More About The Hybrid Cloud
Most organizations can’t reduce their local foothold on network infrastructure. Therefore, critical networking and infrastructure skills to connect two environments in a seamless hybrid business environment is important to succeed in your IT operations.
Information technology is another genius idea, but it also suggests a strong relationship between managed cloud, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud environments. Cloud services are an important part of the bigger picture in this environment.
Managed cloud services can be part of the glue that helps bring these different environments together. With careful and deliberate planning and adequate resources, managed cloud developers can improve speed, simplify operational costs, and maintain future flexibility to move workloads where they are most appropriate.
Who Provides The Best-Managed Cloud Services?
Our team at ITofUS will first understand your business’s current and future needs. Then, based on this, we recommend cloud or hybrid solutions that meet your needs.
