Article New ways forward to the cloud for MSPs with CAF

By Insight UK / 21 Jan 2021 / Topics: Cloud

The way in which modern companies organize their IT landscape has never changed so much as in recent times. Companies increasingly want only the benefits of IT and no longer the burdens. This brings challenges for your business as a managed service provider (MSP), but certainly also opportunities.

The changing demand for IT services

The biggest change is that your clients are massively embracing the cloud for IT services. Although this may seem simple, it actually brings more complexity. IT environments will increasingly be hybrid, so most clients need support in managing complexity across multiple platforms and solutions. Also, the need for mobility – more specifically the demand for remote working solutions – has increased at an unprecedented pace.

Challenges for managed service providers

The way your clients want to consume IT services challenges your business model as an MSP. Loss of revenue and margin are looming, because the on-premise data centre is simply less flexible than the cloud. Working with older, locally hosted products also means you may not be able to offer your clients the easy flexibility, scalability and bespoke tailoring that competitors can provide. A third challenge is to prepare your team for cloud adoption and manage any natural, human reluctance to change. Finally, there is the growing complexity in the IT ecosystem. Even as a managed service provider, layers of cloud licensing and technology can be difficult to keep track of – especially in terms of annual licensing reporting.

New ways forward to the cloud

So, it seems to be time to meet these challenges and future-proof your business for the next decade with a strategic approach to the cloud. A new IT business model that helps you to:

Optimize your current infrastructure and licenses to reduce your operational costs, freeing up budget to invest in building new services.
Create sustainable client value and grow longer-term, more strategic relationships by transforming your services to be more flexible, scalable and innovative.

Plan your growth strategy

A successful business transition depends on good planning with a well-defined strategy. If you start planning to migrate some workloads to the cloud, it is important to assess the opportunities, benefits and any potential risks on your way. This concerns technical implications, but just as importantly the consequences for the processes and people in your organization and get them ready for cloud adoption from the beginning.

Get started with CAF

Some MSPs will have the resources and knowledge to develop a strategic cloud approach as a self-service activity. However, most companies will seek expert support to ensure successful cloud adoption. As a multi-vendor software licensing, workload and platform specialist, we can provide this support with the Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) as developed by Microsoft and help you to:

Increase your understanding of the intricacies of hybrid infrastructure.
Discover how new technologies are impacting businesses and people and how this impacts your technical needs.
Assess the current and future needs of your business and build a migration plan.

At Insight, we have been working with MSPs like you across Europe for many years, providing valuable time, knowledge and support in many (hybrid) cloud scenarios.