Memo to MSPs: The Cloud Won’t Kill On-Premise Monitoring
Often when speaking with IT Solutions providers and MSPs I hear a concern about the long term viability of the model. That is, IT infrastructure is moving to the cloud. What this means is that, there will be, over time, less on premise IT infrastructure to monitor. Well, we all know that the ‘cloud’ (or whatever buzzword du jour for describing data centers, remote data infrastructure, etc.) is coming, and that more and more apps and infrastructure are headed offsite. If you listen to the folks at Salesforce.com or Google, they will have you believe it has already happened and that there is no such concept as on-premise IT infrastructure anymore. Nonsense.
I am not suggesting that IT solution providers don’t need to nimbly adjust their models over time, but don’t all businesses have to do that? There is a reason why Netflix is phasing out CD delivery and moving towards streaming, because they are adapting to changing business times. They are nimble. Strong companies adapt to new opportunities. Your business should be no different. Just to be clear, this post is not about new opportunities, it’s an argument, as well as a discussion, that there will be onsite IT infrastructures to manage for years to come. Your legacy business isn’t going away just yet.
Several Tier 1 Venture Capitalists in Silicon Valley recently invested in a new storage play for SMBs. It is 100% sold through the channel. An on-premise solution sold through the traditional channel and managed at the end user site by MSPs and IT Solution providers. Why would a Tier 1 VC invest in an end user on-premise solution? Because there is an opportunity.
What do you think will stay on-premise and what will go to the cloud?
Steve Goodman is DVP and GM for Quest Software‘s Network Management Group, and he has deep knowledge of PacketTrap MSP. Monthly guest blogs such as this one are part of MSPmentor’s annual platinum sponsorship. Read all of Goodman’s guest blogs here.
Steve,
Great topic and perspective; I would agree with your perspective and would go further to say that a new type of Hybrid Service Provider model will become common place. The model will consist of the following illustration.
These applications/services will stay on-premise and be consolidated:
– Server (Basic File Sharing, Printing and specific Line of Business Apps that need to run on-premise, etc.)
– Network (DHCP, VPN, Firewall, etc.)
– Gateway (MultiWAN, Intrusion Detection amp; Prevention System, Content Filter, etc.)
And from my perspective the following will go to the cloud:
– Collaboration Applications (Mail, Calendaring, Contacts, IM, Voice, Video, etc.)
– A Hybrid approach for productivity applications (Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Mail Clients in some cases, etc.)
– Line of Business Apps that are able to be hosted in the cloud with or without VM’s; unless Line of Business Apps have been ported to a SaaS model.
New types of Hybrid Service Provider services will include:
– Load balancing internet connections and monitoring / managing them.
– Procuring and integrating cloud based apps and services
– And all of the existing type MSP services that manage the PC, Print, Voice layers in addition to the Server, Network amp; Gateway layers.
All of this said, Service Providers need not fear, “just nimbly adjust their models over time” as stated.
Regarding your VC comment, just because VC’s are investing in a particular sector would not be an indicator for me… However the Symform model is a disruptive one and one I believe will be successful as broadband internet connections continue to become more pervasive and faster!
“The more things change the more they stay the same.” said Poul Nielsen in 2011
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Michael Proper
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Great topic!
I’ll start with the fact that Gartner defines cloud computing as a style of computing where “massively scalable IT-related capabilities are provided ‘as a service’ using Internet technologies to multiple external customers”.
With that said, this is a really ‘hot topic’ at most of the MSP based industry trade shows I’ve attended over the last few years where every third speaker is talking about the cloud. The industry (Software vendors) is also trying to put their stamp on the cloud by branding any software application that’s hosted as a ‘cloud’ offering. I really think ‘we’ as an industry have to start looking at how to differentiate what the cloud really means to the channel because it’s a different message to the SMB space. We then have to help the channel position that message to the SMB space as that’s where the ‘rubber’s really going to hit the road’.
Let’s look at Managed Security which has been growing over the last few years. Security based applications that are being delivered as cloud-based services are starting to have a huge impact on the industry, where some in the industry claim there’s to be 3 X growth for many cloud-based services segments. Everything from malware, spam, detection amp; intrusion cloud based services are forecasted to account for over 50% of cloud based revenue by 2013. This also applies to messaging and email security controls as well. This will also help IT Service providers (MSP’s) to provide both the SMB space, as well as enterprise cost effective security techniques amp; technologies that were in the past extremely expensive.
The cloud also brings issues like bandwidth, traffic and other network peripheral MGMT issues to the forefront and IT Service Providers should start looking for solutions that assist in the monitoring and MGMT of everything from VoIP, VM, traffic etc as well as desktops amp; servers.
Those are my thoughts for now,
Mike Byrne
Director of MSP. Quest Software
Michael, Mike: Admittedly I’m biased… I have a vested interest in the MSP market’s continued growth … because that means potential continued growth for MSPmentor. But if I didn’t believe in managed services I’d spend all my time over on The VAR Guy or TalkinCloud. The game ain’t over. It’s just starting. 😉
-jp