By Insight Guest Blog 1

One of the most pronounced disruptive technologies in the past decade has been the growing use of cloud computing. Gartner predicts that by 2016, organizations will store more than a third of their content on the cloud. That’s great news for businesses, but how will this impact managed service providers (MSPs)? As cloud computing becomes the standard, how and where do MSPs provide value to their customers who are moving to the cloud?

This is the question I wondered when I recently sat in on a demo of a cloud-based mobile device management solution. The ease in which an enterprise can sign up for the service and register their mobile devices for full-scale mobility protection is impressive. In recent years, a number of my company’s software partners have transitioned their product suites toward simple click-to-buy, pay-as you-go cloud offerings.

Providing Value in a Click-to-Buy World

Enterprises can now, very easily, procure direct-to-vendor solutions and bypass the solutions providers they used in the past. For service providers who build their business on software as a service (SaaS) offerings, it will become more challenging to find ways to provide value in a click-to-buy world.  

This isn’t the first time the IT industry has experienced this disruption. In the 1990s and again in recent years,  businesses sought overseas support to offset the cost burdens of the staff required to support their IT infrastructure. The advice given to IT professionals at the time is appropriate for service providers now: Go deep. In short, find new ways to provide value and get deeply entrenched into the businesses you service today. Become an extension of your customers’ core staff.

The market data on the shifts toward spending with service providers indicates that many MSPs are already making the go-deep move. Some of the largest-growing categories in the as-a-service space are for devices. This includes smartphones, tablets and printers. The per-device pricing model is a lucrative addition to the recurring revenue stream. Additionally, categories such as help desk as a service (HDaaS) provide a personal touch that a click-to-buy cloud offering can’t duplicate.

While cloud computing may be perilous to some MSPs, it’s promising to others–those that seize its many opportunities, and connect with and serve customers as humans to humans.

Bruce Sherman is the senior manager, product management for the managed service provider team at Insight, responsible for building out the portfolio offerings that Insight brings to its MSP customers in the United States. From business and government organizations to healthcare and educational institutions, Insight empowers clients with intelligent technology solutions to realize its goals. As a Fortune 500-ranked global provider of hardware, software, cloud and service solutions, its 5,400 teammates provide clients the guidance and expertise needed to select, implement and manage complex technology solutions to drive business outcomes. Through world-class people, partnerships, services and delivery solutions, Insight helps businesses run smarter. Guest blogs such as this one are published monthly and are part of MSPmentor’s annual platinum sponsorship.