You have a killer Ops team, and they’ve helped your business level up. In fact, business is going so well that you need to hire more Ops people. While working on defining the new role, you realize that your current staff spends 1/3 or even 1/2 of their time on non-core tasks. If they were free from these activities, they would spend their time on business, instead of technology, needs.
For example,
- They have to stay on top of regular maintenance like patching, monitoring, and backups.
- Your CI/CD process needs some tuning, but finding cycles is tough, so your processes could be more efficient.
- Responses to AWS or Azure tickets take too long because you have to go through layers of Tier 1 to get to the experts.
- And forget finding time to clean up alerts, no one has the focus to dedicate to it.
Whatever your specific time constraints are, hiring is challenging and expensive. Instead, finding the right Cloud MSP will be much cheaper, have less ramp-up time, and be more flexible.
Here are some ways that a Cloud MSP can help.
Get Rid of the Grunt Work
Tasks like monitoring, patching, backups, and alert runbooks aren’t rocket science, but they require expertise and a lot of time to do right. Your Ops team needs to be focused on advancing your core business, not cleaning up temp files in the middle of the night or figuring out why the latest server backup didn’t complete.
The best Cloud MSPs love these kinds of tasks. It’s where they get to push their automation, cloud knowledge, troubleshooting skills, and platforms to the next level. This “grunt work” is a hassle for the Ops team, but it’s a Cloud MSPs core business.
Pro Tip: Your Cloud MSP should use a combination of automation (for consistency and efficiency) and human control (for decision-making and responses). Both are critical to good work.
Move Projects Forward
Chances are you have a backlog of projects that have yet to move or have moved slowly because you need dedicated time. A Cloud MSP is a great solution for completing these while helping you stay focused on what matters to your business. You get access to a broad range of experience with experts who have worked on similar projects before and are waiting for the next challenge.
Pro Tip: Talk with Cloud MSPs about projects you might want them to work on. Your choice of Cloud MSP is essential, and it’s good to see their approach.
Foster Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing
The partnership between your Ops team and a Cloud MSP creates a dynamic, collaborative environment. Cloud MSPs can serve as an extension of your team, offering support, guidance, and training. This collaboration fosters a culture of knowledge sharing, where employees can tap into the Cloud MSP’s expertise to solve complex problems and innovate more effectively.
Pro Tip: Ask potential MSP partners about their experience with your technologies. They should be able to talk intelligently about your specific environment.
Enhancing Security and Compliance
With cybersecurity threats on the rise, ensuring the security of cloud environments is more crucial than ever. Cloud MSPs specialize in implementing robust security measures and maintaining compliance with regulatory standards. By managing these critical aspects, MSPs help reduce the burden on full-time employees, allowing them to concentrate on their primary roles while ensuring the organization’s data and applications are secure.
Pro Tip: Whether you are in a regulated environment or not, ask your MSP what security programs they’ve actively participated in. This will help gauge their general security mindset.
Proactive Support and Maintenance
Cloud MSPs provide proactive monitoring, maintenance, and support for cloud infrastructures. This proactive approach helps prevent potential issues before they impact the business, ensuring smoother operations. For full-time employees, this means less time spent troubleshooting and more time dedicated to strategic projects and initiatives.
Pro Tip: Even offloading basic activities like monitoring, backups, and patching can free up a lot of time and increase employee satisfaction. If you want to start small, see if your Cloud MSP has a basic maintenance package that may be more affordable than a complete management solution.
Scalability and Flexibility
Cloud MSPs offer scalable solutions that adapt to the changing needs of the business. This flexibility allows full-time employees to efficiently manage workloads, especially during peak times or when scaling operations. With the MSP handling the complexities of scaling the cloud environment, employees can remain focused on their tasks without being overburdened by technical limitations.
Pro Tip: A significant advantage of using a Cloud MSP is access to a team of engineers and technicians. Make sure that you have a dedicated point of contact, though. You don’t want to be just another ticket in a queue.
Conclusion
Integrating a Cloud Managed Services Provider into your business strategy is not about replacing your workforce but enhancing their capabilities and effectiveness. By offloading the complexities of cloud management, providing access to specialized expertise, and offering proactive support, a Cloud MSP can empower your full-time employees to excel in their roles. This strategic collaboration leads to a more productive, innovative, and secure organization poised for growth and success.
