When planning to migrate to the Cloud, many organisations focus almost exclusively on choosing a cloud service provider. IT directors are naturally keen to identify the best service provider, one that can offer them a robust and secure platform on which to run all of their applications and services and on which they can safely store all their data. However, in addition to choosing a cloud service provider, there is another important task to complete: choosing who is going to manage the cloud services in Australia that you use and deciding who is going to oversee the migration process.
There are two main choices when deciding how your cloud services will be managed: assembling an in-house team to take care of all the details or taking advantage of managed cloud services offered by 3rd-party specialists. In this short guide, we are going to focus on the second choice. We will discuss what managed cloud services are and consider whether they might be the right choice for your organisation.
Managed cloud services: a basic primer
Each cloud service provider has its own cloud platform, consisting of a physical network of data centres spread across the globe and a set of cloud services designed to meet all the needs of their clients. These services may be divided into multiple categories such as data storage, compute resources, identity access and networking features.
It is up to each cloud service provider’s client to manage the services and resources they use, as they see fit. But for companies that lack the in-house expertise to do this, there is another option: managed cloud services.
Managed cloud services are often provided by 3rd-parties – companies that specialise in managing cloud environments for their clients – but sometimes they are offered by the cloud service providers themselves. In either case, the services you use will be managed for you, by a team of highly experienced cloud experts with an in-depth knowledge of the platform and all the features it has to offer.
What may be included in managed cloud services
The precise nature of the managed cloud services you are offered will depend on the team you choose to work with but they will often include some or all of the following:
- Migration assistance — Help in deciding how and what to migrate, and expert assistance in developing a comprehensive migration strategy.
- Monitoring services — 24/7 monitoring of your cloud infrastructure and resources, ensuring potential issues are dealt with swiftly.
- Security guidance — The development of effective security policies that meet all of your access requirements and safeguard your data in the cloud.
- Backup services — Tailored disaster recovery solutions that help you to recover swiftly from critical equipment failures.
- Cost optimisation — The formulation of a cloud strategy that allows you to take advantage of the potential savings this computing environment has to offer.
If your own IT team is still learning about cloud platforms and what they have to offer, managed cloud services could make a lot of sense for your organisation.