The cloud imperative is here for modern enterprise. According to Gartner, spending on public cloud managed services will increase by more than 20% by the end of 2024, and 75% of organizations will adopt cloud-first digital transformation models by 2026.
For SAP organizations, this means adopting RISE with SAP or migrating existing, complex legacy SAP systems to the cloud and learning how to secure, monitor and maintain them to drive innovation, visibility, adaptability, and growth.
To bridge gaps that exist on internal IT teams and ensure access to high-level expertise, many are choosing to work with a trusted cloud managed services provider. In this guide, we’ll explore what these services entail and the benefits of managed cloud services for your business.
Quick Takeaways
- Cloud managed services providers have the expertise, knowledge, and experience required for effective cloud management.
- They provide support for cloud migration and modernization as well as cloud strategy development, maintenance, and improvement.
- Key benefits of managed cloud services span from support for platform and data management to cost optimization recommendations to niche cloud expertise and guidance.
- Cloud managed services providers help organizations seamlessly adopt new cloud solutions and features as they emerge.
- Managed service providers act as middlemen between enterprises and vendors (like hyperscalers and ERP providers) so that internal IT teams can stay focused on strategic priorities.
What Are Cloud Managed Services?
Enterprises outsourcing cloud management and administration seek out cloud managed services—the most comprehensive approach to adding third-party support for cloud operations. It helps organizations leverage cloud computing to its fullest potential while offloading the burden of day-to-day tasks.
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Cloud managed service providers offer support in a wide range of areas that include:
- Cloud Strategy Development: Designing end-to-end cloud strategies that align with enterprise-specific business goals and needs
- Lowering TCO: Implementing cost-saving measures and optimizing resource utilization to reduce TCO of cloud infrastructure
- Scalability and Flexibility: Enabling enterprises to scale their cloud resources dynamically to meet changing business demands
- Adopting New Cloud Solutions: Facilitating the integration of new cloud innovations, including modern ERP and modern work
Benefits of Managed Cloud Services Include:
Working with a cloud managed services provider means gaining access to an array of cloud solutions, services, support, and benefit that span IT focus areas, including:
1) Infrastructure Management
MSPs manage, monitor, and optimize components of the cloud infrastructure like servers, storage, networking, and virtualization. They ensure your cloud infrastructure is always properly maintained and scaled to meet your current business needs.
2) Platform Management
Cloud MSPs manage the cloud platform(s) being utilized by your business, such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. They handle tasks like provisioning resources, configuring services, optimizing performance, and ensuring security and compliance.
3) Data Management
Cloud MSPs oversee critical data-related tasks such as backup and disaster recovery, data storage and retrieval, data migration, and data security. They implement the data management strategies necessary to protect sensitive information and ensure reliable business continuity.
4) Monitoring and Support
MSPs monitor cloud environments, track performance metrics, and proactively identify and address issues or anomalies. They can provide reliable technical support, incident response, and troubleshooting to support smooth operations and minimize downtime.
5) Security and Compliance
Cloud managed service providers implement advanced security measures to safeguard cloud infrastructure and data. They assist with infrastructure-wide security assessments, vulnerability management, access control, encryption, and compliance with industry-specific regulations.
Access to high-level cloud security expertise is crucial as more organizations adopt complex cloud models like hybrid and multicloud, which require new and holistic ways of approaching security that go beyond bolt-on strategies of the past.
6) Cost Optimization
A cloud managed service provider can help you reduce your cloud costs by fully analyzing resource utilization, identifying unused or underutilized resources, implementing cost-saving measures across entire infrastructures, and providing recommendations for reduced spending.
7) Scalability and Flexibility
Cloud managed services allow organizations to more easily scale their cloud infrastructure based on changing demands. IT leaders can ensure that their cloud environments are set up to accommodate increased workloads and get continual guidance on adapting to evolving needs.
8) Up-to-Date Expertise and Guidance
Cloud MSPs have deep, specialized knowledge in modern cloud technologies, best practices, and changing industry trends. They help enterprises stay on the cutting edge of new cloud capabilities and tools, and provide guidance on how to continually improve cloud performance.
9) Refocus on Strategic Internal Initiatives
By leveraging cloud managed services, organizations can focus on their core business objectives while leaving the technical complexities of cloud management to the experts. This enables them to achieve greater efficiency, and cost-effectiveness across their cloud operations.
10) Reduced Risk
McKinsey recently reported that an alarming 75% of cloud migrations go over budget and 38% run behind schedule. Support from cloud MSPs reduce these risks and help enterprises avoid issues like unplanned downtime, unexpected costs, data loss, and lags in time-to-value from cloud features.
By partnering with a cloud managed services provider, CIOs and their teams can modernize on the cloud with confidence, secure in the knowledge that they have support from experienced experts who can keep their journey on track.
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Why Work with a SAP Managed Cloud Service Provider?
Partnering with an expert MSP is valuable for SAP users given the complexity of migrating, modernizing and integrating ERP systems on the cloud. By working with a trusted partner, you can ensure your cloud investments deliver maximum ROI.
SAP cloud managed services providers understand the intricacies of SAP architecture, configurations, integrations, and best practices.
They know how to manage complex SAP environments as they move through cloud migration and modernization journeys, maintaining the critical aspects of legacy systems while enhancing them for the future.
Managed cloud service providers can help you build transformation roadmaps and plans that are aligned specifically to your needs so that you get maximum value back from your SAP workloads and enterprise cloud investments.
They’re up to date on the latest trends and emerging technologies so that you can stay on the cutting edge of new cloud features and capabilities, including:
- RISE with SAP: Build the business case for adopting RISE with SAP, accelerate deployment, integrate surrounding workloads and innovate with BTP services across cloud providers.
Have questions? Check out our Q&A blog from a recent webcast, perhaps some of yours are in here! - AI and Machine Learning: Integrating AI and ML for predictive analytics, automated monitoring, and enhanced security measures.
- Hybrid and Multi Cloud Models: Implementing hybrid and multi cloud strategies to optimize flexibility and control across different cloud environments.
- Edge Computing: Leveraging edge computing to enhance real-time data processing and support IoT applications.
- Sustainability Initiatives: Optimizing cloud operations to achieve sustainability goals by reducing energy usage and carbon footprints.
- Industry-Specific Solutions: Tailoring cloud solutions to meet unique compliance and operational needs of specific industries such as healthcare, finance, and manufacturing.
Finally, MSPs have extensive networks with members of cloud ecosystems, including hyperscale providers like Microsoft, Azure, and AWS as well as SAP (and other critical system providers and partners). They act as the middleman between you and your vendors, ensuring you never have to get tangled up in the technical details—you can always focus on strategic success.
The Protera Difference
For more than 25 years, Protera has been helping clients get the most from their SAP systems and pioneering SAP cloud operations. Today, Protera is an industry-leading, client-preferred, globally SAP-certified provider of comprehensive cloud and application managed services.
Protera’s comprehensive cloud management services and proprietary cloud management platform, CloudVantage, eliminate the black-box, monolithic management of the past to deliver the best possible operating experience for clients—one driven by automation, visibility, integration, and optimization.
Our three-pronged approach to managed cloud services enables enterprises to elevate and modernize their cloud, ERP, and modern work strategies in a cohesive and connected way—all while staying true to high-level objectives to drive the business forward.
Our team of SAP experts and support professionals are available 24/7 to ensure your SAP and and surrounding workloads on cloudsecure, available and optimized.
Check out our client success stories to learn how Protera’s services span industries, enterprise sizes, and unique SAP cloud scenarios. Contact one of our experts to start your cloud journey with Protera today.