MARKET REPORT MSP
“The adoption to public cloud also brings a great opportunity for MSPs. This adoption is happening at
an increasing rate, but there are many applications that businesses can’t migrate to the cloud.”
Ben Savage, Sales and Marketing Director, Timico
PUBLIC SECTOR SECURITY WOES
Jonathan Whitley, Sales Director for Northern Europe at WatchGuard
Technologies
“You can forgive CISOs and IT departments of being of a nervous
disposition. No one wants to wake up to news that they have a breach
on their hands. But the fact is, regardless of size or type, companies and
public sector organisations feel more under attack than ever. They are
also under pressure to meet the demands from new legislation - not least
of course, GDPR.
SMBs, who once felt secure in the belief that they were not big enough
to be targeted, now face real threats on a daily basis. But unfortunately
they often lack the budget or in-house expertise to achieve a strong cyber
security posture. Without the capacity to stay one step ahead by shoring
up defences or regularly confi guring, monitoring and updating security
products and processes, SMBs and left playing catch-up and keeping their
fi ngers crossed.
To compound the problem. SMBs often don’t have level of visibility
into what IT resources are being consumed, where they reside and
how they potentially interact. Whether it is a tablet device running
lightweight bookkeeping or project management software or a backoffi
ce system running SaaS applications, organisations need to be
able to identify what data is being used, where it is stored and how it’s
processed by users and applications.
So, what is the answer, faced with a myriad of vendors claiming to
offer ‘the solution’? It appears that more CISOs and IT teams are looking to
their existing Managed Service Providers for help. They want them to add
the extra S and move from being an MSP to a Managed Security Service
Providers (MSSP).”
their services. Many companies
are now placing more focus
than ever before on human
capital, and creating a positive
employee experience (EX) to
encourage talent hiring and
retention. Research conducted
last year showed companies that
invested heavily in employees
earnedmore than four times the
average pro t, and two times
the average revenue compared
to those that didn’t.
Focusing on customers,
and the sta that play a part
in serving them, will help
organisations exceed their
potential and, ultimately, grow
– but managed service providers
(MSPs) also have a crucial role
to play in these businesses’
evolution.”
ED SAYS…
The market is at a crucial time in its evolution
as businesses look for skills they can’t fi nd
from within. MSP’s would seem like the perfect
remedy to service need for cloud migration
services but staying abreast of the skills in
demand is no easy feat. Vendors can play their
part here and should be an enabler for you to
deliver the right services, look for those that
aide rather than hinder.
Jonathan Whitley, Sales
Director for Northern
Europe at WatchGuard
Technologies
and quali cations, but there is
always a balance to be struck
as these extra elements moreoften
than-not incur additional
costs which then become less
attractive to customers.”
Down the road
So what are we likely to see
from the cloud and MSP space
over the next year?
Drinkall commented,
“We see businesses shifting
their attention over the next
12 months to their in-house
capabilities and the use of
technologies to create greater
e ciencies, boost productivity
and ultimately, to nd margin.
It’s no longer about embracing
technology to stand out,
technology must provide ROI
and fast. is is where the
network is
so important.”
Cheel added, “ ere is so
much more to come in terms
of innovation from software
vendors and MSPs who will
deliver solutions that customers
don’t realise that they need yet.
We expect to see more intercloud
working systems and
collaboration across platforms
with IoT and AI playing a part
in these developments too.
Another development will
likely be in terms of pricing
models, which we are used
to seeing as a cost per user
per month. However, with a
growing need for exibility
a consumption model may
become the norm for new
application and micro services,
where customers can pay for
what they use e.g. for a largescale
one-o event, rather
than paying a higher fee
year-round where there
are only a few day to day
users.”
Savage commented
“All of this comes down
to making customers
happier, and driving
loyalty by improving, and
tailoring, the customer
experience. is is
placing huge pressures on
business to interact with
customers better and nd
employees that can make
a positive impact on
Ben Savage,
Sales and
Marketing
Director,
Timico
48 | Comms Business Magazine | May 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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