Managed Service Providers (MSP) are under pressure to add more services to their portfolios. Most started with backup and now are looking to add services like application hosting and virtual desktop as a service. Not only are these services complicated there is also a higher level of risk associated with them. Instead of going down this risky path, MSPs should look for alternative data services.
In this StorageShort, Storage Switzerland and ClearSky Data discuss the benefits of adding services like Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) and Copy Data Management (CDM).
DRaaS and CDM build on the existing skill set the MSP already has. Both services also operate on the second copy of data instead of the primary, which means the MSPs customer doesn’t have to go “all-in”. But these are both areas where the MSP can add value.
A big potential area for added value is providing compute to those services on demand. When not offered as a service both DR and CDM require that the organization have available compute to run the process. For DR, that means having compute (i.e. servers) available sitting idle at the DR site.
Copy data is copied because the organization is going to use it. Outside of the backup use case, that typically means running reports or analytics against that data. IT can also use it to provide the test, dev and QA teams a near-production copy of data to work on. All of these secondary processes require compute, but in most cases that requirement is not constant. If the MSP can provide that compute on demand, they can add a tremendous amount of value to their customers – making the service even more valuable.
To learn more about the next steps that MSPs should take beyond just backup, check out our on demand webinar “What’s Next in Storage for Managed Service Providers?”
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George Crump is the Chief Marketing Officer at VergeIO, the leader in Ultraconverged Infrastructure. Prior to VergeIO he was Chief Product Strategist at StorONE. Before assuming roles with innovative technology vendors, George spent almost 14 years as the founder and lead analyst at Storage Switzerland. In his spare time, he continues to write blogs on Storage Switzerland to educate IT professionals on all aspects of data center storage. He is the primary contributor to Storage Switzerland and is a heavily sought-after public speaker. With over 30 years of experience designing storage solutions for data centers across the US, he has seen the birth of such technologies as RAID, NAS, SAN, Virtualization, Cloud, and Enterprise Flash. Before founding Storage Switzerland, he was CTO at one of the nation's largest storage integrators, where he was in charge of technology testing, integration, and product selection.
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