Cloud
computing has
completely transformed the way organizations deal with IT and software services. There’s been a sharp decline in conventional and
one-time, fee-based IT solutions, signaling a change in the IT landscape. We’re
now moving toward a more advanced solution: ITaaS, or IT as a service.
What Is IT as a
Service (ITaaS)?
IT infrastructure
forms the backbone of any organization. However, the increasingly expensive
upfront costs and complex maintenance processes of traditional IT solutions are
a serious obstacle for most organizations.
Thus, greater
demand for the latest technological features, lower costs, upgraded security
protocols, and dedicated customer service has led to the rise of ITaaS
solutions.
Put simply, IT as
a service provides immediate and direct access to IT solutions while affording
customers the convenience of having to only pay for what they actually need.
Want to learn more
about what it’s like to work with a cloud partner that guarantees your
success?
ITaaS providers
now have a catalog of solutions for collaborating, communicating, computing,
hosting, connecting, using professional services, improving business
capabilities, and providing service support.
A Golden Opportunity
for MSPs
The increasing
demand for ITaaS has positioned MSPs at the forefront of this industry-wide
change. In short, passing up this opportunity is the equivalent of handing out
customers to your competitors.
Consider
this: Only 10% of global enterprises relied
on ITaaS for their primary workloads back in 2015. Fast forward to 2018, and
the number increased to 51%!
Modern-day
organizations depend upon information and data for survival. This has led to a
rising emphasis on applications that provide solutions for a wide range of
problems, such as increased load on IT infrastructures and threats to uptime.
Research by IDC found
that 71% of businesses in the United States are faced with an average downtime
of approximately 10 hours per year. For small- or medium-sized businesses, this
loss in productivity can result in up to $125,000 in lost revenue; for larger
enterprises, that number can be as high as $17 million.
As a result,
organizations are increasingly opting for ITaaS-based solutions, which is
evident in the 12% increase in
ITaaS adoption rates from 2015–2018.
Research shows
that large enterprises have also increased allocation of their off-premises
workloads to ITaaS providers. Large enterprises have also exhibited a marked
interest in trusting hyperscale providers such as Google, Amazon, or Microsoft.
Overall, 48% of large enterprises have handed their IT
services to one of these three hyperscale providers, and it’s predicted that
this number will rise to 80% in 2019.
What Differentiates
ITaaS from Other Alternatives?
As a rapidly
growing alternative to conventional organizational IT solutions, ITaaS has
several differentiating factors that have been instrumental in its rising
popularity. Let’s take a look at what distinguishes ITaaS from other options.
A Subscription-Based
Model
The concept of
subscription-based IT services is one of the key factors that sets ITaaS apart
from the traditional IT service model. ITaaS providers typically charge a
monthly fee based on the number of users and the number of solutions required.
This means that small businesses, despite their size, can have unrestricted
access to high-quality services. As those businesses scale, their subscriptions
can be upgraded or downsized to suit their needs. For large organizations that
rely heavily on IT, this means that they have a direct line to an expert and a
reliable vendor—thus reducing, if not outright eliminating, extended downtimes
and productivity loss.
Around-the-Clock
Prioritized Support
Another hallmark
of high-quality ITaaS solutions is the prioritized expert advice that
enterprises can tap into anytime. In a first-line capacity, the service desk
serves as the main point of contact between the IT solution provider and the
client for technical faults, answers to queries, or other such issues. In the
case of a larger company, priority support can be extended to an in-house team.
While most
organizations operate from 9 to 5, ITaaS support is available 24/7, around the
clock. With the growing focus on remote working and global business models,
prioritized support has emerged as one of the defining points in favor of
ITaaS.
Active Monitoring
Proactive
monitoring dedicated to identifying IT problems enhances the security of an
organization’s core servers and network. ITaaS utilizes monitoring platforms
that track utilization and network health metrics and conduct in-depth trend
analysis. This continuous monitoring results in vastly improved uptime. Most
importantly, active monitoring leads to a significantly reduced mean time taken
to repair (MTTR) in the event that a bug is discovered in the system.
Enhanced Performance
and SLA-Bound Performance
Unlike in-house
IT experts, an ITaaS contract is governed by a service-level agreement (SLA)
that sets out certain standards of service that the customer can expect. SLAs
also inlcude specific factors such as hours to immediate response,
prioritization of faults, and the time required to fix bugs. The scope of the
SLA is typically aligned with the organizational expectations of individual IT
departments, which greatly benefits both parties invested in providing their clients with the best-possible
alternatives, MSPs are now focusing on providing ITaaS solutions. As we move
towards a specialized economy, and enterprises look to allocate resources more
efficiently, there is a vast potential for MSPs to emerge as the principle IT
support providers.
In short, making sure you can offer the best possible services
to your customers is one of the simplest ways to, not only keep them happy and
satisfied, but also grow your business. Contact us today to learn
more about how a partnership with LATVIK can help you.
Best Regards ,
Latvik Blog Team
LATVIK TECHNOLOGIES ™
