While most enterprises already have a cloud footprint, increasingly, they are making use of managed cloud solutions. Delivering a wider range of services and cost savings, as well as reducing the burden on IT teams, managed cloud is, for many organisations, the way forward. Here we explain why.
An overview of managed cloud
The difference between a cloud solution and a managed cloud solution is that, with a managed cloud, the service provider takes care of the management of the cloud infrastructure on the client’s behalf. At the simplest level, services such as server monitoring, patching and OS updates become the responsibility of the service provider, freeing up in-house IT staff to work on more important projects.
Increasingly, however, enterprises are outsourcing a wider range of tasks to their service providers as part of a bespoke managed solution. This can include services such as backup and continuity, data management, app deployment and a variety of other tasks, all of which take the strain from the client. Here are the main advantages that managed cloud offers.
- Infrastructure savings
Operating an in-house data centre is expensive and the current energy crisis has sent running costs spiralling. Hardware is costly to buy and needs to be managed and maintained, and with a single server using upwards of 7,000kWh of electricity per annum, the operating costs are repressive.
A managed cloud solution removes not only the need to purchase hardware but the cost of operating it too. These burdens on organisational finance are removed and replaced with a monthly and less expensive service charge. Aside from cutting overall costs, the other benefit is that payments are steady and can be factored into the budget. Enterprises simply need to choose the cloud plan that offers the right storage and compute resources for their needs.
- Enhanced security
Cyberattacks against enterprises are increasing in volume and sophistication, making it imperative to ensure systems remain robustly defended. This, however, is no mean feat, especially for organisations operating across multiple vendors and with complex infrastructures. Defending against cybercriminals requires both expertise and investment in security solutions, two things that not every organisation can easily muster.
A managed cloud provider, like Hyperslice, has security expertise in place and makes use of powerful technologies, like next-gen FortiGate firewalls, with built-in intrusion and malware prevention, to ensure threats are kept at bay from your cloud server.
- High availability
Enterprises are increasingly connecting with customers online and more employees are working remotely. Critical applications that enable round-the-clock accessibility to both customers and staff need to be available all the time. The concern when running these applications on dedicated servers is that, if there is a hardware issue, the application will go offline until the issue is addressed.
With a managed cloud solution, the customer’s server is virtual, not physical, and this means it can be moved from one physical server to another. As a result, if there is an issue with a physical machine, the virtual server is instantly moved to a different machine and applications continue running without interruption. Managed cloud customers, therefore, can be offered 100% uptime guaranteed by SLA.
- Scalability
Compute resources are just as much a utility as water and power to today’s digital enterprises. While a standard cloud plan will provide organisations with enough compute resources for their day-to-day needs, there may be times when additional resources are required, such as to carry out batch processing or deal with a spike in traffic. In these circumstances, without easy access to additional storage, RAM, CPU or bandwidth, the server may perform slowly or even crash.
A vital part of a managed cloud solution is the ability to scale up resources on demand. This means that with the click of a button, enterprises can ensure there are enough resources to meet all demands. What’s more, additional resources are charged for on a pay-per-use basis, there is no need to permanently upgrade to a bigger contract.
- Improved compliance
Every enterprise that collects, stores or processes personal data must comply with regulations like GDPR. The advantage of the cloud is that it enables that data to be better managed and more securely stored. In the cloud, data can be stored centrally, ensuring organisations know exactly where it is, who is accessing it and when. It also gives greater control over who can access data, through the use of logical access control and user privileges. Additionally, data can be encrypted both in transit and at rest.
- Recovery and continuity
Data loss can have devastating outcomes for enterprises and can happen for a variety of reasons, including human error, ransomware and data corruption. It is vital, therefore, that disaster recovery and business continuity measures are put in place to ensure swift restoration of systems and data and that recovery points are as recent as possible.
Managed cloud backups are the ideal solution for this. They enable data to be backed up at the frequency an organisation needs, and in doing so, ensure recovery point objectives are achievable. Backups are encrypted, stored remotely and integrity checked and, being cloud-based, can restore systems and data much faster than traditional backup methods.
- 24/7 technical support
As a client of Hyperslice, enterprises have round-the-clock access to our technical support team every day of the year. Whatever the issue, an expert engineer will be available to assist with fixing the problem.
In addition to standard technical support, we also offer bespoke services, including IT strategy and consultancy, infrastructure health and security audits and compliance assistance.
Conclusion
Managed cloud solutions offer enterprises significant benefits. These include high availability, scalability, robust security and compliance, and advanced backup and continuity services. At the same time, managed cloud helps cut costs while reducing the workload of IT teams. For information about our managed cloud solutions, visit Hyperslice.com