EXPERT SPEAK
Key challenges faced by MSPs with cloud providers
• 54 % of MSPs saying that they have gone over budget on hyperscale cloud services in the last 12 months .
• 34 % says cost levels were currently their top challenge when working with hyper-scalers .
• Nearly 30 % cite vendor lock-in and complex pricing structures as a key issue .
• 54 % say their hyperscale partners do not provide a dedicated account manager , or they do not know if they do .
• Under a third of participating MSPs said these issues have had a negative impact on their ability to service their customers .
• While public cloud adoption remains on an upward trajectory , there are a range of issues that are having a tangible impact on MSP business .
it , public cloud offers a range of choices to meet very clear sets of needs .
Despite this very optimistic position , public cloud does bring some significant challenges that are increasingly reflected in the experiences of MSPs . Specifically , many are reporting efficiency and cost control issues that have a knock-on effect on their own service provision .
Top of the list of concerns are public cloud spending levels , with 54 % of MSPs saying that they have gone over budget on hyperscale cloud services in the last 12 months , with 34 % saying cost levels were currently their top challenge when working with hyper-scalers .
MSPs also have other concerns borne out of their experience of working with hyperscale public cloud providers . For example , nearly 30 % cite vendor lock-in and complex pricing structures as a key issue , while 54 % say their hyperscale partners do not provide a dedicated account manager , or they do not know if they do .
Put this all together , and just under a
third of MSPs participating in the survey said these issues have had a negative impact on their ability to service their customers .
Looking more broadly at other issues influencing the public cloud market , cloud repatriation , where organisations move workloads away from public clouds to their own data centres – is being considered by more than 70 % of organisations , according to IDC .
A key takeaway from this insight is that while public cloud adoption remains on a firm upward trajectory , there are a range of important issues that are having a tangible impact on MSP businesses . Unless hyperscalers use their leadership position to
MSPs play a vital role in delivering the right configurations of cloud services to end customers , and today , expertise in this market is essential . make changes , these challenges will have an impact on the public cloud ecosystem in the years to come .
However , there are steps MSPs can take to address the shortcomings of the current public cloud model . To start with , MSPs can look at how they procure these services in the first place because there are infrastructure and service providers out there who can deliver a more equitable balance across price , performance , service and flexibility .
Although in an ideal world , an MSP should be able to set out their specifications , such as compute power , storage and network capabilities , it is largely not possible for public cloud providers to respond with a solution tailored to individual business needs .
While it might be tempting to focus on what the dominant public cloud providers have to offer , the market is now mature and diverse enough to feature niche players geared towards what MSPs specifically need for their customer base .
Whether they are focused on all-in public cloud adoption , hybrid and multi-cloud strategies or focus on cloud repatriation , an intelligent buying strategy is essential to MSP success . And MSPs should consider the benefits of those providers offering customisation and control that will enable them to deliver agile cloud services individually to every customer . •
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