Things to Consider when Thinking about Cloud Management
(4 minute read)
In today’s economy, many businesses have begun to move at least a portion of their infrastructure to the cloud. And rightfully so; a cloud-based business model can provide the flexibility, efficiency and agility needed to remain competitive.
The entire journey to the cloud, from the initial business case through to change management and support, can have wide-ranging effects on your business. Working with an experienced managed cloud services provider can help ensure a smooth journey. The following are some things to consider when thinking about cloud management.
Remove the Burden of Routine Tasks from your IT Team
Day-to-day system administration tasks can stretch the capacity of your internal IT staff, limiting their ability to focus on strategic initiatives. A managed cloud service provider that specializes in running and supporting SAP environments will take on the burden of keeping up with patches and other changes off your plate, allowing your IT staff to focus on meeting the needs of your business.
Be Smart in Managing your Service Providers
Transferring specific IT tasks to different service providers over time often results in having to manage a wide array of IT contracts and partners that only know a portion of your IT landscape. A smarter approach would be to receive all services from a single provider that can support both routine run operations and other projects as needed. A second option would be to work with a single provider that manages and coordinates the activities of all third-party providers on your behalf.
Seamlessly Integrate your Cloud Infrastructure
With so many options available for cloud services, the challenge will be to assemble them into a functioning IT landscape that makes sense for your business. Look for a service provider that can implement the right processes to manage your customized cloud landscape and ensure the integration, data exchange and function of the combined solutions.
Avoid the “Know-How” Trap
With the wide range of technologies used by most businesses, it can be difficult (and expensive) to staff internally for every skillset. Through your managed cloud provider, you have access to an experienced team of dedicated resources who are committed to staying abreast of the latest and most cost-effective technologies for running your SAP environment today and into the future.
Retain Control of your Entire IT Infrastructure, Globally
Managing a global IT infrastructure can be challenging. An IT service provider that operates at a global level can help you to establish a uniform infrastructure and clear processes for your entire company — including all subsidiaries – with a consistently high service level, using on-shore, near-shore and off-shore resources.
Strengthen IT’s Role as a Strategic Consultant
Alignment between IT and the rest of the business is crucial to enable transformation and innovation. Strategic use of a managed cloud services partner can free up your internal IT staff to work more closely with the business to solve business problems and build a roadmap for future growth.
Protect your Business from Current and Future Security Risks
Distributing and storing data across a hybrid cloud landscape and multiple data processing centers can create potential sources of risk that can be difficult to predict. And while most companies have laid out the foundation for secure IT systems, they may lack the expertise or budget to provide extensive protections. Managed cloud providers have the tools, infrastructure scale and expertise required to put together a solution architecture to meet your business requirements, with the highest level of security.
Unleash your Capacity for Innovation
A mature IT landscape is often complex, with obscure dependencies that make every upgrade or implementation project seem like too big a risk – and this can impede your capacity for innovation and agility. Partnering with a strategic managed services provider can help your business design, build and optimize a complex, hybrid IT infrastructure that allows your internal IT team to focus on strategic activities that drive innovation.
Once you’ve decided on your cloud model, you should also start to consider the necessary service and support models that you will need for ongoing IT operations and business process optimization. As an experienced SAP Platinum Partner, NTT DATA Business Solutions is available to support your business in a variety of ways – from managed cloud services, to consultation, IT implementation and application management services (AMS). If you’d like to learn more, please contact us.