Companies are now interested in hosted services like cloud computing which is slowly collapsing, Managed Service Provider (MSP) could be the in thing as experts have said that it is now dealing with a dynamic market.
Warwick Ward-Cox is MD of Network Platforms, refers to the increased uptake of the Cloud and cost-effective connectivity as two drivers behind the push towards hosted services.
“For example a Microsoft Exchange server would require a MSP to implement and manage the server. With the move to Cloud, deployments are much quicker and there is no capital investment in terms of hardware onsite. Additional resources can be added quickly without an impact on business from a financial and disruption perspective,” he explains.
MSPs have to consider how to bill for end-user support because more services are removed from the client’s infrastructure. The Cloud has affected billing and the question of the level of control over a client’s infrastructure.
Network Platforms has aligned its service to the Cloud-based service requirements of the market. The Company offers MSP Cloud based solutions on a reseller program so it is possible to create an annuity income from these services.
Looking ahead at 2014, Ward-Cox predicts that as connectivity prices decrease and improve, the uptake will increase and supply will meet demand because ISPs have worked hard to get the hosted platforms in place.
“There is no doubt this is one of the most active and exciting areas of technology to operate in… there is a great deal to look forward to and the Cloud is not going to disappear anytime soon!,” he adds.