Technology has changed a lot over the years. Back in the mainframe days we had very standard architectures that were driven by a few vendors and managed by a few people. Developers had few choices when it came to infrastructure and programming languages. When we moved to the client server era, infrastructure configurations became much more dynamic and many enterprises adopted a three tier architecture. Developers could now choose from a variety of programming languages and specialists emerged within each layer of the architecture (web, application, database, middleware, etc.). This increase in complexity came with trade-offs. We now had greater flexibility in the types of applications we could build and the ability to deliver software with more velocity and at a lower cost. However, managing these n-tier architectures created more operational overhead and required a diverse set of skills to support the various layers.
As we enter the cloud era, complexity is at an all-time high and our trade-offs are more extreme than ever before. We can build incredible solutions at amazing scale. Both the software and infrastructure components of our architectures can be highly automated. We live in the world where everything can be delivered as a service and is available online, all the time. In order to support the “always on” and auto scaling requirements that users have come to expect, the underlying architectures have become extremely complex.
Balancing agility and complexity
At the same time our architectures are increasing in complexity, the business is demanding speed to market like never before. Large ecosystems around cloud computing, mobile computing, big data solutions and the Internet of Things allow us to connect highly abstracted building blocks together and build highly available and extremely robust solutions in a fraction of the time. The architectures of cloud, mobile, and big data are highly distributed and the underlying infrastructure is both virtual and immutable. That is a radical change from when previously large, inflexible, physical architectures supported the software we built.
Today’s distributed architectures are made up of many moving parts. These architectures are elastic, meaning that they scale up and down horizontally by adding and subtracting virtual resources automatically. Building architectures of this nature is much more involved than in the vertical scaling world of mainframes and client server architectures where scaling meant adding bigger physical machines and components. Many engineers within today’s enterprises have years of experience dealing with vertical architectures, but very little experience in building horizontal architectures. Enterprises are traditionally very good at managing back office applications and building n-tier software. But when it comes to architectures that require high scalability and massively parallel processing, very few enterprises have the experience required to build those types of applications.
This creates the following dilemma. The business sees an opportunity, whether it is a new revenue stream, a competitive advantage, or possibly a competitive threat, and requests that IT implements a new cloud, mobile, or big data solution. IT has very little expertise in this space yet still decides to build it themselves. They go through a long period of prototyping and learning. Many of these enterprises will fail to deliver or will deliver something subpar or very late. While IT is trying to wrap their arms around these new technologies, the business opportunity sits there idle and the opportunity costs start accumulating rapidly over time. To make matters worse, IT is spinning their wheels and consuming valuable time and money just to stand up clouds, mobile platforms, or big data databases before they can even begin to focus on building the applications and services that will provide the greatest value to the business. Much of the work that IT is trying to figure out is already a commodity that a whole host of vendors already provide out of the box as a service, or even as a completely managed service.
Giving up control to acquire value
IT traditionally wants to be in control of everything. Developers frequently want to build many things that are not a core competency. The problem I see in IT is they prioritize things like control and manageability far more than things like speed to market, customer satisfaction, agility, etc. We live in an era where time to market is one of the most critical value propositions in business. Get something to market quick, acquire customers, learn from those customers, and advance the product or service based on customer feedback. Going dark for 12-18 months as IT ramps up its skillset for the new technologies is not a winning formula. IT needs to understand that they should focus on delivering business value instead of trying to control every technology under the sun.
Where does IT add value?
The real value of IT is its deep understanding of the business and enabling business partners by providing them with cost effective technology solutions that can be delivered quickly and adjusted frequently. Building and managing commodity technologies adds time and costs to each project and ties up precious IT resources on tasks that add little to no value to the business. No wonder IT is often considered a cost center! My advice is to take a step back and build a business architecture diagram that lays out the core business services that your company offers. Then draw up a reference architecture that depicts all of the different IT services that are required to support those business services. Then, identify which of those IT services are core to your business and build those. Everything else should be outsourced to managed service providers or to various external services and products.
Summary
IT needs to stop being a control freak and figure out how to add value by quickly delivering on the company’s core services. IT should be focusing on being the best provider of the services that their customers demand. If that service happens to be providing data center services, then by all means focus on that. If not, don’t spend time building datacenters. The same goes for big data, mobile, and IoT. If the company’s core service is to be a provider of database services, mobile platforms, or sensor technology, then build those technologies. If not, find the vendors who deliver those services as a core competency and spend your time building your business services on top of it
Looking for a partner in your business' managed services needs? Call us at 800-790-1524 to learn about all that we offer!
Security has always inhibited the take-up of cloud. I believe in most cases fears are overstated, but data security in the public cloud cannot be taken lightly. Data remains the responsibility of the organization that owns it, regardless of where it is stored. Your data may be held in an external cloud, but you cannot abdicate your own security responsibilities.
Your choice of cloud service should be based on what your organization can do and your appetite for risk. If you have limited resources, you will be more reliant on your cloud provider, but it is up to you to ensure they offer the security you need and continue to provide it throughout the contract.
When choosing a service, be aware that different types of public cloud include different levels of security. Very simplistically, with Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), the service provider will secure access to the underlying host and provide good general security up to and including the host and hypervisor patching. They may also provide proactive infrastructure security monitoring, often as a chargeable additional service, but you will still be responsible for securing access to the instance(s) and everything inside them, plus security of integration between instances unless you contract the provider or another third party to do it for you.
With Platform as a Service (PaaS) you also get a secured OS and service platform, plus normally patching of this, but you have to take responsibility for access and authentication to the service plus application patching and code updates for your service running on the platform.
With Software as a Service (SaaS) the provider is responsible for overall security of the service including securing any data hosted in their environment, so your responsibility is primarily authentication to the service and data transfer between service providers.
If you have very specific security needs, public cloud may not be right for you. The major public cloud providers have defined, standard processes and services, which is one of the major benefits of cloud and key to its cost effectiveness. If you need the provider to tailor its processes to suit you, you will be better off talking to private and virtual private cloud providers.
Having chosen public cloud, you need to find the right provider – which I believe is more about risk management than security. You must carry out effective due diligence, evaluating potential cloud providers as you would any other supplier and seeking independent verification of their capabilities and financial security.
It is the cloud provider’s responsibility to ensure your data is secured and protected within their environment, and their SLA should offer appropriate guarantees. However, it is your responsibility to ask them to deliver the appropriate levels of information security, and you must measure and audit them yourself to ensure they apply what has been agreed.
Agreements do not normally include backup unless you specify it in the contract, but all data you host with the provider should be recoverable and returnable at the end of the agreement.
To ensure data sovereignty, you should ask the cloud provider where it will be stored. You need to ensure this is in a jurisdiction with the correct safeguards in place and which does not contravene the Data Protection Act (GDPR from May 2018) or comparable legislation in other jurisdictions. Many providers who previously hosted offshore are setting up UK data centers to meet this requirement. Remember to ask where both primary and backup sites are located. If the provider cannot guarantee this, walk away.
I recommend asking your potential service provider:
Who is the ultimate holder of the data?
Where is the data held?
Do you operate good processes and can you prove it?
What specific security standards and levels of security are you applying to my data?
How can you guarantee no-one else can get access to my data unless I specifically want them to?
Organizations should check this information for themselves and manage it as they would for every other corporate risk.
Finally, consider how to manage your cloud supply chain. In many cases the organization you contract with is not the ultimate provider of the service, so you need to ensure they have suitable underpinning agreements or back-to-back contracts with their providers. Multiple providers may be necessary to deliver core services.
Risks arise when it is not clear where responsibility lies, which can lead to a blame culture. I recommend developing an operational agreement whereby suppliers commit to a code of conduct designed to remove any barriers to effective relationships and interworking and which operates alongside SLAs. This helps suppliers work together and removes any gaps or overlaps between contracted boundaries of responsibility, with mechanisms to resolve disputes in a collaborative and effective manner. It can be formalized in a Customer Service Charter.
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How to maximize ROI by outsourcing or blending with a managed services provider
Managing IT is no easy task. Challenges with IT professionals include a lot of turnover of IT employees, difficulty supporting the necessary training, and the expense of continued education to keep employees at the top of the industry. Whether you completely outsource IT or create a Blended IT workforce, a managed service provider can save you time, money, and a whole lot of frustration. To get the best out of your MSP, check out these tips:
Communicate your needs
Make sure to follow up with your managed services provider. They are there to give you exactly what you need, and also what you want. Communicate your goals and ideas so they can execute and implement them into your business. MSPs can be so much more than an outside IT department, and can often serve as your virtual CIO. Take advantage of this by combining all of your skills with theirs to take your business to the next level.
Re-evaluate often
Meet up with your MSP on a regular basis. Consistently reviewing the overall state of your IT operations is important in resolving - and preventing - any issues. Also checking up on your last period's operations efficiency, such as how many tickets went through, the average time of resolution, etc, can help you see exactly how your MSP is performing. Your MSP should work with you to improve the functionality of your network by keeping up with reports.
Let them help you
MSPs are capable of providing valuable strategic advice, including planning future IT projects and upgrades, evaluating your network, systems, and workstations, and coming up with solutions to current or potential future IT problems. Come up with a clear, step-by-step backup and disaster recovery plan. Work with your MSP to make sure they know what you will need, and you will know exactly what they can do for you, as well as what you will need to do in case of a disaster. Test the backup process with your MSP to make sure the plan will work for both of you.
Our Managed Services Portfolio includes offerings that cover a wide range of technology’s – choose from one of our packaged offerings or pick and choose the specific services and applications that fit your business needs. The first step will be a Network Assessment with one of our infrastructure experts that will provide you a network inventory analysis, identify any and all network issues and correlate data collected to provide you extensive insight into your network and its performance.
Cloud computing has been named the technology most likely to shape the future, according to an IBM survey.
The poll questioned C-level executives from 70 countries on which technologies they thought would be particularly important in the next three to five years. The following chart, produced by Statista, shows the percentage of CxOs (C-level executives) who identified a particular technology as influential.
Of all the respondents, 63% said cloud computing and related services would have the biggest impact by 2020. Next on the list was mobile solutions – named by more than three in five CxOs. The top three is completed by the internet of things, with over half the respondents considering it likely to be important in the next three to five years.
Other technologies on the list include cognitive computing, bio-engineering and innovations relating to energy.
They are all technologies with the potential to have a positive impact on societies, from mobile banking in the developing world to the solutions we need for tackling climate change, and also meeting our energy needs. The World Economic Forum’s Emerging Technologies Report highlights the most innovative solutions to the world’s toughest challenges.
Massive Growth Pushes Managed Solution onto SD Largest Biz List
The San Diego Business Journal named Managed Solution the 66th largest private company in San Diego in 2015
San Diego, CA – November 05, 2015 – Managed Solution announced today that the company has been recognized by the San Diego Business Journal as one of the Largest Private Companies in 2015. (link to list)
As a highly honored and tenured managed services company and pioneer in managed, utility-based cloud computing, Managed Solution is now the 66th largest private company in San Diego, according to the San Diego Business Journal. Managed Solution is also recognized this year in the World’s Top 100 Cloud Computing Companies in the Talkin' Cloud IT Channel list, on Penton Technology’s eighth-annual MSPmentor 501 Global Edition and as one of the Top Managed Service Providers in Pioneer 250.
“We are excited to be part of this esteemed list of local enterprises and appreciate the recognition of its hard work by the SDBJ,” said Sean Ferrel, chief executive officer, Managed Solution. As a part of the dynamic business community here in San Diego, we are a technology company that empowers business, investing in them like none other. We will continue to be committed to the success of our clients and we are excited to work with companies using today’s cutting edge technology to shape the business of tomorrow.
Along with caring for our customers, much of Managed Solution’s growth can be attributed to our dedication to our employees and the community. Managed solution prides itself on workplace culture and participates in dozens of events in the community per year. “At Managed Solution, it’s not jut about bringing the latest and greatest technologies to businesses and government in the South West US, it’s also about giving back, particularly in education so our children will be prepared for the technology environment of the business world as they enter into adulthood.” Said Ferrel.
San Diego Business Journal’s Largest Private Companies List honors privately-held companies that demonstrate the highest annual revenue figures from 2014.
About Managed Solution
Managed Solution is the premier provider of outsourced IT support and managed services for small to large size businesses. Founded in 2002, the company quickly grew into a market leader and is recognized as one of the fastest growing IT Companies in Southern California. Managed Solution continues to deliver award-winning services paired with leading business technologies to assist clients in running their business efficiently.
For more information on Managed Solution’s community outreach visit our community page.
Financial Organization Stays Compliant With Managed Solution
Business Needs: A small financial organization of twelve users contacted Managed Solution for technology consulting and recommendations to help move the company forward, while ensuring they stay compliant. During a recent audit, they were using Google Apps and did not pass regulatory compliance. They needed assistance from a technical partner to aid them off of Google aps and help them utilize a new business platform. Their current IT Manager also had several responsibilities at the financial organization and did not want to worry about daily IT issues. They needed a partner that provided technology recommendations to move the company forward and solutions scalable for company growth.
Solution: Managed Solution partnered with the financial organization by doing an assessment of their current technology structure and providing a full cloud solution that combined Office 365 and platinum level support. This includes remote monitoring, 24/7 help desk support, and unlimited onsite support that is scalable to grow with their organization. With understanding their business goals, Managed Solution provided a cost effective business continuity/disaster recovery solution and migrated users and data to Office 365.
Success: The solution provided by Managed Solution ensures the financial organization will meet regulatory compliance requirements during an audit. By moving to the cloud, the financial organization didn't need to purchase new on premise hardware, which reduced hardware infrastructure costs and provided an easy solution for growth. The fixed-cost model and 24/7 help desk and unlimited on-site support has increased employee productivity and helped them learn and leverage their technology tools. Now their current employees no longer have to mange their current IT issues, as Managed Solution is managing their infrastructure. The financial organization can focus on growing their business, instead of focusing on IT.
By Richard Blanford as written on www.infosecurity-magazine.com
