Digital transformation is key to business success. Studies reveal that data-driven businesses are 19 times more likely to be successful as they are in a better position to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Top management acknowledge the upside of digital transformation; however, they feel that they have a long way to go in adopting and implementing digital technologies and little have time to do so.
One reason why organisations are lagging in digital transformation is a lack of in-house skills and experience. To fill these skills gap, enterprises resort to outsourcing IT, especially services provided through cloud solutions.
A study conducted by the Cloud Industry Forum shows that procurement practices in the IT department are influenced by the availability of IT skills. The decision to adopt cloud services in organisations was largely influenced by the lack of in-house skills. What’s more, IT departments are now focusing more on data and information management rather than the basics of Information Technology like it was some 10 years ago.
The massive shortage of skilled IT staff has forced companies to outsource talent with skills in demand. Enterprises, therefore, choose to hire a Managed Services Provider (MSP) to remotely manage their IT structure and/or end-user systems. As organisations supplement their workforces with MSPs, providers are required to act as an expansion of their IT department. This is because the reliance on outsourced IT makes the relationship between the two critical to the success of any business.
The roles of the MSP include:
• Implementing migration strategies for businesses – identifying which workloads to maintain on-premise and which to move to the cloud.
• Develop a more personalised solution for its clients based on a business’s understanding of their current skills base and requirements.
The process of migrating to the cloud is gradual and it has to be managed carefully. Businesses, therefore, need to strike a balance between the benefits of moving to the cloud and maintaining existing systems to achieve the highest ROI.