There is a gap dividing providers of managed services from delivering private cloud computing to their customers. The gap is not a technical one; most MSPs are well trained and experienced in virtualization and the other complements necessary to deliver a private cloud environment. Not is the gap one of education or awareness on the part of the customer. In fact, recent studies suggest that of all the cloud discussion taking place in the market, a lot of it is uniquely centered around private cloud.
So, if technical expertise and customer awareness are not factors, what could possibly be keeping private cloud computing from the businesses and end users who need it? The answer is money.
If you accept the premise that MSPs can deliver private cloud and that customers are actually ready to utilize these services, the only logical remaining explanation is that there is a financial barrier to cost effective delivery of private cloud. In my opinion their are two fundamental reasons private cloud has not been adopted more in the mid and SMB markets.
Finance
There are no viable financial models that serve managed service providers well. First, MSPs must choose between owning the infrastructure, using an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) provider, or selling the infrastructure to the customer. Second, vendors, and more specifically distributors, seem more interested in pushing outdated service and public cloud products to MSPs and are not equipping them to deliver the hardware and software fundamentals necessary to deliver private cloud.
I will say here that we have been receiving inquiries from many distributors inquiring about how to engage with MSPs on a more meaningful level. I believe there is a shift about to take place amongst distributors in the way they serve and interact with MSPs.
Build it and they will come
It is understandable that if MSPs build a private cloud your customers they may be concerned whether or not this service will sell. Spending time and money in creating a private cloud needs to be done knowing there is a solid market for the services you will be delivering. After all, building a private cloud is no trivial matter. However, there are a few ways in which a MSP can hedge their bets and safely enter the private cloud business while minimizing risk.
1) Build a private cloud for one customer. Not only will this give you the experience, it will also allow you to sell these private services to the customer, and possibly others. Plus, if you get the client to finance the private cloud you can safely build the infrastructure without much risk.
2) Build the private cloud not for one service, but many. A common complaint of MSPs is that they don’t want to build a private cloud because they don’t know what the market will look like in 12 months. The private cloud is a pipeline. You can deliver whatever you like through that pipeline. Private cloud won’t go out of style, but the applications and services you offer may change. In fact, you can count of them changing.
3) IaaS. If you don’t have a customer who will finance your private cloud, and you don’t want to take the risk all on yourself, then consider using an Infrastructure as a Service provider. You need to be careful in choosing the right provider so they can deliver the appropriate amount of security and privacy. However, IaaS providers can drastically reduce your risk of getting into private cloud, until such a time as you feel comfortable doing it on your own.
Whatever path you choose, getting into private cloud is the wave of the future for MSPs. As long as you can bridge the financial gap you should be on your way!
Sign up for MSPAlliance’s Bi-Monthly MSP & Cloud Journal. Follow us via RSS, Facebook, and Twitter. Interested in writing for MSPAlliance? Please contact us for more information.