This is the age old question in managed services, but apparently it is still an issue. In the past, it has been a question of MSPs threatening the internal IT department. Today, cloud is having the same apparent impact. The question is, will the response that worked for disarming managed services fear mongering work on those voicing similar concerns about cloud? I think so.
MSPs were perceived as a direct threat to the internal IT department. Why? Internal IT viewed MSPs as ready and willing to take away their jobs. I think the data has shown this posture to be largely without merit. In few cases I have seen do MSPs actually replace the entire IT department. Actually, this happens more at the SMB level where there is no real IT department, only ad hoc technical staff who provide no real coherent IT policies or processes. This model is really replacing break/fix with a managed and scalable IT process.
For the larger organizations with real IT departments, I have seen even fewer examples of MSPs wholly replacing the IT department. It just doesn't seem to happen. Eventually, MSPs learned how to educate and disarm such rumors and today this phenomenon rarely exists. However, it seems to be happening again with cloud. So what did MSPs do to educate end-users about the real value of managed services and will it work for cloud? I think it will.
The MSPs who successfully overcame the perception that managed services will ruin the internal IT department worked on empowering IT staff. Managed services, and ultimately cloud as well, is not about disruption but about empowering internal IT departments to operate at full capacity. Unless you have near unlimited staff, training, and access to tools, most IT departments are not setup to handle all the maintenance, threats, and risks facing their organizations. Outside help not only makes sense it is really the only way to accomplish the goal of IT management without costing a fortune.
The CTO (or whatever equivalent exists within an organization) should be empowered by having cloud or MSPs working with their organization. CTOs are only as good as their ability to implement policies. With IT budgets shrinking universally, the question becomes not how to expand the internal IT department but how to expand the effectivness of IT, regardless of where those resources reside.
Cloud brings the same positive message as managed services did years ago. What CTOs and internal IT departments need to understand is MSPs and cloud providers are not threats to their existence but rather enablers of what they are supposed to be doing. Education and a little time is all that is needed to get this point across.
