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 Second, vendors, and more specifically distributors, seem more interested in pushing outdated service and public cloud products to MSPs and are not equipping them to deliver the hardware and software fundamentals necessary to deliver private cloud.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.
