Demystifying Opportunities in the Cloud

By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor

The innovations taking place within the cloud are creating new opportunities for vendors and customers alike. While the cloud still remains a complex mystery for some companies, others are embracing the opportunities and leveraging new capabilities at a lower cost. ITEXPO East 2012 took place last week, with several leading MSPs in attendance for MSPWorld. To prep for the event, Rich Tehrani (News - Alert), TMC CEO, sat down with Peter Sherr, SVP of Communication Service Providers with CA Technologies.


When asked what new opportunities will be available for MSPs in 2012, Sherr highlighted that as the cloud continues to introduce a new era of opportunity, MSPs will become an even greater strategic asset to customers. As to whether or not the cloud is overhyped or misunderstood, Sherr noted that many organizations are just beginning to understand the power of the cloud.

Underestimating certain areas of the market could leave opportunities dormant. Tehrani wanted to know what areas of managed services are being underestimated by the MSP community. Sherr stressed that organizations must embrace new IT strategies to embrace the “New Normal” economy where growth is slow and IT is fundamental to success.

The cloud is now being “demystified”, yet organizations are still struggling with questions surrounding security and shifting the business model away from premise-based solutions.
Looking to 2012, CA (News - Alert) Technologies is launching an enhanced Global Partner Program in April to provide an expanded set of benefits that will enable architectural leadership, improve collaboration and will evolve the service business model. The program will be platform-agnostic, will enable growth and cloud innovations. When asked why MSPWorld was a must-attend event, Sherr highlighted that it brings together the best the industry has to offer.

Their entire conversation follows:

What new opportunities do you see presenting themselves to MSPs in 2012? 

The cloud is leading IT into a new era of opportunity, and as organizations increasingly rely on its benefits, MSPs will become an even greater strategic asset to their customers. I believe we will see a great amount of innovation in 2012, and it is this innovation that will drive the most value for MSPs as they move from simply managing and maintaining static IT infrastructure to delivering dynamic business services. Speed, agility and flexibility will become key drivers for their customer’s business success, and the organizations that keep this mantra in mind will stand far apart from their competition.

Is cloud being overhyped or misunderstood? 

I think in many ways organizations are just beginning to understand the power of cloud. The conversation around cloud computing has gone from an IT discussion to a business strategy discussion – and rightly so. Deriving benefit from the cloud will mean different things to different organizations, but companies that approach cloud computing and SaaS (News - Alert) not as an IT add-on but as a strategic business driver will find themselves with a clear competitive advantage.

What area of managed services do you think is being underestimated by the MSP community? 

Organizations must embrace new IT strategies to deal with the “New Normal” economy characterized by slow – if any – growth. In this New Normal, IT is fundamental to business success. Innovation will be THE differentiator in 2012, and MSPs will need to provide greater flexibility and adaptability for their customers in a stagnant economy, which will ultimately lead to growth and innovation.

Are end users getting the message about the value of managed services and cloud and how should MSPs be helping to amplify that message? 

For a lot of end-users, the cloud is just now being demystified. Organizations are still grappling with questions of security and shifting their approach to the cloud from siloed oversight to collaborative management.  The strategic use of IT services in meeting business objectives will increasingly drive the adoption of cloud services. MSPs will need to show end-users how cloud services can work with their business to change the way they utilize technology.

Why are you excited about 2012 and what is your company doing that will excite the MSP community? 

CA Technologies (News - Alert) is incredibly excited about launching our enhanced Global Partner Program in April that will provide an expanded set of benefits to enable architectural leadership, support evolving service business models and improve collaboration. Based on partners’ unique business goals, the areas of competency they have/want to develop, and a process for developing and accelerating their pipeline, the program will provide:

• A Platform-agnostic, End-to-end Portfolio: End-to-end planning, management and security of heterogeneous, hybrid environments allowing MSPs to manage increased IT complexity and enabling new delivery models.
• Business Enablement for Growth: A global partner lifecycle providing consistency in the MSP experience, and defining a customized plan to ensure alignment and knowledge growth of CA Technologies solutions.
• Cloud Enablement: The development of solutions based on each MSPs’ unique value proposition, plus marketing, sales, and technical enablement tools to build pipeline and field based resources to accelerate the sales cycle around cloud computing. 

What makes MSPWorld a must-attend event?

MSPWorld brings together the best our industry has to offer. Only through collaboration can we hope to overcome the challenges of today and embrace the opportunities of tomorrow. I look forward to this event each year as it allows me to hear first-hand accounts of how cloud computing is revolutionizing the way MSPs and their customers do business. This is truly an exciting time for our industry.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell

(source: http://www.mspnews.com/msp/articles/265059-demystifying-opportunities-the-cloud.htm)

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