KNOW HOW
‘Everything-as-a-Service’ –
the next big cloud opportunity
Rory Duncan, research director for managed services and hosting, predicts a
boom in managed services and managed hosting as enterprises reduce the
complexity of their IT infrastructure and focus on digital transformation.
T
he managed
services market is
changing rapidly as
enterprise adoption
of external, managed
and unmanaged infrastructure
services goes mainstream. The
biggest opportunity for vendors
and providers who deliver high
automation, rapid provisioning and
services that address complex
enterprise needs while retaining
high-touch delivery. Those
providers who focus on specialist
regional and vertical markets will
also see substantial growth.
As the ‘as-a-Service’ model
evolves beyond IaaS, PaaS
and SaaS to include new kinds
of cloud based services, 451
Research finds there is increasing
demand for managed security,
managed cyber-disaster recovery,
managed networking services and
managed hosting.
Our Voice of the Enterprise:
Hosting and Cloud Managed
Services study, shows that
managed services and security
services are attached to roughly
half of the total hosting and cloud
opportunity, and are increasing
year-on-year.
This spending trend, alongside
feedback from providers,
indicates there is an appetite
for a wider range of bundled
offerings from the managed
ser vice sector including systems
integrators, VARs and others with
ser vice delivery experience. We
see a significant oppor tunity for
technology vendors to par tner
with ser vice providers to offer
higher value, niche and ver tical
offerings as these ser vices
rapidly emerge.
44 | July 2017
As much of the physical
infrastructure delivered through IT
distribution has become invisible
to end users, many businesses
have progressed from tin-shifting
commoditised IT to supplying
new kinds of cloud services. As a
result, 451 Research believes the
role of the channel is now more
important than ever in delivering
support, maintenance and
consulting services.
With the emergence of new
kinds of managed services,
hardware appliances and security
requirements, analysts believe
the ability to ‘connect the dots’
will become a key differentiator
for channel partners and service
providers. Plus, the move from
cloud construction – with a focus
on technology and infrastructure
– to cloud consumption with an
emphasis on service choice and
delivery, increases the importance
of established customer
relationships and the ability to
offer a retail model for cloud.
Launched recently, 451
Research’s Managed Services &
Hosting research channel focuses
on the global managed services
and hosting market. It tracks IT
managed services providers, web
and applications hosting firms,
and content delivery networks.
This includes coverage of
services, market sizing, M&A
activity, and factors that affect the
strategies for these competitors.
The service provides:
E cosystem and trends analysis
for technology vendors, including
supply and demand dynamics
and disruptive factors;
M arket development insight
for global and regional service
providers, as well as strategies
for partnering between vendors
and partners to better address
the ‘sell with’ opportunity for
cloud services;
C ompetitive dynamics analysis
for financial investors; and
O pportunities for IT distribution
(aka ‘the channel’) to adapt to the
‘Everything-as-a-Service’ model
and take a key role in facilitating
the managed services ecosystem.
For further information visit:
https://451research.com