Increasing efficiency with cloud services? When it comes to cloud infrastructures, the topic of efficiency comes up again and again, especially among IT service providers. To what extent do cloud services save time? Xelon CEO and Swiss cloud pioneer Michael Dudli shows in this blog post how cloud services lead to an increase in efficiency.
"Whenever we talk to customers who have an on-prem infrastructure or their own cloud infrastructures, the topic is efficiency. The customers want to know to what extent an increase in efficiency is achieved when the services are obtained from the cloud (as cloud infrastructure)," reports Xelon CEO and Swiss cloud pioneer Michael Dudli.
Below we have tried to answer this question in three points and summarised how cloud services make IT service providers work more efficiently.
Increasing efficiency with cloud services: This is how it works
- Hardware: "Those of you who are currently procuring hardware know that the procurement of hardware is very difficult due to supply bottlenecks and sometimes months-long delivery times. This delays projects. Many projects are at a standstill until the hardware is delivered. This problem can be solved by procuring services from a cloud infrastructure and no longer having the responsibility for procuring and operating hardware," says Xelon CEO Michael Dudli.
- Recruiting: According to a report by the Swiss ICT and Internet industry lobby (SWICO), all segments of the ICT industry in Switzerland are struggling to recruit specialists, and most HR specialists, recruiters and market observers agree that the so-called "talent gap" in the ICT industry is unlikely to be bridged any time soon. "If you get the services from the cloud, on the one hand you have less ownership internally. Data centre, virtualisation and network issues no longer apply, and there is no need to recruit specialists for these areas," Michael explains. In addition, with the right cloud provider, IT service providers have, in the best case, a partner who supports them in projects. "If you suffer from the ICT skills shortage or need a solution architect for a project to design the environment, you can optimally obtain resources from your cloud provider," says the Xelon CEO.
- Ease of Use: Intuitive cloud platforms massively simplify the management of IT infrastructures. In the cloud, you have the ability to use one-click tools and you can choose your tool stack so that everything matches up. "As an example, you can add a firewall as a service through the cloud portal - whether it's Xelon or Google - and you don't have to go through the hassle of installing a firewall. This brings with it a strong simplification of enterprise issues and ease of use: you no longer have to set up a firewall and a WAF from scratch, but can book it as a service," says Michael Dudli. It's similar with monitoring: practically all cloud providers now offer monitoring of a Windows server, for example.
Are you still unsure whether you could also achieve an increase in efficiency with cloud services? Take the test with our e-book "Das kleine Cloudeinmaleins für IT-Dienstleister" and find out whether it is worthwhile for you to obtain cloud services. You can download the e-book here.
Here's what you should consider when choosing your cloud provider
In Switzerland, many IT resellers have included cloud services in their portfolio and work together with a cloud provider for this purpose. An external partner provides highly available, stable and scalable cloud services. With cloud services, a reseller can expand its offer quickly and easily without having to make large investments.
In order to fully exploit the potential of the cloud and achieve maximum efficiency gains with cloud services, IT service providers need to focus on the right cloud provider. Here are some tips on what to look for when choosing a cloud provider.
- Data protection standards: Companies must guarantee the security of all stored personal data. Both employee and customer data must be protected as best as possible. If this data is accidentally or intentionally compromised and it turns out after the cyber attack or data leak that the affected company had not taken appropriate security measures, fines and sanctions may be imposed. Cloud providers based in Switzerland comply with Swiss data protection laws and can thus guarantee the highest data security standards.
- Understanding the market: Cloud providers who are familiar with the Swiss market and its peculiarities and speak the language of their customers support IT service providers in setting up or expanding a stable and reliably functioning IT infrastructure that is geared to the individual needs of the company.
- Scalability: In recent years, scalability has become a buzzword not only in the start-up scene. Only if the business model and IT infrastructure are scalable can new customers be continuously acquired and the position on the market improved. The predefined IT infrastructure packages from large cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services rarely meet all the demands of IT service providers whose customers include both established large companies and growing start-ups. Good cloud providers elicit the individual needs of IT service providers in a personal conversation. How much computing power is actually needed on a day-to-day basis? Are there peak loads? Are there plans to expand the portfolio and the team in the foreseeable future and to expand the IT infrastructure accordingly? These questions need to be answered when creating an IT concept.
- Flexibility: For quite a few employees, it is motivating to be allowed to work in a self-determined environment - and partly also with self-selected working and break times. Flexibility in working hours and location requires a flexible and stably functioning IT infrastructure. It must be possible to access applications at any time, from anywhere in the world and with multiple end devices.
- Behaviour in case of problems: An important factor when choosing a cloud provider is how they deal with problems. How long are the average response times? Is there the possibility of personal on-site support? What does the emergency concept look like? Do you feel taken seriously and understood? With a local provider, customers are not just a number. If a problem arises, the personal contact person at the external partner can react quickly and offer support.
Here there are further resources on the topic of cloud and tips on increasing efficiency with cloud services for Swiss IT service providers.
Simon Kilchmann
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Xelon AG Poststrasse 15, 6300 Zug Switzerland
