The global datacenter - who is enabling the enablers?

The data center of the future is seamless and integrated. It is virtual, cloud-hosted and no longer defined by four walls. Business data which powers innovation, provides insights and inspires creativity is more fluid than ever before and organisations are increasingly realising the benefits that can be gleaned from hybrid and off-premise architecture. According to UK Trade & Investment , the market value of cloud computing in the UK is predicted to grow from £2.4bn to £6.1bn by 2014. Further to this, 18% of UK small and mid-sized businesses rely on cloud solutions today with a further 30% planning implementations within the next year.

Rapidly increasing adoption of cloud services brings an entire new set of challenges for hosting providers and these hurdles are helping to drive innovation from technology vendors who increasingly need to demonstrate best-in-class solutions to support complex customer demands. Customised IT is becoming more essential to support unique business needs and allow for competitive differentiation. The IT needs of the public cloud builder are not the same as the private enterprise, and so hosting providers must identify IT partners that can collaborate in a deeper and more embedded way in order to be successful.

So, how do IT purchasing decisions of managed service providers (MSPs) differ to those of private enterprises? Is it just a matter of scale?
Although all organisations purchase IT to fuel growth and add value, the answer is found in the difference between business models. For the MSP, IT infrastructure itself is the business’ factory and so the relationship between investment and ROI is much more direct. Every new server needs to contribute to the bottom line and the first consideration in the adoption of any new technology is: How quickly can the investment contribute to incremental profitability?

Scale is another important consideration and MSPs need the stability of tier 1 enterprise IT vendors to meet the unique needs of their growing datacenters. This includes the ability to consistently deliver flexible and open, standards-based kit. They also rely on access to a solutions portfolio which allows for competitive advantage and enables the MSP to win new business. So, what at are the top five considerations that MSPs should bear in mind when selecting a cloud enablement partner?

1. Specialised product & service portfolio
It’s essential to look for an IT partner that will also be a business partner, enabling the MSP to participate in decision making around product and service development. In a highly commoditised market of servers, switches and even disk arrays, this is crucial in allowing an IT partner to be a trusted advisor to be MSP, moving the relationship beyond supplying product and instead towards a more collaborative path.
Looking for a partner who can offer specialist levels of hardware support including the ability to allow MSPs to self-diagnose and order up replacement parts can be crucial. Similarly, MSPs should look to work with an advisor that can provide support across multiple vendors’ hardware and software and offer competitive costs on warranty support that is based on the entire estate and not on each individual product.

2. Finance solutions
Many MSPs are experiencing double digit growth and managing cash flow to support this growth requires tight control of CAPEX & OPEX. Options like splitting payments over the course of a year, deferring first payments and pay-as-you-grow IT models can make the difference between being able to proceed with expansion plans or not.
When selecting an IT partner to work with, it’s worth looking for things like direct financing options as well as the option to create a utility model of computing usage either directly with on-premise hardware or virtually through off-premise cloud solutions.

3. Joint go-to-market
MSPs reside in a business segment that is half way between direct and indirect. As the owner and end-user of the hardware, they are managed as a direct business. On the other hand, as the hardware is used to deliver services to its customers, the MSP is in effect an indirect partner to the IT vendor. This means that MSPs can rightfully demand both product excellence and go-to-market support; if the MSP is successful in delivering its services, the hardware supplier also benefits.
Any MSP should look further than drawing on the strength of the IT provider’s logo and beyond simply providing financial rebates in the form of a marketing development fund when selecting an IT partner to support its infrastructure. Closer engagement makes the difference and this could come in the form of joint customer facing events, hosting joint online campaigns, aligning sales teams, sharing marketing collateral and investing in new lead generation activities.

4. Visionary technical expertise
The MSP market is full of techies! It’s an extremely competitive market and gaining a technical advantage over a competitor can result in faster time to market, lower costs and ultimately increased market share. There will always be a pipeline of new ‘latest and greatest’ technologies heralding revolutionary transformation of IT and to keep on top of these innovations and identify the real game-changers, the MSP needs a partner that is connected with the broader ecosystem of technology providers.
Identifying a partner which relies on open systems designed to be compatible with all major technology vendors can therefore be critical. MSPs should also look to work with IT providers with global alliances with key players such as Microsoft, Oracle and VMware as well as smaller market specialists. These connections can help to ensure the MSP is kept up to date with the latest and most relevant technologies.

5. The right culture
The ability to execute is critical. MSPs are fast growing enterprises and as such need to be quick in responding to changing business needs. Working with an IT partner that can operate in a pragmatic, no-nonsense way facilitates an ease of doing business.
At Dell, we see MSP customers increasingly relying on our global supply chain, agility and ‘can do’ approach to grow their business and differentiate themselves from the competition. Delivering customised offerings is key and through specialised resources and new tools, Dell is introducing a dedicated programme for MSPs that will allow more customers to benefit from a collaborative approach to winning in the new cloud era.
With a strengthened end-to-end portfolio resulting from 27 acquisitions, MSPs can use Dell IP directly to provide unique services and solutions to its customers. Technologies ranging from firewalls (Dell SonicWALL), Security (Dell SecureWorks), VDI (Dell Wyse) and disaster recovery (Dell AppAssure) have not only strengthened our business but also provided MSPs with unique access to best in breed solutions which allow them to stand out from the competition.