MSP News

Opportunities in IaaS Continue to Grow for MSPs

By Susan J. Campbell
MSPNews™ Contributing Editor

MSPWorld, an important event within ITEXPO East 2012, is set to launch this week. TMC wanted to get even closer to the action by talking first-hand with companies in the thick of the industry. To that end, CEO Rich Tehrani recently spoke with Thomas Burns of Green House Data to get his opinion on new opportunities for MSPs in 2012. Burns pointed to the huge revenue potential that exists for MSPs focusing on the right market/industry coupled with the right solution.

As for whether or not the cloud is overhyped or misunderstood, Burns believes it is both horribly overhyped and misunderstood. Asked his opinion on the area of managed services he thinks is being underestimated by the MSP community, Burns pointed to Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) as it has not been fully realized by the MSP community. Burns believes there is a long list of services related to IaaS that MSPs have not soundly developed. As for whether or not end users are getting the message about the value of managed services and cloud, Burns noted that end users are not grasping the full value of managed services in the cloud.  

He contributes this to a misunderstanding with many service providers between what value they can add to cloud infrastructure services. In the coming year, Burns believes it will be the biggest year for growth in IaaS sales and Green House Data has seen revenue related to this service increase by 100 percent each year for the last three years. Asked why MSPWorld is a must-attend event and Burns pointed to leading edge technologies that converge with leaders in the industry.

Their entire conversation follows:

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

There is huge revenue potential for MSPs that focus on the right market/industry coupled with the right cloud solution.

Is cloud being overhyped or misunderstood? 

Cloud is both horribly overhyped and misunderstood. I think we are starting to see a break in the cloud hype and the consumer is more educated. They know what they want. That should help Service Providers match the solution to the problem better.

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

From my perspective, Infrastructure as a Service has not been fully realized by the MSP community. There is a long list of services related to IaaS that have not been soundly developed by MSPs such as disaster recovery and business continuity. It is difficult to make the shift to new technologies. There is always a learning curve both technical and business practical perspective and therefore there is resistance to change.

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

I don’t think end users are grasping the full value of managed services and the cloud. I believe there is misunderstanding with many service providers between what value they can add to cloud infrastructure services. 

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

We think the next year is going to be the biggest year for growth in Infrastructure as a Service sales. We have seen revenue related to this service increase by 100 percent every year for the last three years. Now that the economy is slowly moving in a positive direction, we think that the SMB market is going to drive this growth exponentially in 2012.

What makes MSPWorld a must-attend event?

Leading edge technologies converging with leaders in the industry. It is an exciting event to be a part of.

Want to learn more about Managed Service Providers? Then be sure to attend MSPWorld, collocated with TMC’s ITEXPO East 2012, happening NOW in Miami, FL. Since its inception, MSPWorld has been the only event with a single, vendor-agnostic focus of supporting Managed Service providers and their respective ecosystems. MSPWorld in Miami will delve into the most pressing channel and end-user issues that MSPs and their customers confront every day. For more information on registering for MSPWorld click here.