Businesses Look to Cloud MSPs to Assist with Migration, Other Specialized Services

ISG Provider Lens™ Report on Cloud Transformation and Operation Services Sees a Growing Customer Interest in MSPs’ Partnerships with Hyperscale Cloud Providers

Businesses increasingly are turning to cloud managed service providers for specialized services, such as cloud migration assistance, according to a new report published by Information Services Group (ISG), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The ISG Provider Lens™ Cloud Transformation/Operation Services & XaaS Global Report for 2019 sees enterprise buyers placing greater importance on the ecosystems surrounding the largest public cloud hyperscale providers. Seeking managed service providers (MSPs) that have partnerships with these hyperscale cloud providers, enterprises are looking to their MSPs to help them choose the right cloud providers, migrate to the cloud and manage cloud services after the transition.

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“The challenges for the MSP are to build trust with its clients and to grow its cloud management practice by developing strong partnerships with multiple public cloud providers,” said Esteban Herrera, partner and global leader of ISG Research. “By establishing cloud alliances, the MSP ensures its customers’ access to the latest certified expertise in integration, management and technical knowledge for the hundreds of services available from a large cloud provider.”

In addition to partnerships with hyperscale providers, MSP customers also look for certifications, industry specialization and the providers’ cloud business unit growth, the report said.

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Enterprises considering an MSP should make stability and performance the top priorities for cloud application, the ISG report recommended. Businesses’ cloud strategy should also be flexible enough to allow for large changes in cloud resource volumes, ISG suggested.

The report noted rapid growth in cloud migration in the Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH) region. Meanwhile, UK business customers are looking for specialization, including legal compliance and local availability, from their MSPs. Local service also is a priority for customers in Brazil.

In the U.S., hyperscale providers Amazon, Microsoft and Google continue to dominate market share, the report said.

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ISG is publishing separate reports for each of these geographies.

The ISG Provider Lens™ Cloud Transformation/Operation Services & XaaS Global Report evaluates the capabilities of 30 cloud MSPs across four quadrants: Public Cloud Transformation, Managed Public Cloud Services, IaaS – Enterprise Cloud and IaaS – Public Cloud Hyperscaler. Atos, DXC, HCL and TCS were named Leaders in three quadrants, while Accenture, IBM and Wipro were Leaders in two.

A related report from ISG evaluates the capabilities of 37 cloud MSPs serving the U.S. market across the same four quadrants as the global report. DXC and HCL were named Leaders in three quadrants, while Accenture, Capgemini, Cognizant, IBM, Rackspace, TCS and Wipro were Leaders in two.

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