Cloud services or managed services: What’s the difference?

A secure and powerful data infrastructure is the basis for successful IT management. To ensure that large amounts of data are always available and can be processed smoothly, more and more companies are relying on the cloud. Either as cloud services, which use capacities and technologies exclusively, or as managed services including individual applications and operation. We explain the differences between the two concepts and the opportunities they offer companies.

What are cloud services?

Cloud services include all models for the provision of IT resources over a network. These data networks can be public, private or mixed – as public, private or hybrid cloud. The public cloud is controlled via the Internet, while the private cloud uses an internal intranet for networking. In the hybrid Cloud, a hybrid of the other two models, companies can store sensitive programs and data on their own servers and operate certain services via the Internet with public providers in order to conserve their own resources. Modern hybrid cloud variants bring advantages if more dynamics and scalability of the company’s IT are also needed.

The term cloud computing describes both the use and the provision of a wide variety of IT services via a network. Cloud computing involves the transfer of IT resources to a cloud service provider who makes its technology available to a company. The provider is less concerned about the individual customer, but mainly manages the infrastructure, applications and operating system of the cloud. The client can use this service flexibly and as required.

What are managed services?

In the case of managed services, a precise definition of the service to be provided is made in advance of a cooperation between IT service provider and customer. This could be, for example, regular monitoring of the IT infrastructure in order to remedy any problems that arise in good time. Typical tasks that are handled by managed services are IT security services. Here it is more a matter of relieving the IT departments of the companies operationally and closing security gaps. In principle, the services are defined and recorded together before the contract is concluded.

Advantage managed services in the cloud

Managed cloud services in combination offers companies numerous possibilities. This makes the storage and processing of large and changing amounts of data more agile. Depending on requirements, additional capacities can be added and performance can be guaranteed at a continuously high level. This high-performance cloud computing integrates classic managed services infrastructures into a high-performance cloud environment.

Agility, flexibility and scalability of corporate IT are easier to implement with the cloud. In addition, a cloud not only helps to solve existing challenges, but also to develop new applications without having to install a complete data center. However, companies often lack the appropriate skills and experience. It is therefore helpful to have partners who can maintain the professionalization and standardization of managed services. So that the quality of services for clients and service providers is right.

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