Directory Services for MSPs
More than ever, organizations are turning to MSPs (managed service providers) to offload their IT needs. As a result, “managed services continue to be one of the fastest growing segments of the entire technology industry,” according to Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) State of Managed Services 2018. The challenge for MSPs? Finding the right IT management tools that can easily and profitably manage the disparities of the modern office. One of the core, fundamental areas of IT gaining momentous interest is cloud-based directory services for MSPs.
Moving Management to the Cloud
As the IT landscape shifts from on-prem, Windows-based IT resources to heterogeneous, cloud IT networks, MSPs are searching for ways to better manage their clients. The backbone of any IT infrastructure is the network itself along with the identity provider, which enables access to IT resources. For MSPs managing multiple client organizations, it’s hard to overstate the impact a secure and flexible identity provider, aka directory service, can have on their business and bottom line.
Historically, this core IT management tool, the directory service, has been provided by Microsoft® Active Directory®. Unfortunately, as an on-prem solution, MSPs had to purchase hardware, software, and then manage the identity management infrastructure at client sites—often requiring truck rolls to each client’s campus. Once the on-prem hardware was up and running, the time bomb was set, and it was only a matter of time before a server broke down and the MSP technician was headed back on the highway to put out a fire. It’s exactly this kind of operational friction that is driving MSPs towards new, cloud-forward ways of client management.
MSPs know by now that on-prem infrastructure generally means lower margins and less time efficiency. As more client services and resources shift to the cloud, MSPs have been unable to leverage a centralized directory services dashboard across all of their customers, creating even more operational inefficiency. So, why should MSPs continue to waste valuable time switching between the various tools and processes needed for each client’s infrastructure?
Flexibility Means Business
By 2020, 78% of small businesses are (Read more...)
*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Blog – JumpCloud authored by George Lattimore. Read the original post at: https://jumpcloud.com/blog/directory-services-msps
