We’re looking ahead to 2018 and one thing is clear – the cloud has changed everything. Having worked with BDO Digital's Managed Services and Service Desk team for over seven years, I have seen a lot of change, but nothing as drastic as this. With constant innovation brought by the cloud, IT has become more of a living, breathing process to which businesses have to continuously assess, adjust, and align. This new evolution of IT management presents new challenges.

Challenges of Cloud IT Management

1. Business Processes Becoming More Complex
   With increased innovation, business processes have become more complex and involve more technologies. Internal teams often can’t keep up with the rapid evolution and specialization of IT.
2. Need for 24x7x365 Support
   As cloud technology makes it possible for people to work from anywhere, anytime, we have seen an increasing number of incidents taking place during off-hours. The demand for around-the-clock desktop and mobile support is predicted to continue to rise. Companies struggle to find qualified off-hours internal IT staff that’s willing and able to work 2nd and 3rd shift or be on call for incidents and emergencies.
3. Finding qualified internal staff is very difficult
   One solution is to find, recruit, hire and train internal staff with the specialized skills to help your organization evolve alongside technology. But according to Garner, by 2020 there will be 1.4 million computer specialist job openings, but not even enough qualified graduates to fill even about 30 percent of these jobs. If you’re able to hire qualified staff, the on-going training needed to keep up to date is expensive and challenging. And retaining qualified IT staff is very challenging in this competitive job market where recruiters are constantly reaching out with the next big offer.
4. A Dynamic Shift to Business-Focus
   Another major factor at play is that we are seeing a dynamic shift from IT previously being solely technical-focused, to becoming more business and user-focused. Businesses no longer want just expect IT troubleshooting from their support, but they want IT to give them technical insight that will help them make better business decisions. IT now needs to be able to understand business end-goals to align them with the proper IT solutions.

Partner in a Solution

As the cloud becomes more prevalent, businesses are seeking out cloud service providers with the expertise to fully manage their service desk functions. According to KPMG, businesses are turning to IT outsourcing mainly due to cost savings (26%), quality improvement (21%), skills access (19%), financial flexibility and market time (11%). Companies now understand why outsourcing is a partnership that enhances internal teams and increases productivity.

2018 will be the year more companies than ever partner with MSPs to outsource the service desk functions that keep their own internal IT team from their dedicated projects.