SkyKick, a global provider of cloud automation and management software for information technology services providers (ITSPs), announced major upgrades to its Cloud Manager product that will further help ITSPs navigate the increasingly complex world of SMB cloud management. This Cloud Manager release brings significant automation capabilities to Cloud Command, Security, and Teams product areas to help ITSPs better manage and secure cloud customers.
As SMBs continue to rapidly adopt and use SaaS applications, ITSPs worldwide will spend an estimated 500 million labor hours on IT administration annually. A SkyKick study of over 500 ITSPs found that for MSPs with 3 to 5 employees, routine help desk tasks can consume more than 2,000 hours each year. With 46 percent of tickets also being escalated to senior engineers, ITSPs are increasingly placing high priority on improving help desk performance and are adopting automation to manage cloud administration tasks and workflows more efficiently.
“When the cloud emerged just over a decade ago, the IT Service Provider landscape changed forever,” said SkyKick Co-CEO Todd Schwartz. “Now, with the proliferation of SaaS and cloud, we’re entering the age of cloud management for ITSPs, and this intensifies the need for automation to help support customers, secure cloud infrastructure, and improve operational efficiency.”
As SMBs continue its rapid adoption of cloud and remote work solutions, cloud-based communication solutions are increasingly in demand. Microsoft Teams has seen over 400 percent growth in users, with IT partners able to access significant margins for seats under management, yet many ITSPs shy away from managing Teams and other applications because of concerns about technical and business readiness.
Cloud Manager automation will help ITSPs more effectively manage this opportunity through more repeatable deployments, and by empowering help desk staff with tools to assess activity and drive Teams adoption.
Finally, ITSPs face thorny cloud security scenarios for themselves and their customers, particularly with managing securely and effectively across multiple cloud services.
Ninety-one percent of SMBs customers report they would use an ITSP if it offered the right security solutions, yet while ITSPs understand the opportunity to address growing security needs is massive, they are finding that implementing effective and scalable programs is no simple exercise.
IT Partners need solutions that help them to strengthen Microsoft 365 security and that use automation to achieve standardization, facilitate regular security assessments and enable the ability to monitor and remediate security gaps.
