What is the difference between "Cloud Computing" and "Managed Services"?
Answers
This is a great question...
The main difference is control over the data and/or process. In a managed services arrangement, the client outsources the day-to-day functions to a particular vendor for an increase in efficiency as it relates to a process. For example, a lockbox solution comes to mind when I think of a managed services arrangement. There are typically service level agreements in place that support the managed services arrangement.
A cloud computing arrangement is more of a subscription to use a tool available. For example, I may subscribe to an ERP cloud where I pay a monthly subscription to setup my company on the tool. I will be responsible for setting up my firm's chart of accounts, user rights, and importing external data into the tool.
Regards,
Pete
Cloud Computing is a buzzword thrown around loosely by different groups in the industry and can mean many things. As a managed services provider and enabler of cloud services for companies, we’re involved with both and offer the following clarification. Since you asked this question in the Cloud/SaaS
Managed Services typically means you have specific servers and other components assigned to you, and the provider is doing the things your IT department would do if you were sourcing the computing services internally: keeping hardware up and running, applying patches and updates, monitoring systems and keeping historical trend data. You still manage any applications running on the systems.
Cloud Computing Models
Software as a Service – Per Pete’s post above the vendor is managing the software application and typically provides a SLA for application uptime. You are responsible for the specific setup/configuration of the application and your business processes it automates. This model is the most expensive and adds the most value.
Platform as a Service – You get a specified configuration such as firewall, servers and load balancers that are managed by the vendor up through the level of the operating system. You need to install and manage any applications that run on top of the infrastructure.
Infrastructure as a Service – This model provides you with access to virtual servers and networking devices but in many ways you need to manage them just as you would if they were sitting in your own data center. This is the least expensive option and provides the least added value. You might have a 3rd party managed service provider manage the environment for you.
In all of the above models note that many add-on fees may apply so be sure to add up the total cost and estimate how they will scale as your usage grows. The per-server per-hour fee is just the beginning. These can include: internet bandwidth consumed, data storage, data transfer to and from storage, server CPU usage, server memory usage, backup frequency and size, etc.
Mark
I was at Intuit yesterday and they break it down as:
- Software as a Service (Saas) is an online-only service, such as
- "Connected services" are things like Intuit Payroll -- even if you use QuickBooks desktop, might pay through Intuit Payroll which is "connected" to your desktop.
It's a pretty arbitrary difference.
-david
Founder and CEO of Expensify
MSP = "Managed Service Provider" can also be providing accounting personnel or other back-office staff experienced to perform functions on the hosted software.
Like Temp help, but with specific expertise in the software systems hosted by the provider. As I heard it, that was a steady source of revenue to secure at the end of an implementation. So on the dark side, a complex system setup is an underhanded way to ensure client remains confused and dependent on provider.
Carpe diem!
Managed services has been well explained here, and cloud computing with software as a service has been covered nicely as well. I would add that there are benefits possible with cloud computing – specifically, a public cloud environment, shared among multiple users - that leverage
While a public cloud environment requires careful attention to security, isolation, and process, it also offers significant
Another benefit of a public cloud is “high availability,” which basically boils down to this: there’s no single point of failure. In a managed services or an in-house, on-premise model, you would need to duplicate – at a minimum – every feature of your infrastructure to achieve high availability. In addition, a public cloud environment will include data management technology that is far beyond the average mid-market company’s budget, but can be provided cost effectively in a public cloud.
The choice of what’s right for your company depends on the type of technical service and software subscriptions you need, of course. But, there are compelling reasons for the popularity of the cloud model, chief among them being its ability to make high end computing available to companies who couldn’t afford the same level of technology in a comparable in-house system.
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