Top 5 Managed Web Hosting Service Trends in 2021

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Since the advent of internet technology, enterprises are continually dealing with increasing workloads. Managing workloads include the proper alignment of company data, resources and targeting them towards desired business outcomes.

For any organization, managing IT infrastructure can be difficult sometimes, especially when it lacks the required IT skillset. Hiring or training the existing IT teams can be both time-consuming and expensive.

Moreover, with the IT industry facing issues with digital transformation like transitioning from hardware or software solutions to as-a-service cloud solutions, they need help in selecting the right technology stack, its implementation, and support to ease their transition. Here, the role of a Managed Services Provider comes in.

Before we jump on to understanding the role of managed services providers and the latest managed services trends, it is imperative to know what are managed services.
What are managed services?

Under Managed Services, the users make use of applications or resources that are completely managed by a third party i.e. a managed service provider. The MSPs allow users to outsource their various network and application needs with complete support. The applications are hosted and managed by the managed service provider only.

Gartner explains a managed service provider (MSP) as A managed service provider (MSP) delivers network, application, system, and e-management services across a network to multiple enterprises, using a “pay as you go” pricing model.

Role of Managed Hosting Services Providers

Managed hosting service providers play an active role when it comes to helping enterprises evaluate the right digital transformation strategies, migrate workloads, manage networks and infrastructure, and secure data and applications.

There are a vast set of opportunities for managed service providers with increasing application and infrastructure migration from on-premises to the cloud.

The cloud managed services market size is projected to grow from USD 27.15 Billion in 2017 to USD 53.78 Billion by 2022, at an expected CAGR of 14.6%. – marketsandmarkets.com.

But, it’s important to know where and how opportunities are appearing and what will be the benefit to the early adopters.

Latest trends in the managed web hosting industry

Following are the managed services trends and web hosting industry trends that will provide a guide to market opportunities for providers of these services:

1. Increasing adoption of managed web hosting services

The enterprises will continue their shift towards managed hosting and Cloud Services. As per Statista, there has been a continuous increase in the size of managed web hosting services’ market.

SaaS and application hosting are other major areas where people spend, followed by infrastructure services.

2. Infrastructure monitoring and alerting is the most used managed service

Many reports suggest that the infrastructure/application monitoring and alerting services will be the most used managed service. It will be followed by other managed services like Backup and Recovery and Disaster Recovery.

This can be due to the increasing concerns for data security. Organizations look for reliable services that provide complete security to their valuable business data. Managed service providers by offering DR and Backup services ensure that the organization’s data is protected against any sudden disaster and is recoverable in case of any loss.

3. Growth in channel partner MSPs and M&As

MSPs will see a rise in the number of customers who look for complete technical support and migration apart from the basic implementation services.

Some may even start running partner programs for their resellers to help them manage the end customers. This will help MSPs reach the market faster.

SMB customers prefer a unified provider of hosting services, hence managed hosting services’ industry is witnessing an increasing number of M&As (Mergers and Acquisitions).

For this, the service providers need to re-align every business process and evaluate resources, lines of business, system integrations, brand value proposition etc. Both organizations need to ensure their sound financial health and capacity before getting into any M&A activity.

4. Bundled IT solutions’ trend

The rise of new, innovative services in the managed cloud and hosting will be a normal affair. To accommodate all these services in a unified offering, MSPs have started offering bundled solutions.

“The markets for unmanaged IaaS and SaaS are dominated by large, hyper-scale vendors. However, this spending trend indicates there is an appetite for the type of bundled services a broader market of managed service providers is well-positioned to deliver. A strong opportunity exists for service providers offering a diversified set of hosting and cloud services that include infrastructure and application hosting, as well as managed services and security services delivered around them.” -Liam Eagle, Research Manager at 451 Research.

In the coming years, too, bundled solutions will be a good way to upsell and cross-sell services. This is because they stand as enterprise-wide solutions, fulfilling all requirements in one place – a win-win solution for the end customer and the seller.

5. Shifting focus on hybrid and multi-cloud management services

Earlier, enterprises went either to a privately hosted solution or a public cloud, but now they want to make use of mixed benefits of both, through hybrid cloud.

As per Gartner, “by 2021, over 75% of midsize and large organizations will have adopted a multicloud and/or hybrid IT strategy.”

The rise in hybrid cloud adoption is making MSPs shift their focus towards the flexibility and versatility of hybrid cloud solutions.

“As the demand for agility and flexibility grows, organizations will shift toward more industrialized, less-tailored options. Organizations that adopt hybrid infrastructure will optimize costs and increase efficiency. However, it increases the complexity of selecting the right toolset to deliver end-to-end services in a multi-sourced environment.” – DD Mishra, research director at Gartner.

Hybrid cloud can meet the needs of the cloud customers for a wholesome solution while providing MSPs with various opportunities to provide the needed services, manage and support the multi-sourced hybrid environment.

Conclusion:

These are the latest managed web hosting industry trends. These trends are the results of emerging technologies and customer demand changes in the market.

To succeed and thrive in this era of cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), AI, cybersecurity, and always-on access to apps and data, MSPs need to identify trends faster and grab the opportunity before their competitors do.