An Overview of Managed Cloud Services

*Updated on 10/1/24

Managed cloud services are becoming increasingly important for many businesses these days. Companies that leverage cloud computing resources benefit from the scalability, flexibility, and efficiency that’s provided by managed cloud services.

As the demand for cloud solutions continues to rise, businesses are turning to managed service providers to handle the complexities of cloud infrastructure. This not only saves money, but it also provides peace of mind knowing that monitoring, maintenance, security protocols, data backup, recovery procedures, and overall oversight of the cloud infrastructure is being handled by an experienced team 24/7/365.

Service management in managed cloud services encompasses provisioning resources, maintaining optimal performance, and providing ongoing support to ensure seamless operations. By entrusting these critical tasks to experts, organizations can focus on their core objectives while benefiting from the agility and reliability that cloud technology offers.

What are Managed Cloud Services?

Businesses use managed cloud service providers and give them the responsibility of overseeing and optimizing their cloud resources, including monitoring performance, ensuring security compliance, handling updates and patches, and providing technical support.

If businesses opt for unmanaged cloud services, they retain full control and responsibility for managing their cloud environment. They also typically don’t get a lot of sleep! By opting for managed services, organizations benefit from expert support, proactive monitoring, and streamlined operations, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives while leveraging a reliable and efficient cloud infrastructure managed by skilled professionals.

Managed Services vs. Hosted Services vs. Cloud Services: What's the Difference?

Managed services, hosted services, and cloud services have some distinct differences:

• Managed services involve outsourcing the management and maintenance of cloud environments, allowing businesses to adopt a hands-off approach while a service provider oversees tasks like security, monitoring, and updates.
• Hosted services offer dedicated environments managed by the hosting provider, typically encompassing hardware management and can extend to application management in a single-tenant setup.
• Cloud services encompass a range of offerings including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS) that deliver scalable and flexible resources over the internet. However, cloud services often don’t include extensive management services so businesses would have to handle security configurations and software updates internally.
  
  

Types of Managed Cloud Services

There are several different managed cloud services:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): IaaS provides virtualized computing resources over the internet, including servers, networking, storage, and virtualization technology.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): PaaS offers a platform and environment for developers to build, deploy, and manage applications without dealing with the underlying infrastructure.
• Software as a Service (SaaS): SaaS delivers software applications over the internet on a subscription basis and users can access these applications through a web browser without needing to install or maintain the software locally.
• Storage as a Service (STaaS): STaaS provides cloud-based storage solutions where users can store, retrieve, and manage data over the internet without having to invest in and maintain physical storage infrastructure.
• Database as a Service (DBaaS): DBaaS offers database management and hosting services in the cloud where users can operate, provision, and scale databases without managing the underlying hardware or software infrastructure.
  
  

Our Comprehensive Managed Cloud Services and Expertise

Americaneagle.com’s managed cloud services include a holistic approach to cloud management, including customization, support, and security.

• Cloud Consulting and Advisory: We offer a comprehensive suite of strategic planning solutions customized to meet the unique needs of each client. Our expert team conducts thorough assessments to evaluate current cloud infrastructure and identify opportunities for improvement. We create detailed road maps that align with your business goals, ensuring a seamless transition to optimized cloud solutions. Our ROI analysis provides valuable insights into the performance and efficiency of your cloud investments for informed decision-making.
• Cloud Migration Consulting: We provide in-depth guidance and support to ensure a smooth and efficient migration process, tailored to meet the unique needs of each client. From evaluating existing infrastructure to strategizing application modernization initiatives, our comprehensive services are designed to maximize the benefits of cloud technology while improving performance and scalability. With a focus on data optimization, we help businesses leverage the power of the cloud to unlock new opportunities and drive innovation across their digital ecosystem.
• Cloud Foundation and Infrastructure Development: We bring unparalleled expertise in architecting robust cloud environments tailored to meet the unique needs of businesses. Our services include architecture design, strategic disaster recovery planning, and the establishment of core infrastructure components to ensure resilience and reliability in the cloud. By focusing on building a strong foundation for your cloud ecosystem, we empower organizations to operate with confidence, knowing that their infrastructure is secure, scalable, and optimized for peak performance.
• Cloud Infrastructure Management: We provide continuous and comprehensive services that focus on the performance, security, and compliance of your cloud environment. Our experienced team is dedicated to optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of your cloud infrastructure through proactive monitoring, fine-tuning performance parameters, and implementing best practices. Our security management services put stringent measures in place to safeguard your data and applications against potential threats. Our services include diligent compliance oversight to ensure that your cloud infrastructure meets industry regulations and standards.
• Cloud Optimization: Our team specializes in developing tailored strategies to optimize cloud spend, maximize resource utilization, and plan for elasticity and scalability. We identify cost-saving opportunities, streamline resource allocation, and ensure that your cloud environment is configured to efficiently scale. By analyzing usage patterns and performance metrics, we help businesses fine-tune their cloud resources to achieve cost-effectiveness without compromising performance. Moreover, our expertise extends to planning for future growth by designing scalable architectures that can adapt to evolving business needs.
• Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure: We craft and oversee hybrid cloud solutions that seamlessly blend public and private cloud environments to deliver flexibility and operational efficiency. We specialize in developing tailored strategies that cater to the unique requirements of businesses for easy integration of public and private clouds for optimized performance. Our expert team excels in managing the complexity of hybrid cloud setups, enabling organizations to leverage the scalability and cost-effectiveness of public clouds alongside the security and control offered by private clouds.

Considerations for Choosing Managed Cloud Service Providers (MCSPs)

Choosing the right Managed Cloud Service Provider (MCSP) is a critical decision for businesses seeking effective cloud management. Understanding business needs involves assessing the specific requirements and objectives of the organization and making sure that the chosen MCSP aligns with these goals. Expertise in cloud technologies, robust support services, and stringent security measures to safeguard data and operations are all important considerations to account for when evaluating MCSPs.

When assessing MCSPs, companies should prioritize providers that demonstrate proficiency in managing diverse cloud environments, offer proactive support for issue resolution and performance optimization, and implement stringent security protocols to effectively mitigate risks. Tailoring the selection of an MCSP based on business size and specific requirements is crucial; small businesses may benefit from cost-effective and scalable solutions, while larger enterprises might require customized services and adherence to industry compliance standards.

Factors such as service flexibility, scalability options, industry knowledge, and regulatory compliance should be considered when evaluating MCSPs to ensure a partnership that not only meets your current needs but also aligns with future growth and expansion plans. By conducting a thorough assessment of MCSPs based on these critical factors, businesses can make informed decisions that drive efficiency, security, and success in their cloud initiatives.

Top Managed Cloud Services Providers

Americaneagle.com stands out as one of the top managed cloud services providers. By forging strong alliances with industry giants, Americaneagle.com provides customized cloud solutions that cater to the unique needs of each client. The website agency can access cutting-edge technologies, resources, and support from top cloud service providers for innovative and tailored cloud services that drive business growth and efficiency.

Through these partnerships, Americaneagle.com ensures that clients benefit from the latest advancements in cloud technology while receiving personalized solutions that align perfectly with their objectives and requirements. Cloud hosting platforms allow businesses to utilize servers, storage, databases, networking, and other cloud-based services as needed without infrastructure requirements.

Some of the major players in the cloud hosting industry include Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Services

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Services provide exceptional flexibility and scalability, and a wide array of advanced analytics and hosting solutions. AWS stands out for its ability to cater to businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprises. Their highly flexible infrastructure can easily adapt to changing requirements. With AWS, organizations can seamlessly scale their resources up or down based on demand, for optimal performance and cost-efficiency. In addition, AWS offers a suite of advanced analytics tools that provide businesses with valuable insights for informed decision-making.

Microsoft Azure Cloud Services

Microsoft Azure Cloud Services offer a robust platform tailored to meet the demanding needs of businesses. Azure excels in providing a comprehensive suite of cloud services designed to support large-scale operations with high performance and reliability. One of Azure's key strengths is its’ seamless and tight integration with Enterprise Windows and .Net Framework technology stacks. This flexibility enables businesses to leverage existing systems while benefiting from the scalability and agility of the cloud.

Google Cloud Platform

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) provides effective data analytics and machine learning, offering cutting-edge tools that drive innovation and empower businesses to extract valuable insights from their data. GCP's advanced capabilities in data analytics let organizations uncover trends, patterns, and actionable intelligence that can inform strategic decision-making and enhance operational efficiency.

Additionally, GCP’s robust machine learning services provide businesses with the ability to build and deploy sophisticated AI models to automate processes, personalize user experiences, and drive predictive analytics.

Salesforce Cloud Services

Salesforce Cloud Services are well-known for their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions. Americaneagle.com integrates Salesforce's CRM solutions to empower businesses with a comprehensive toolset for managing customer relationships, sales processes, and marketing campaigns. Salesforce's robust analytics capabilities provide valuable insights into sales performance, customer behavior, and marketing effectiveness, empowering businesses to make data-driven decisions and optimize their strategies.

Through the seamless integration of Salesforce Cloud Services, Americaneagle.com equips organizations with the tools they need to build meaningful customer relationships, increase productivity, and achieve sustainable growth.

Sitecore Managed Cloud

Sitecore Managed Cloud offers a robust hosting solution designed to streamline your operations by handling all infrastructure and maintenance tasks. This allows you to concentrate on delivering exceptional digital experiences. Whether you're using Sitecore Experience Manager (XM) for content management or the full Sitecore Experience Platform (XP) for comprehensive digital experiences, Sitecore Managed Cloud provides a scalable, secure hosting environment tailored to meet your needs.

By choosing Sitecore Managed Cloud, you benefit from Sitecore's expertise and resources, ensuring optimal performance, reliability, and peace of mind.

Americaneagle.com Custom Kentico Managed Cloud

Kentico managed cloud hosting on Microsoft Azure offers businesses a powerful solution that combines Kentico's robust content management and digital experience capabilities with Azure's scalable, secure, and high-performance cloud infrastructure. Hosting Kentico on Azure ensures optimal performance through automatic resource scaling, reliable uptime, and enhanced security features like advanced firewalls and data encryption.

Additionally, the seamless integration of Kentico with Azure services, such as Azure SQL and App Insights, allows businesses to gain deeper insights into performance and user behavior while optimizing costs through Azure’s consumption-based pricing model. This combination provides a comprehensive digital solution that enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of digital experiences for businesses.

Real-World Applications of Managed Cloud Services

Leading companies and organizations in every industry opt for managed cloud services because of the benefits they provide.

• A prominent streaming provider heavily relies on managed cloud services to efficiently deliver streaming content to millions of global users, allowing them to scale their infrastructure effectively and concentrate on core business operations.
• An audio streaming and media service provider leverages managed cloud services to operate their intricate music streaming platform, enabling a focus on enhancing user experiences and other critical aspects of their business.

The impact of managed cloud services on IT operations and business processes is significant, increasing efficiency through automation of many IT tasks. Businesses can easily scale their IT infrastructure as needed, leading to cost reductions. Managed cloud service providers commonly implement robust security measures to help safeguard businesses' data and applications.

Americaneagle.com has been a trusted provider of secure, scalable, reliable, and cost-effective managed cloud services for years, exemplified by two recent success stories.

1. In a recent incident, a global manufacturer client of Americaneagle.com faced a disruptive DDoS attack overwhelming their cloud servers with traffic, rendering their website inaccessible. The Americaneagle.com team swiftly responded by implementing web application firewall (WAF) solutions with Cloudflare, transferring all website assets within the same day, and restoring global website access promptly.
   
   
2. An American multinational conglomerate and manufacturer had an Azure ecosystem of 200+ websites. Since they were not properly set up by their previous vendor, there were frequent downtimes, sometimes occurring multiple times a month. Deployments were causing all the websites to experience between two to four hours of downtime, which was causing severe brand reputation damage. Our strong and experienced DevOps and Sitecore teams went to work! They started with a cleanup and identified critical issues related to system initialization and content indexing. They investigated the website’s warmup and made improvements in warmup and downtime reduction, integrated Azure Key Vault for credential/app keys/tokens and reset all credentials/app keys/tokens across all environments. Finally, our team implemented configuration transformations for all environments. All the changes were executed on 200+ live websites without causing any disturbance or downtimes. The client is thrilled they now have a reliable, consistent online presence that is closely monitored by Americaneagle.com’s managed cloud services team.

Key Benefits of Partnering with Americaneagle.com for Managed Cloud Services

Partnering with Americaneagle.com for managed cloud services provides many key benefits for a businesses' cloud operations:

• Scalability and Flexibility: Americaneagle.com empowers businesses to scale their cloud resources efficiently to match fluctuating demands. By leveraging advanced cloud management strategies, Americaneagle.com ensures that clients have the necessary flexibility to adapt to changing requirements without compromising performance or incurring unnecessary costs.
• Cost Efficiency: Americaneagle.com focuses on driving cost savings for businesses through optimized resource management and tailored service plans. By analyzing usage patterns and implementing cost-effective solutions, Americaneagle.com helps clients maximize the value of their cloud investments while minimizing expenses.
• Expert Support and Security: Partnering with Americaneagle.com guarantees access to dedicated support teams and robust security measures. We prioritize security by adhering to industry standards and implementing proactive measures to safeguard clients' data and infrastructure, providing peace of mind, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Enhanced Performance and Reliability: Americaneagle.com's managed cloud services include proactive monitoring and management functions that ensure optimal performance and uptime for clients. By continuously monitoring systems, identifying potential issues, and implementing preventative measures, we ensure optimal performance, reliability, and overall operational efficiency for businesses relying on cloud services.

Contact Americaneagle.com for Expert Hosting and Managed Cloud Services

When considering hosting and managed cloud service providers, Americaneagle.com stands out as an industry leader with a range of unique advantages. By choosing Americaneagle.com, businesses can expect enhanced ROI through tailored solutions that maximize efficiency and drive growth. We offer cutting-edge solutions that are at the forefront of innovation, ensuring clients have access to the latest tools and capabilities to stay ahead. Americaneagle.com's commitment to client success is unwavering, with dedicated support teams and customized services designed to meet the specific needs of each business.

Our team has extensive experience, and we also have data centers that provide state-of-the-art co-location hosting services. These data centers are equipped with advanced infrastructure and robust security measures to ensure the highest levels of performance, reliability, and data protection. By leveraging Americaneagle.com's expertise and utilizing our data centers, businesses can rest assured that their hosting and cloud services are in capable hands, enabling them to focus on their core operations while enjoying a seamless and secure hosting experience.

Contact us today to learn more about ways we can help you with your cloud operations.

Managed Cloud Services FAQs

Below, Americaneagle.com cloud management experts answer some of the topics most frequently asked questions.

What are managed cloud services?

Managed cloud services involve outsourcing the management and maintenance of cloud infrastructure to specialized service providers. These services include monitoring, security, maintenance, and support to ensure a reliable and secure cloud environment for businesses.

How do managed cloud services differ from traditional IT services?

Managed cloud services differ from traditional IT services by focusing on cloud-specific aspects such as scalability, flexibility, and virtualized resources. They leverage cloud technologies to deliver on-demand computing resources over the internet.

What types of cloud environments do managed services support?

Managed services can support various cloud environments, including public clouds like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, private clouds tailored to specific organizational needs, and hybrid clouds that combine both public and private clouds.

What should I consider when choosing a managed cloud service provider?

When selecting a managed cloud service provider, key considerations include expertise in cloud technologies, quality of customer service, adherence to security standards, scalability options, and cost-effectiveness.

How can managed cloud services improve my business operations?

Managed cloud services can enhance business operations by providing scalability to meet changing demands, increasing efficiency through optimized cloud management, and offering potential cost savings by eliminating the need for internal infrastructure maintenance and upgrades.

Are there security risks with managed cloud services?

Security risks with managed cloud services can be mitigated by choosing a reputable provider like Americaneagle.com that implements robust security measures, conducts regular audits, and follows best practices for data protection and compliance. Common risks include data breaches, unauthorized access, and data loss, which can be safeguarded against through proactive security strategies and continuous monitoring.