A Guide to Managed and Cloud Services

What are managed and cloud services, and why are they so essential?

What is included in Managed and Cloud Services?

According to a survey published by Insight Avenue and commissioned by SUSE, 45 percent of companies suffer from a lack of hybrid cloud skills. These numbers are notable as organizations struggle to stay abreast of the rapid pace of technological change and the demands of running a business in today's economy.

For many, the answer to this skills gap is to outsource and rely on managed and cloud services. An increasing number of businesses are utilizing managed service providers (MSP) and cloud service providers (CSP) to access the best solutions and experts without having to invest in the overhead.

Managed and cloud services can include 24/7 proactive monitoring, alerting, and management, technical support, and experience with systems integration, storage, networking, security, application development, and more. Partnering with an MSP or CSP frees up time and resources and allows your team to focus on business-critical issues.

Managed and cloud services can provide expertise—whenever and wherever you need it. Whether you're considering cloud services, network management, disaster recovery, co-location, or help desk support, using an MSP or CSP can provide invaluable IT capabilities under a service level agreement (SLA) that covers your critical needs.

Optimize your IT environment with Quest’s Managed and Cloud Services. Get started today.

Managed and Cloud Services Overview

Managed and cloud services offer safe, secure, and often customized cloud environments for any industry. With the right provider, you can expect expert provision and management of private, public, and hybrid cloud IT services that address your company's specific needs and meet or exceed regulatory compliance.

Managed and cloud services can include:

  • Backup as a Service (BaaS)
  • Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS)
  • Backup for Microsoft 365
  • Desktop Virtualization
  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS)
  • Software-Defined Wide-Area Network (SD-WAN)
  • Device and Network Monitoring and Alerting
  • Communication Services – Unified Communications, Voice over IP (VoIP)
  • Technical On-Call Support
  • Umbrella Infrastructure Support
  • Help Desk Support
  • Co-location
  • Service Delivery Centers
Managed and Cloud Services

Managed and Cloud Services

Cloud Backup and Recovery Services

How does Backup as a Service (BaaS) work?

BaaS works by backing up your business files, folders, hard drive, and SaaS applications automatically and regularly to a remote, secure cloud-based offsite data repository over a network connection. BaaS is easier to manage than other storage solutions - no more rotating archival tapes or hard disks at an offsite location. IT admins can offload maintenance and management to a CSP.

Using a modern cloud solution like Veeam Cloud Connect, you can easily move backups offsite to Quest’s Cloud while maintaining complete visibility and control, end-to-end encryption, and quick access to your backups whenever you need them.

Disaster Recovery as a Service

What is Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS)?

DRaaS is a viable alternative to incurring the cost and complexity of building and maintaining an offsite infrastructure for disaster recovery. DRaaS works by sending replicas of your backups to the cloud using a solution such as Veeam Cloud Connect. As an example, one of the benefits for customers with on-premises Veeam deployments is the ability to extend their availability strategy to the cloud.

The best DRaaS solutions allow you to achieve RTO/RPO of less than 15 minutes, regardless of the storage, applications, or operating system you use—and will offer this for either VMware vSphere or Microsoft Hyper-V environments.

The ability to recover applications in the cloud slashes the cost and complexity of traditional disaster recovery, making it possible for even small businesses to be prepared when the unexpected happens.

Why do you need to backup Microsoft 365?

As one of the most popular Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, Microsoft 365 adoption is accelerating, and its use is expanding beyond Exchange to more services including SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams.

The misconception that Microsoft fully backs up your data on your behalf is quite common. While Microsoft is responsible for the infrastructure and maintaining uptime, the data is yours – you control the backup, security, privacy, and retention.

Adopting Microsoft 365 without having a backup copy of the data is risky. Accidental deletion, user errors, and phishing attacks are commonplace within Microsoft 365. With Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 you have the options to backup from Azure to your site or you can minimize your on-premises footprint and free up IT resources and backup directly to Quest’s Cloud.

Managed Cloud Infrastructure Services

How will Desktop Virtualization help my organization?

Desktop Virtualization encompasses Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and Desktops as a Service (DaaS) solutions, both of which make it possible for remote users to interact with applications and services as if they were on local machines. By virtualizing desktops and applications, you can realize the benefits of simplified deployment, improved data security, and centralized management without high capital costs and unending burdens of managing employees’ desktop devices.

Managed Cloud Infrastructure Services

Can Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) work for my organization?

In a word, yes. IaaS is the foundation for many cloud offerings. IaaS provides you with a secure, unified, intelligent architecture that you pay for out of your OpEx budget, not CapEx. Whether you need a private, public, or hybrid cloud configuration for your business—or don't know what you need yet—you can find managed and cloud services experts to customize and deliver the right cloud platform for your company.

What is Platform as a Service (PaaS), and how can my business benefit from it?

PaaS provides a dedicated platform allowing you to develop, run, and manage data and applications without the complexity of building and maintaining an infrastructure. PaaS includes cloud services for compute, analytics, storage, and networking. Choose the services you need to develop and scale new applications, or host existing applications by leveraging PaaS.

Infrastructure as a Service

What is SD-WAN, and why is it important?

SD-WAN acts as a virtual WAN overlay that decouples the network management function from the physical hardware using a centralized controller to set policies and prioritize network traffic. An SD-WAN virtual WAN overlay can provide visibility and control of data center and cloud traffic and improve the quality of service (QoS) that is being provided (loss, latency, jitter).

Monitoring and Alerting Services

What are Monitoring and Alerting Services, and does my company need them?

Monitoring and Alerting Services provide 24/7 oversight of your IT devices and network. They are vital to ensuring technical environments remain robust, reliable, and secure, so yes, your organization needs them.

Quest can work with your team to design and implement a network performance monitoring and alerting program that covers your LAN, databases, applications, WAN, and VLAN. Your business will benefit from integrated fault and performance services plus improved productivity and reduced overhead costs.

Monitoring and Alerting Services

Data Center Services

Edge Compute and Data Center Services

What is Edge Compute, and what can it do for my organization?

At its core, edge computing is the practice of bringing data storage and computation closer to related data sources, boosting performance, and reducing latency. Quest Edge Compute services are designed to deliver the very best in edge computing, providing an incredibly efficient and adaptable option for your growing business.

Our Edge Compute services bring the cloud directly to you, meeting you wherever you are and configuring a solution that suits your unique needs. Our elastic compute cloud can help your organization efficiently achieve your business goals, while simultaneously lowering costs, optimizing for security and compliance, and streamlining workflows considerably.

What is Co-location, and how will it help my business?

Co-location refers to data center facilities that lease space for servers and provide electrical power, security, heating and cooling, and high-speed Internet connection. Co-location facilities often include expert IT services on a contractual basis. With the right provider and flexible, customizable Co-location services, you can reduce your private data center costs, know that your data is protected and secure, and benefit from cutting-edge expertise.

Co-location vs. Service Delivery Centers: which is the best for your business?

While Co-location is a great alternative to building and maintaining your own private data center, Service Delivery Centers can offer customized services in addition to space. Organizations can move their workloads to a secure cloud environment where they can easily scale as their business grows, paying only for what they need, when they need it. In addition, temporary office space and equipment can be made available to ensure your organization resumes business operations after a disruption or disaster.

Communication Services

What are the benefits of Unified Communications (UC)?

Unified Communications refers to a fully integrated communication network – a comprehensive approach to cloud collaboration in all of its forms, be it email, voice, presence, active directory, or instant messaging. UC solutions allow for the flexibility and security so crucial in today’s business environment. Communicate with remote staff and customers reliably, wherever they are.

How can Voice over IP (VoIP) help my business?

Voice over IP (VoIP) providers have extensive experience in installing and supporting VoIP installations. Expert technicians will guide you through common pitfalls—ensuring faster implementation, lower costs, and fewer problems for your business.

Communication Services

Do my business communication systems need to be E911 compliant?

New Enhanced 911 (E911) legislation, including Kari’s Law and RAY BAUM’S Act, ensures that anyone, anywhere can reach emergency services and critical location data is provided with that call. Businesses that fail to comply with the law risk fines and may be subject to additional penalties for each day they remain non-compliant.

Quest experts can evaluate your communication environment and deploy solutions to support these life-saving enhancements for your employees, guests, and visitors.

Support Services

How does Technical On-Call Support (TOCS) work?

Face it. There are times when your internal IT team could use a backup tech support team. Technical On-Call Support offers easy access to the support you need—when and how you need it, 24/7. The right provider will onboard your organization before you require that help, which gives your company ease of escalation plus valuable savings in time, money, and resources.

How can I use Umbrella Infrastructure Support for my business?

Your business demands IT systems that work, but finding the fundamental support you need is not always so simple. If you’re worried about keeping your existing IT environment up and running, consider Umbrella Infrastructure Support services. It’s designed to support your existing infrastructure, help you reduce IT-related pains, and get the most ROI out of your current environment.

Support Services

Why is it worth getting help for my internal Help Desk?

As IT infrastructure continues to grow in complexity and the workforce becomes more mobile, internal Help Desk teams are facing an increase in ticket volume, longer response times, and abandoned calls. It’s tougher than ever to maintain an in-house help desk, so many businesses are turning to third-party Help Desk providers to reduce both their IT operations costs and hassle quotient.

Managed and Cloud Services Workshops

Quest’s Workshops provide you with the opportunity to work closely with our certified IT experts to outline your infrastructure and cloud concerns, review and assess your current environment, and get intelligent recommendations tailored to your organization’s needs.

These workshops can be conducted onsite at your location, virtually, or at Quest’s headquarters in Roseville, CA.

Cloud Migration Workshop

A Cloud Migration Workshop can provide you with an understanding of your present situation so you can make the right business and financial decisions to allow your organization to operate seamlessly and securely in the cloud. The Cloud Migration Workshop will include a review of your company's current environment as well as plans and outlined next steps, with a focus on solutions to meet your specific needs.

During your Workshop, our experts will help you identify both the next steps and timelines for success in the cloud—using public cloud, private cloud, or a combination of the two.

Schedule a Quest Cloud Migration Workshop today to develop a plan for a seamless migration.

Infrastructure and Licensing Health Check

An Infrastructure and Licensing Health Check helps you prepare for change by identifying performance bottlenecks, rightsizing your environment, estimating software/device end-of-service/life, and evaluating your readiness to deploy advanced applications. We will also help you navigate the new vendor licensing models as the industry moves away from on-premises models to cloud and SaaS. By highlighting these areas of concern within your environment, our comprehensive assessment will provide you the visibility you need to meet ever-expanding, always-shifting business demands.

During your Health Check, we will help evaluate your current infrastructure and licensing to ensure your IT environment is ready to meet the challenges of a growing business while reducing the financial impact of the new licensing models.

Case Study – North State Grocery

North State Grocery wanted to migrate their entire IT infrastructure to the cloud so they could focus on supporting their core business. They needed an IT partner who could cover all the bases to complete a hassle-free migration, a cloud provider to support high availability, reliability, security and scalability, and most importantly one that would provide ongoing exceptional client services. They reviewed all the big players and chose Quest.

Managed and Cloud Services Insights

White Paper

TechTarget Top 5 Backup and DRaaS Considerations

Blog

What to include in your SLAs

Blog

Why it’s worth getting help for your Help Desk

Video

DIY Dave

What’s your situation? Quest can help, whether you need support managing your on-premise infrastructure or looking to move to the cloud, or a hybrid platform.

Improve your business IT capabilities and continuity while reining in OpEx costs. Contact Quest today.