Key benefits of Microsoft Azure managed services

Organisations are increasingly outsourcing their IT functions to third party providers or Managed Service Providers, with projections showing no sign of this trend slowing down. In fact, over 77% of businesses now view managed service providers as critical to their digital transformation efforts, highlighting the growing reliance on external expertise. This can be attributed to a wide range of reasons, but usually down to cost efficiency, access to specialised expertise, difficulties hiring and retaining an in-house team, scalability, and the desire to focus less on IT and more on strategic initiatives. 

One of the most common areas organisations look to outsource, is their cloud services. This is often due to the complexity involved in the ongoing management, monitoring, and optimisation required to maintain efficient cloud operations. By turning to managed cloud services from an expert provider, organisations can leverage specialised skills and advanced tools to handle these tasks effectively. 

In this blog, we'll explore the key benefits related to cloud and infrastructure services, so you can understand if this approach could be right for your business. 

What are Microsoft Azure managed services?  

Microsoft Azure managed services are specialised services delivered by certified providers to manage, optimise, and secure an organisation’s Microsoft Azure environment on its behalf.  

They cover the full lifecycle of cloud operations, including infrastructure provisioning, monitoring, security management, performance optimisation, cost control, and ongoing support. 

Rather than relying solely on internal teams, organisations use managed services provider to ensure their Azure environment is continuously maintained using best practices, automation, and up-to-date security standards. This enables internal teams to focus on strategic priorities rather than day-to-day cloud management. 

An Azure Managed Service will:  

• Manage and administrate your Azure infrastructure  

• Monitor your Azure service and performance  

• Patch throughout your organisation  

• Diagnose any issues or errors you might face  

• Help create and deploy a backup plan  

• Supercharge your organisation’s security 

A Azure MSP will also be able to help guide you through what your organisation will need going forward and strategise to ensure that your Azure infrastructure supports future growth and demand fluctuations. 

Microsoft Azure managed services benefits  

Reduced cloud costs 

An MSP will help you work out where you can save costs within your cloud environment. They'll help identify cost-effective strategies such as right-sizing resources, leveraging reserved instances, and auto-scaling to ensure that you only pay for what you need. Periodic monitoring and management will also prevent costly downtime. 

This is particularly important given that up to 30–35% of cloud spend is typically wasted due to inefficient resource usage, making optimisation a key priority for organisations. 

In addition to reducing operational cloud costs, outsourcing is usually more cost-effective than hiring and training an in-house team, as well as providing continuous upskilling to keep pace with evolving technology. 

Strengthened security 

Keeping up to date with the latest security threats and tactics can be difficult. By purchasing a managed service, your service provider - who will have direct support from Microsoft, will strengthen your security posture by deploying best practices, threat detection strategies, and ensuring that you’re covered with new patches from Microsoft as soon as they become available.  

Expert support  

With the ongoing skills shortage, it can be difficult to recruit and retain a skilled Azure team in-house that have the breadth of experience necessary. With a managed service, you'll gain from a team of experts with a wealth of experience deploying and optimising cloud environments across a range of organisations. 

Certain providers will also offer 24/7 support, ensuring your Azure environment runs smoothly at all times so productivity doesn't dip. 

Reduced burden on in-house teams 

Managed services significantly ease the workload on your internal teams by handling the day-to-day management of your Azure environment. This allows your team to focus on strategic initiatives instead of being bogged down by routine maintenance and troubleshooting. By outsourcing these tasks, you ensure your IT staff can dedicate their time and expertise to projects that drive innovation and growth. 

Regulatory compliance 

Meeting regulatory standards is a critical aspect of managing cloud services. Azure MSPs will have the expertise to ensure your systems adhere to industry regulations, reducing the risk of non-compliance and safeguarding your business from potential penalties. 

Enable simple scalability  

Scaling up on-prem hardware is often difficult and costly, whereas Azure's subscription model offers a 'pay for what you use' approach. Whether scaling up during peak periods or scaling down when less capacity is needed, this flexible model helps manage costs effectively, ensuring you only pay for the resources you actually consume. 

In-depth reporting  

With data now often seen as an organisation's most valuable asset, its importance for informed decision-making can't be overstated. Your service provider will be able to provide you with in-depth reports about your Azure infrastructure, from patch reports to mobile device management reports and log-on/log-off analytics. This information can be used to optimise your cloud environment and inform future strategy. 

How we can help  

At OneAdvanced we have over 60 in-house Microsoft Certified Professionals, with years of experience designing and implementing workplace services, as well as taking customers from traditional on premises to cloud managed. OneAdvanced advise, assist, secure, and operate, no matter what stage you’re at in your cloud journey - from initial migration to mature optimisation. Get in touch today to see how we can help. 

FAQs 

1. Can Azure managed services reduce cloud costs?

Yes, they help optimise cloud spend by monitoring resource usage, eliminating waste, right-sizing infrastructure, and implementing cost control strategies based on real-time data.

2. What is included in Azure cloud managed services?

They typically include infrastructure management, security and compliance, performance optimisation, backup and disaster recovery, and continuous monitoring and support.

3. What is the difference between managed Azureservices and in-house cloud management?

Managed services provide external expertise, automation, and continuous support, while in-house management relies on internal resources, which may be limited in scale, availability, or specialised knowledge.