Mike Vizard

All posts by Mike Vizard

Mike Vizard has covered IT for more than 25 years, and has edited or contributed to a number of tech publications including InfoWorld, eWeek, CRN, Baseline, ComputerWorld, TMCNet, and Digital Review. He currently blogs for IT Business Edge and contributes to CIOinsight, The Channel Insider, Programmableweb and Slashdot. Mike blogs about emerging cloud technology for Smarter MSP.

managed services
Managed services redefined: Expanding beyond IT

Managed services redefined: Expanding beyond IT

A global survey of over 1,240 business leaders from organizations with more than $100 million in revenue suggests that enterprises are increasingly relying on managed service providers (MSPs) to assume responsibility of entire business processes. Conducted by KPMG and HFS...

/ May 1, 2025
MSPs focus
Maximizing value: MSPs focus on IT cost optimization

Maximizing value: MSPs focus on IT cost optimization

In the coming weeks, IT organizations will be turning to managed service providers (MSPs) to help them optimize their existing investments during this period of uncertainty. Historically, when faced with economic challenges, IT organizations have focused on two key areas:...

/ April 24, 2025
MSPs
MSPs: Building resilience in the midst of uncertainty

MSPs: Building resilience in the midst of uncertainty

Regardless of how business and IT leaders view tariffs as economic policy, one certainty is that nearly every organization, including managed service providers (MSPs), will be affected. Many MSPs and the organizations employing them are already scrambling to purchase everything...

/ April 17, 2025
Survey: Cloud spending exceeding budgets

Survey: Cloud spending exceeding budgets

A survey of 300 CIOs in the U.S. working for organizations with over 500 employees finds 83 percent are on average spending 30 percent more on cloud infrastructure and applications than what their organization initially budgeted for, even as spending...

/ April 10, 2025
data center
Navigating the data center capacity challenge for MSPs

Navigating the data center capacity challenge for MSPs

A report published by JLL, a provider of commercial real estate and investment management services, reveals that co-location vacancy rates in commercial data center decreased to a record low of 2.6 percent in 2024. At the same time, consumption of...

/ April 3, 2025
MSPs cloud
Survey: MSPs taking on larger cloud role

Survey: MSPs taking on larger cloud role

A global survey of over 750 technical professionals and executive leaders finds that 60 percent are using managed service providers (MSPs) to handle some (29 percent) or more of their public cloud management, and 18 percent report they expect to...

/ March 27, 2025
cloud resources
MSP opportunity: Tackling the chronic waste of cloud resources

MSP opportunity: Tackling the chronic waste of cloud resources

Two reports reveal that most organizations have made little progress in optimizing their cloud infrastructure resource consumption. This gap presents a unique opportunity for managed service providers (MSPs) to address the growing demand for expertise in this area. Insights into...

/ March 20, 2025
Cloud marketplace
The rise of cloud marketplaces: What’s fueling the growth?

The rise of cloud marketplaces: What’s fueling the growth?

According to a 2025 Key Issues and Prediction Report from The Futurum Group, more than a third of all deals moving through cloud marketplaces now involve some type of channel partner. Alex Smith is vice president and practice lead for...

/ March 13, 2025
The rise of AI PCs: A new endpoint MSPs will soon encounter

The rise of AI PCs: A new endpoint MSPs will soon encounter

Managed service providers (MSPs) in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) will soon see a different type of endpoint, known as AI PCs, on the networks they manage. AI PCs simplify the process of building AI models and running inference...

/ March 6, 2025 / 6 Comments
Managed service
Managed services blueprint help provide peace of mind

Managed services blueprint help provide peace of mind

When a customer cancels their managed services contract with a provider, it’s often due to a misunderstanding of the agreed-upon service level. Many customers make assumptions in this area, and what’s more troubling is that the contract rarely defines the...

/ February 27, 2025