As environments become more complex, the level of satisfaction with existing approaches to IT monitoring is declining. A survey of 500 IT leaders conducted by Method Research on behalf of LogicMonitor finds nearly half of respondents (46 percent) have negative things to say about their current approach to monitoring hybrid cloud computing environments.
In addition, the survey finds nearly three-quarters of respondents (74 percent) spend the equivalent of more than a full business day each week troubleshooting and reacting to events. Forty-nine percent want their monitoring tools to surface next-step recommendations to resolve those incidents, with 39 percent preferring tools to include the intelligence required to recognize and resolve those issues.
More than half (53 percent) are looking for ways to consolidate their monitoring tools, with 21 percent that use multiple monitoring tools describing the approach as being “chaotic.”
MSPs surpass internal IT monitoring capabilities
It’s apparent most IT managers have better things to do with their time than monitor and troubleshoot IT incidents. For example, 40 percent of respondents said they’ve delayed increasing focus on user and customer satisfaction because they need to respond to incidents.
Most managed service providers (MSPs) are significantly better at proactively monitoring IT environments and responding to incidents than the average internal IT team could ever hope to be. Given the scale at which MSPs operate, most of the incidents encountered will be familiar. MSPs know that each incident that requires a response ultimately reduces profitability, so there is generally a much higher commitment to preventing incidents from occurring in the first place.
The challenge is that far too many internal IT teams still view MSPs as an existential threat to their existence, even though they know as IT environments become more challenging to manage, they require additional expertise. Their first inclination is to try to find someone with the expertise required, but hiring an individual at a salary level that an organization can afford is difficult, so they often opt to hire someone they need to train. Of course, by the time that individual gains the skills required, they are looking for another employer that will pay them what they are truly worth.
Breaking the cycle
MSPs looking to expand the total addressable market for their services must find ways to help internal IT teams break the vicious circle. This is an era where businesses are more dependent of IT than ever. There is plenty of opportunity for IT teams to add more value to the business. In fact, the survey finds nearly two-thirds of respondents (65 percent) are happiest when they have interesting, innovative work. Responding to IT incidents consumes valuable time that could be applied to more rewarding tasks that are a lot more intellectually challenging than a routine IT incident.
Most IT leaders these days want to make a meaningful contribution to the organizations that employ them. MSPs can be a means to achieving that end because, after all, the most valuable asset anyone has is the amount of time they can apply to any one issue. The MSP that reminds IT leaders of this will arguably do them one of the best favors of their lives by simply asking them what it is they would rather be doing.
Photo: PopTika / Shutterstock
