When the order to work from home was handed down, British businesses were forced to change how they operated in a matter of days. Suddenly they had to push key processes into the cloud to access them remotely.
In most cases, this emergency transition just about worked. But as we return to normal, many organisations are running into problems.
Woah, we’re halfway there…
As offices re-open and work begins to pick up pace, these partial cloud migration projects are creating issues. OneDrive and SharePoint work great – but not all of the content was ever uploaded. Office 365 is perfect for any place, any time email – but what about the in-house server sat depreciating in the office?
This half-in, half-out scenario reduces efficiency and increases running costs. Nobody knows where that all-important file is, and companies end up working out of multiple shared locations.
The obvious solution would be to finish the project so that all of your key data and systems are fully migrated to the cloud. However, many businesses are finding that the quality of service they receive from their IT provider is decreasing. Some are unable to offer an adequate help desk service, let alone complete a complex cloud migration project.
So what is going on?
Money talks
The media is full of headlines detailing ‘The Great Resignation’ – disgruntled people leaving their jobs to start all-new, more ‘fulfilling’ careers. And there may be a small element of that.
But the reality is that the surge in demand for IT services during lockdown created a boom in the market – and many IT professionals jumped ship to work for much larger (or better funded) enterprises. The forced use of online services placed huge pressure on online systems, and larger businesses needed more people to manage, maintain and support them.
Suddenly an IT technician with a few years’ worth of experience could command a large salary at a high street bank or similar enterprise. Managed service providers (MSP) couldn’t compete – and they lost a lot of their staff as a result.
Seeking out new talent
When lockdown hit, Texaport faced the same challenges. Our customers urgently needed digital transformation, and our team was under pressure.
But instead of ‘stealing’ people from other MSPs, we focused on recruiting the next generation of IT professionals. We began attracting new talent straight from university. In fact we were able to double our headcount while other MSPs were losing employees.
And this approach worked for our customers. We had the resources required to help them migrate to the cloud – and to finish the project too. No one has been left with one foot in the cloud, no one has experienced a drop in quality of service.
The pandemic tech boom is now tailing off and some big firms are reducing headcount as demand returns to normal. But it may be too late for those businesses who have been left high-and-dry by their current MSP.
Is your business stuck with one foot in the cloud? Contact Texaport today to discuss how we can finish the job so you realise all the benefits of your cloud investments.
