Cloud Integration Managed Clouds – How Medium-Sized Businesses Are Transforming Their IT

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Medium-sized businesses face challenges such as skills shortages, outdated IT, and increasing cyber threats. Managed clouds can help here: They enable scalable and secure IT infrastructures that grow with the company while providing flexibility and security.

In the mid-sized sector, there is increasing pressure to digitalize. This also raises demands on IT, which must keep pace with business transformation: greater complexity often coincides not only with older systems but also with a lack of personnel. Companies can hardly build up expertise on their own, as roles like IT management or network administrators are too expensive and not necessary as full-time positions in smaller businesses.

If a company manages to recruit skilled personnel, there is a risk that they may leave—and suddenly, no one in the company is familiar with the infrastructure. As a result, mid-sized businesses often focus their resources on core processes, leaving IT infrastructure, operations, and security out of focus. Consequently, systems become outdated because they are not maintained. Such outdated infrastructure poses a latent risk: not only do cyberattacks become more likely, but the probability of success and the potential damage also increase.

"A well-maintained system can handle a security vulnerability: the malware might infect a laptop but won't spread further," explains Lars Heymeier, Chief Information and Technology Officer (CITO) of the Convotis Group, an end-to-end service provider for medium-sized businesses. "Outdated systems, on the other hand, provide no barriers to attackers: they gain access to the IT landscape and central systems, take over the network and backup systems from there, and encrypt everything. Then, high ransom demands are made, and business operations come to a complete halt." And the number of cyberattacks is rising, attackers are becoming more dangerous, and their methods more sophisticated.

Outsource IT infrastructure and operations

To focus on their core business, more and more medium-sized companies are deciding to outsource their IT infrastructure and operations. This decision for managed cloud services is a strategically important step and can provide a competitive advantage: it enables companies to deploy their scarce personnel for tasks that generate value. For example, their in-house IT can focus on specialized tools essential to business processes, while general tasks such as infrastructure, security, cost and license management, or hardware procurement are outsourced.

This also means that complexity in companies' on-site server rooms is reduced, as technology can be outsourced. The structures then become more resilient and less prone to failure. Overall, external operations can be more cost-effective than internal ones, as companies no longer need to worry about redundancies, cooling, and physical security measures such as alarm systems and locking systems. Virtual security, such as patch and backup planning, is also outsourced.

Companies that outsource their IT to the managed cloud transfer operational responsibility to the service provider. They are not just purchasing computing power and resources. Instead, their systems are migrated to the cloud platform, and a new operations model is established—with the goal of high scalability, availability, and redundancy. Since the systems are operated on certified infrastructures, data security is reliably regulated and safe.

Choose the right cloud partner

Heymeier advises taking a close look when selecting a partner: major cloud providers like Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure contractually stipulate, among other things, that they may use customer data for training purposes. This, however, gives U.S. companies and third parties access to sensitive business data. With a sovereign cloud solution, it’s different. "They enable companies to retain full control over their data and IT environments," Heymeier explains. Sovereign cloud solutions ensure that sensitive corporate information does not fall into the wrong hands, particularly not through legal access rights of other states.

Typically, a sovereign cloud is based on infrastructures operated in national data centers and subjected to strict data protection and compliance standards—as is the case with hosting by smaller German providers in the private cloud. The trend is indeed moving away from the major U.S. cloud providers toward independent, often German, service providers. Convotis, for example, operates its private cloud in German data centers. "Companies are becoming more sensitive and increasingly aware of dependencies, also due to geopolitical changes," Heymeier explains.

Hybrid approach in the cloud

The IT infrastructure in the public cloud does not mean that cloud services from American providers can no longer be used: a common approach for transforming medium-sized IT landscapes is a hybrid solution. Server systems and infrastructure are hosted in a private cloud, while workplaces and devices run applications from the Microsoft Cloud—such as Word, Teams, or Sharepoint. This combines a sovereign private cloud with a workplace from the public cloud. The private cloud provides the logic, central data storage, and protection of intellectual property. The cloud offers maximum flexibility in this regard: those who do not wish to use Microsoft's services can have their own workspace set up in the private cloud.

Digitalization with an experienced partner

For digital transformation and the cloud shift to succeed, companies need a managed service that understands their needs. This may include requirements such as external connectivity or the use of older Windows versions. Additionally, the focus is on critical infrastructures and business applications that take priority during migration. Convotis, for example, gains an overview of the current situation, the existing environment, and the way of working beforehand.

"An important success factor for a smooth transformation is having an overview of the IT infrastructure, which many medium-sized businesses lack. However, most companies face similar challenges during the cloud shift. This is where, for example, an infrastructure assessment can provide support," says Heymeier. After assessing the infrastructure, the IT environment and architecture are planned and built.

Migration concepts are developed, and data assets and server landscapes are transferred to the cloud. This facilitates the transfer of a local infrastructure into the managed cloud. "It is advisable to start the cloud shift as early as possible—in clear steps and with a partner who understands the business. Medium-sized businesses thrive not only by planning but by acting. They should stay true to their DNA and tackle the cloud issue," advises Heymeier. Additionally, with increasing regulations and geopolitical uncertainties, the demand for sovereign cloud solutions will continue to grow. "Those who act now gain an important advantage."

Best practices for IT transformations

Two medium-sized businesses have implemented exactly this: STS Elektro AG and BDO Austria, an auditing and tax consultancy firm. STS Elektro AG has outsourced a large part of its IT infrastructure to the public cloud. "Previously, collaboration across multiple locations was a major hurdle. The data was stored locally on the computers, and data exchange between locations was difficult or impossible," says Heymeier.

Additionally, the tools and working environments varied. With the shared cloud infrastructure, the team can now use virtual workspaces for collaboration: everyone logs into a central platform and has access to secure data storage. Information exchange is organized, efficiency has significantly increased, and so has employee satisfaction, as they now use more modern solutions and work in a contemporary environment. "The cloud can virtually centralize decentralized locations. This enables solutions that are not possible in a decentralized setup," explains Heymeier. At BDO Austria as well, the vast data resources were previously distributed across various local devices at around 30 locations. The working environments were consolidated within the cloud infrastructure, where all employees log in. The toolset, including templates and calculation applications, is now stored in the cloud workspace, allowing secure access to all data from there.

Managed service as a solution

Companies that outsource their IT infrastructure and operations to a managed service provider can focus on their core business and better utilize their own resources. A managed service ensures high-performing, scalable systems and compliance with legal regulations. It is recommended to choose a partner for implementation who understands medium-sized businesses and relies on sovereign private clouds instead of public clouds. This allows medium-sized companies to successfully achieve the cloud shift, taking another step toward digital transformation.

*Nadja Müller is a journalist for Wordfinder.