As SMBs continue their shift to the cloud –accelerated by the rapid enablement of remote work due to COVID-19—ITSPs are benefiting from the large opportunity the cloud creates, but are also facing increased pressures due to the complexity of supporting customers in the cloud.
Over the next decade analysts predict that nearly 100M SMBs will embrace digital transformation, compounding the pressures ITSPs will feel to support customers, protect against security threats, and maintain margins.
“Given the increasing demand for Cloud services, IT Services Providers need an easy, unified, and secure approach to manage the growing cloud complexity,” said SkyKick Co-CEO Todd Schwartz. “We developed our new Cloud Manager product by re-imagining how automation could help IT Services Providers manage their cloud operations. With Cloud Manager, ITSPs will be able to save thousands of hours of cloud management labor per year, ultimately saving the industry hundreds of millions of labor hours annually.”
In a recent SkyKick study of 500 ITSPs, 44% cited operational complexity as their biggest challenge, with support desks increasingly overwhelmed by cloud administration tasks. An average-sized IT Services Provider supporting Microsoft 365 and other SaaS applications can easily spend over $100,000 per year in support costs. And while employees are stretched thin, quality, security, and customer experience are taking a hit. ITSPs report end-customers bouncing an average of 3.5 times through a support desk before getting resolution to their ticket.
“ITSPs today are stringing together combinations of endless logins, legacy point solutions, admin portals, manual steps and PowerShell scripts to meet customer demand, but the reality is that all the fragmentation means many are struggling to keep up,” said SkyKick Co-CEO Evan Richman. “As more SMBs adopt the cloud, there is immense pressure on the support operation to overcome the challenges and be a driver of customer satisfaction and revenue growth. We’ve built the app that lets Partners command the cloud and build a more profitable business.”
SkyKick Cloud Manager is a powerful automation application that enables ITSPs to efficiently and securely administer and manage their cloud customers across SaaS, IaaS, PaaS and devices. Cloud Manager consists of three key feature areas that together help ITSPs conquer the complexity of the cloud.
Command Center is a help desk automation application designed to help the Tier 1 support desk resolve cloud tickets faster, reduce escalations and improve customer experience. The user-friendly, no-code interface provides a single pane of glass that enables the help desk to automate and administer all their customers’ SaaS applications, cloud services, and any cloud connected device with just a few clicks. Command Center also comes pre-loaded with a library of advanced workflows such as multi-SaaS user onboarding, advanced security checks, and deploying and managing Windows Virtual Desktops.
WorkBench is a low-code workflow automation engine that enables admins to turn PowerShell into Command Center applications with the click of a button. In addition, WorkBench is a connected development environment that enhances admin productivity by enabling them to build and run PowerShell scripts across multiple customers and multiple cloud services from a single script or run-time instance. WorkBench comes pre-loaded with a library of 7,000+ command building blocks across all connected cloud services to create almost limitless advanced workflows for Powershell and Help Desk users.
Security and Compliance is built into every area of the Cloud Manager application, enabling ITSPs to strengthen their security posture – and that of their customers. Every cloud connection uses a tokenized authentication model that eliminates the need for non-secure password sharing. Detailed records of all activities provide auditing and reporting that helps to increase compliance. In addition, providers can easily execute proactive security initiatives like assessments and remediation for customers.
The cross-cloud power of Cloud Manager is built upon a unique Connector Engine that addresses the fragmentation and inefficiency of disparate cloud services, vendor-specific identities, and proprietary management APIs. By connecting a portfolio of SaaS, IaaS and PaaS offerings into one platform, it makes it possible to achieve no-code and low-code automation of XaaS tenants using the popular PowerShell language. Current cloud connectors include popular cloud services like Microsoft 365, Azure, Active Directory, Microsoft Endpoint Manager, Google Workspace, Slack, DocuSign, DropBox, Quickbooks, Zoom and Cisco WebEx.
“Cloud Manager helped us transform the economics of our business. With the Command Center app, we can now empower our frontline Help Desk with automation that is easily packaged for them to execute,” said Shane Monty, VP of Bang Industries, a Present Group company. “Cloud Manager significantly reduces the workload on the Help Desk and the number of escalations. And of course, all of this results in a better support experience for our customers.”
ITSPs will spend an estimated 500 million labor hours on IT administration annually. Cloud Manager will bring a new level of efficiency, security and profitability to the industry. SkyKick will host a special virtual launch event on October 29 to unveil the new application to the press, ITSPs and the industry at large. Event registration details can be found here or on http://skykick.com.