Automation Provides Key to IT Services Success
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Automation Provides Key to IT Services Success
More IT service providers are relying on IT automation to compete effectively, a new study finds. The stakes will only get higher with time. -
Number of IT Environments Managed
Just under half (48%) report they are managing 50 or more IT environments. Another 24% report managing 10 to 50. -
Number of MSPs Tracking IT Performance per Customer
Just over half of the IT service providers (54%) say they actively collect and store data on customers' IT performance. Most of those IT service providers (81%) are using that data to improve service. -
Reasons for Not Storing Customer Performance Data
Just under a third (30%) said it was too complicated, while 23% said they lack the tools needed to make sense of it. -
Turning Data Into Actionable Intelligence
Only a minority of IT service providers (8%) have put in place automated processes for transforming data into actionable recommendations. For those that have, data automation has directly led to more than a third doubling their client servicing capacity. Almost three-quarters can now service customers with more complex IT environments and more than one-quarter of respondents have even entirely automated their managed security services. -
ROI on IT Automation
One-fifth (20%) say they have already enjoyed at least a 100% return in their automation investments. The proportion experiencing 100% or more ROI in the next two years is expected to rise from 20% today to 47%. -
IT Automation as Key to Business Expansion
Nearly 75% of those who have not yet deployed data-driven automation strategies believe that doing so would enable them to deliver a range of new services. More than one=third believe it would give them a competitive advantage. A further 49% see it as the route to offering more sophisticated services and winning more business as a result. Another 38% say they can support more complex IT environments. -
IT Automation as Method for Controlling Head Count
Nearly four in 10 (38%) say automation has at least doubled their capacity without adding head count. Another 34% cite a 25% to 50% increase in capacity. At the same time, 38% report that IT automation has increased the need for strategic IT consulting, while 34% said they needed improved IT skills. -
IT Automation as a Matter of Survival
Just over half (52%) actively fear that service providers that do not adopt automation will likely lose out to their more advanced competition; 6% even think that failure to adapt will lead to going out of business.
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Defining MSPs' Goals, Challenges and Tools 
Why Metrics Matter to the Channel Service providers in the channel need to increase their investments in IT automation to survive, and ultimately thrive, concludes a new study conducted by LogicNow, a provider of IT service management (ITSM) tools delivered via the cloud. Although most IT service providers in the channel today are collecting IT performance data, very few of them have the tools needed to turn that data into actual intelligence, according to the study, which is based on a global survey of more than 350 IT service providers. However, those that have made the appropriate investments are not only showing 100 percent returns on those investments, but the majority of them credit those IT automation investments with providing a sustainable competitive advantage. The impact of those IT automation investments spans everything from head count to the number and types of IT services that can be provided, including being able to automate the delivery of managed security services. At the moment, there's clearly an arms race under way as far as employing IT automation is concerned. However, what may appear to be advanced technology today often turns out to be the table stakes needed tomorrow just to stay in business. Channel Insider examines key takeaways from the study.