The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed how organizations conduct their business. Just two years ago, it was unimaginable to think that most companies could run one whole year with most, if not all employees working from home or any other place outside the four walls of the office, but that’s exactly what happened.

The cloud has gone from a buzzword to the primary driver of core company operations that has allowed people to work from home. Even before the pandemic, an IDC study among CIOs showed that as many as 73% intended to embrace a cloud-first strategy.

Making the move to the cloud to maintain productivity can be a tremendous undertaking, as has been seen by many companies who made the move in the last two years. Without expert guidance, it can be downright overwhelming. Enlisting the help of a Cloud Solutions Provider (CSP) to plan and execute the migration process can rapidly get your team on the road to productive remote work.

Why you might need a CSP partner

With more and more businesses investing in cloud capabilities to power their modern workspaces, Microsoft’s Azure has distinguished itself as a leading public cloud services provider that enables secure and scalable operations unrestricted by location. While you may be able to get cloud service subscriptions straight from Microsoft or any other provider, you could benefit more from the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program through layered-in services not directly available from Microsoft. Think of it as finding a new place to rent. A cloud provider like Microsoft would be your landlord whose job it is to provide you with the space. How you move in, decorate, and connect essential appliances to make the space work for you is entirely up to you. A CSP can make the move a little less daunting by helping you plan your move and get everything that you’re bringing with you to a functioning state.

This method allows customers access to more robust technical support as well as dedicated in-product features that address their specific requirements - no matter the size, scale or application. As a Microsoft CSP partner, Compugen offers end-to-end managed services for cloud migration and deployment through our Accelerate journey.

Microsoft CSP partner certification: What it means to you

Microsoft is easily the largest and fastest-growing public cloud service on the market. With its position in the cloud market, Microsoft employs a rigorous certification process for Azure CSP partners to ensure the organizations optimize their cloud operations. All partners must attain certain minimums, which include:

• Value-added service – the partner must do more than reselling Azure, e.g., offering managed Azure services
• Robust support – be ready and able to deal with first-level customer queries/complaints
• Managed services – have the technical expertise to offer managed services on MS tools
• Simple billing – offer a single and easy-to-follow bill for all Azure and MS-related services

In essence, CSP partners have invested in their infrastructure and demonstrated robust support and billing standards that meet Microsoft’s service quality requirements, and thereby signify their capabilities through the certification. In exchange, CSP partners like Compugen enjoy a direct line to Microsoft - a two-way communications stream for new developments as well as issues escalation. A few other benefits of working with a CSP partner to assist in your cloud migration include:

Cost savings
You can reduce your expenditure and eliminate redundancies by getting a single invoice with your preferred solution, whether public, private or hybrid.

Efficiency
Having a single provider to coordinate your public, private or hybrid cloud solution and IT services improves response times to crises but also ensures continuity of IT services.

Productivity
Getting specific to your business needs ensures rapid and cost-efficient deployment, reduces the staff’s learning curve and improves output throughout the business.

Flexibility
With managed Azure cloud services, you can retain control of the aspects you wish to run in-house and delegate the administration of aspects that are outside your internal team’s scope or simply to free up your team’s time for other IT-led projects.

Technical support
One of the tenets of the CSP partner program is the ability to provide high-level, round-the-clock support. You receive proactive monitoring, maintenance, and management to minimize delays and interruptions due to downtime.

Accelerate your journey with a certified Microsoft CSP partner

Compugen is a certified direct Cloud Services Provider with years of experience providing managed Azure services to clients in various industries. The size and expertise of our Azure team span various professional services and cloud operations divisions. Our CSP practice specifically includes enhanced cost reporting that transforms the chaos of an Azure invoice into meaningful perspectives and insights that empower your organization to streamline your cloud usage. Compugen has invested heavily into developing relevant services within the cloud realm to give businesses the ability to optimize costs and leverage cloud computing in the most efficient way possible.

If you wish to learn more about our Microsoft Azure add-ons through the Accelerate Journey, we are happy to answer any questions.

Don’t know how to start your business’s journey into the cloud? Get in touch today, and let’s figure out the details of what will work best for your business.