A Case for Contracting Third-Party Experts

As discussed in our previous blog post, IT services are not just about writing software, even when if it is well written. It needs to be ‘well-architected’ and that encompasses much more than just adding some pre-packaged components together and making it work. This is where external experts can be of real value to you, in many ways. In this blog post, we cover the deep dive into the detail and level of expertise working with external partners can bring to the table for your business and how this translates for you and your team. 

Topics: AWS services and consultants/experts

Whether your business is required to operate a corporate web presence, or you plan to run some custom IT services, or something even larger, the respective applications need to follow a well thought through architecture.  To recap the following five aspects of IT architecture is always important: 

1. An IT service needs to operate well, be capable of frequent updates without interruptions, integrate well with underpinning infrastructure, and at a high level of automation.
2. It needs to be secure in managing access and identities, protect information that is stored and processed, and tools and processes need to be in place when incidents occur. 
3. It needs to be reliable not only in defined normal operational conditions but also needs to respond reliably and predictably to changes in demand (autoscaling out) and faults in the infrastructure (e.g., how to deal with semi-permanent network outages). 
4. It needs to perform well, using the right mix of components and architecture over time and operate well under imposed external resource limits. 
5. And of course, it needs to be cost-efficient because a good IT system operates at the best achievable price point. Because where is the value of and what good is software when the cost and effort of operating it are going through the roof?

Today’s business world has ever more increasing needs for agility and responsiveness, propelled by the cloud making its way into virtually all aspects of (business) life. It challenges the traditional ways in how IT services are conceived, designed, and delivered. It exacerbates the needs – and opportunities – of a well-designed architecture of your IT service or system, because it changes the underpinning business model of IT resources.  Capital assets often have the effect of masking or blurring the need for an efficient and performing system because the hardware is there and had better be used. In contrast, when deploying on rented infrastructure, you pay for what you consume, and every bit of inefficiency has a financial impact.  Many of these questions are not new. But they gain importance in an IT world with a rate of innovation that is difficult to keep up with properly. The question is, however, is this really a key competency that is mission-critical in your line of business? It is true that every company these days is a tech company, but the question remains to which extent technology should be part of your core Some aspects of your IT estate are common within, as well as across verticals. It is this similarity of needs (they are not always identical as every business has some differentiating needs) that makes expert advice and services compelling – across many different aspects: 

1. Managed hosting provides you with the operational excellence you deserve. Whether it is traditionally managed hosting or hosting in the cloud, your IT systems will be efficiently managed by us. 
2. Regular Security audits with managed change action plans give you peace of mind that valuable, sensitive and personal information stored and processed on your IT systems is protected, and risks of data leaks are minimised.
3. IT Architecture consulting covering digital transformation, high-performance system architecture, resilience, infrastructure integration, and business process analysis ensures you can focus on implementing the real business value and the functions your IT service needs to deliver. 

Call the Craftsmen team on 020 3745 7706 or email us at [email protected] to find out more about our specialised ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials cloud managed services.