Gartner reports the public cloud market has likely grown another 17.2% in 2016 alone, with Amazon Web Services the largest provider.

With the AWS Marketplace, for example, now containing more than 3,500 products and services, these cloud platforms can seem more confusing than ever, requiring an expert to fully use them effectively.

So, with this in mind, it makes sense that more and more businesses are turning to managed cloud service providers (MSPs) to help optimise their use of cloud. But what key services can these companies provide that the big cloud providers cannot?

A few vital factors when considering where to keep your data should be performance, scalability, security, and compliance. Anyone with a credit card can purchase cloud services, but managing them effectively without proper guidance can present some serious pitfalls

Performance

Performance is undoubtedly the foundation to getting public cloud right. MSPs are adept at identifying performance bottlenecks and over-used resources that AWS-like auto-scaling cannot, finding the root cause of the issue and creating a solution.

>See also: Will public cloud kill the data centre?

By closely monitoring I/O activity, MSPs provide a solid management foundation that enhances resource usage by identifying when different workloads need to be accessed and allocating the optimum storage type.

Additionally, some cloud service providers deliver high speed cloud servers – equivalent to the performance of SSDs, but without the high price tag – allowing customers to benefit from ideal power and velocity without the usual cost implications.

Scalability

For most businesses, growth is always a major part of the plan. This being said, growing on-premises storage to fit a particular business model is difficult and expensive.

Public cloud is far more suitable for scalability, but bringing in a cloud expert with the right knowledge is sure to bring better value for money without putting limits on storage volumes.

Security

Just like everywhere else, the threat landscape in the public cloud is greater than ever with DDoS attacks, hacks and outages hitting the headlines on an almost daily basis.

Cyber criminals are continually coming up with inventive ways to steal data and take businesses offline. Employing a managed cloud provider to manage threats 24/7 and constantly re-evaluate protection options, businesses can rest assured that they are safeguarded.

>See also: Why managed CSPs are becoming cloud integrators

A managed cloud service provider can also protect the points where public and private clouds integrate, if a company chooses to use a hybrid structure.

Compliance

Not every company can fully store their data in the cloud – regulations such as the US-EU Privacy Shield and GDPR mean storing data can be quite complex.

From a security perspective, businesses in industries such as finance or healthcare are legally obliged to keep specific sets of data away from the public cloud. Fortunately, managed cloud service providers can help keep organisations within regulations and avoid fines or penalties for not adhering.

Cloud can seem like an enormous, puzzling abyss, but one way to get it right the first time is to depend on the guidance and expertise of a managed cloud service provider.

These companies are well positioned to deliver an experienced, informed approach to storing and handling data with maximum performance, scalability, security and compliance.

>See also: 10 trends that will influence cloud computing in 2017

As a single point of contact, MSPs can take full responsibility of service levels across all platforms, making manageability simple and organised.

Also, when needed, managed cloud service providers can give timely, knowledgeable and objective advice about products and solutions as well as workload placement.

In short, these providers are able to remove all hassle for businesses looking to move to the public cloud by taking on the administrative burden.

Sourced by Jon Lucas, director at Hyve Managed Hosting