I Have a Microsoft Azure Cloud Environment… am I on a CSP?

If you have a Microsoft Azure cloud environment, it’s likely you may be part of a ‘cloud solution provider’ (CSP) agreement  with your partner without even realising it.

However, a CSP is a common driver of risk, over-spending, and a range of other challenges for businesses. Needless to say, it’s a situation you should consider getting out of.

Unfortunately, many of Microsoft Azure’s end customers don’t know what type of management agreement they actually have with their partner, or even what a CSP agreement really means.

According to Microsoft, “The Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Programme enables partners to directly manage their entire Microsoft cloud customer lifecycle. Partners in this programme utilise dedicated in-product tools to directly provision, manage, and support their customer subscriptions. Partners can easily package their own tools, products, and services, and combine them into one monthly or annual customer bill.”

If you are on a CSP, you’ll have very little visibility or control over your cloud infrastructure and could get unwanted surprises on your monthly bills. You may also experience frustrations and issues in the following areas:

• Insufficient support
• Business continuity problems
• Opaque billing
• Unexpected over-spending
• Difficulty adding new features or updates.

Even Microsoft has recently recognised the flaws with its Azure CSP model, and is actively trying to facilitate a shift to better alternatives.

If you’re unsure whether your cloud infrastructure is managed under a CSP, or if you need help understanding how to make the necessary changes, read our latest article here where we explore this topic in detail.