TIG bolsters cloud portfolio with dedicated app

MSP says the need to add value for customers is paramount as it unveils in-house-developed Azure app

MSP TIG has bolstered its blossoming cloud services portfolio with the launch of a dedicated Azure backup app.

The firm claims its Asigra-powered app guarantees rapid recovery and restoration of data, with the customer holding the decryption key and it is offered in a Linux or Windows flavour.

Des Lekerman, chief executive of TIG, told CRN: "We are automating a lot of manual processes as it is an easy way to a build disaster recovery offering, and following on from that we have built our own app that backs up Azure databases and files.

"Now we can do a healthcheck, discovery and migrate customers to Azure, and also do the same with Office 365. Customers cannot get enough of it; it is flying off the shelves, so to speak."

Lekerman said the core customer base for TIG has been the 100 to 2,000-seat mid-market sector and added that customer interest in the cloud is ramping up. "We are having a lot of conversations around the hybrid cloud, and adding SaaS applications around that. For us it is about creating value and building out-of-the-box solutions that customers can take away with them and just use," he said.

He added that the app had taken 12 months to build, and allows TIG to give customers a breakdown of everything they need. "We have recruited people to develop this app and we have invested in it. These days you cannot just be an implementor - you have to add value."

The journey to the cloud is definitely starting to get faster but customers are also getting wiser, Lekerman said. "The speed of change has been phenomenal and the industry is moving so quickly," he added. "Customers are thinking twice about spending money; they are not going to hand over tens of thousands of pounds to an IT consultant for migration - they want to know if their system is predictable, whether it can be replicated. The channel needs to be able to show it can add real value these days."