Is there still a role for the outsourcer and the managed service provider (MSP) as a trusted IT partner to the enterprise? Or will the new wave of on-demand, always-on services and applications confine the MSP and the specialist outsourcer to the dustbin of history?

If cloud is just another channel, then there will certainly be a role for the MSP. As Peter Mills, head of systems integration solutions for Africa and the Middle East at T-Systems points out, at the very least, MSPs will have to “rapidly adapt to the pay-per-use model if they’re going to be relevant in the future.”