Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 20 | Page 17

EDITOR’S COMMENT He at O CE er, ern Stephan B THE CHANNEL MARKET IN 2019 STEPHAN BERNER, CEO AT HELP AG T hrough 2018, there has been a steady shift in the channel mindset with more organisations ramping up their services portfolios. This will continue in 2019 and I believe that customer buy-in to managed services is only set to grow. The exponential increase in the complexity and frequency of cyberattacks places managed security services (MSS) at the forefront of what these enterprises require. PwC’s recently conducted 21st CEO survey found that in terms of outside threats to their business, 45% of CEOs said they were extremely concerned about cyberattacks while 55% of respondents said they find it very or somewhat difficult to attract digital talent. For the channel, it should therefore be clear that building a fully-qualified MSS practice that can not only alleviate the burden placed on the in-house IT teams of their customers but go further to deliver expertise and value will help secure their future in the year ahead. The channel will also be impacted the by increasing uptake of the cloud. Enterprises in the Middle East are ahead of the wider EMEA region when it comes to adoption of hybrid cloud, according to the global Enterprise Cloud Index survey by Nutanix. There is also market buzz around multi-cloud which also presents an opportunity for the channel. As cloud complexity increases, the channel will be able to create new revenue streams by delivering professional services around selection of the right cloud solutions and migration management, best practice implementation, policy development, SLA management and support. And of course, with these being delivered via the OpEx rather than CapEx model, it makes financial sense for both the customer and the channel organisation. ˜ INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 20 There is also market buzz around multi- cloud which also presents an opportunity for the channel. 17