FINAL WORD
The introduction of cloud has
profoundly changed the way in
which businesses buy and consume
services and applications.
A
s little as 10 years ago, the
perimeters around different
channel stakeholders were
much more clearly defined.
Whether an Independent
Software Vendor (ISV), a reseller, or a
carrier/system integrator, you knew your
role and how it fitted into the overarching
channel network.
Cloud computing has changed all that.
Whereas previously the emphasis was on
the physical, such as loading software onto a
server or into a data centre, the introduction
of cloud has profoundly changed the way
in which businesses buy and consume
services and applications. Does this mean
that the sale of traditional and physical
infrastructures, or the business need for it,
is diminishing? The honest answer would be
‘yes’, but that does not mean that the channel
is doomed. While cloud computing has
certainly created challenges for the channel,
the real danger lies in procrastination – doing
nothing to leverage the host of opportunities
brought by cloud to the channel can be a
business’ greatest downfall.
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
Issue 23
Brace for impact
The most profound influence that the rise
of cloud computing has had on the channel
is the way in which technology and services
are consumed.
It’s not so much about a more
efficient means to package, sell and
deliver the same hardware and software
products but rather a business model
engrained in the fundamentals of how
technology is consumed.
According to an April 2018 Gartner report,
by 2021 the top five largest categories
that will benefit from cloud spend will be
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-
as-a-Service (IaaS), Cloud Business Process
Services (BPaaS), Cloud Application
Infrastructure Services (PaaS) and Cloud
Management and Security Services.
It’s therefore no surprise that channel
partners such as ISVs have taken a hard
knock. Large up-front investments, plus
added costs from continual updates to
software and operating systems, as well
as expensive licensing fees are no longer
desirable to customers. Additionally, the
inability of many legacy systems to scale is
extremely limiting in a business age when
data growth is at its highest.
By contrast, cloud computing and
the platforms on which it operates don’t
need specific installations or ongoing
maintenance. Cloud-based solutions can be
implemented quickly and cost effectively,
with little or no hardware costs and provide
remote accessibility through the web as well
as customisation capabilities in accordance
with customer needs.
Also, the fact that cloud computing
has freed up time and resources to allow
customers to focus on their business makes
it easy to understand why it has gained such
momentum in the channel.
The silver lining
It may seem as though the channel ‘of old’ is
on a one-way journey to becoming obsolete,
but it’s quite the contrary. Businesses
operating in this space are in a very good
position to turn technical legacy challenges
into opportunities, but the time is now to
leverage these.
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