FUTURE TECHNOLOGY applications , and cybersecurity measures . Strong project management skills and the ability to collaborate across various teams and stakeholders are essential .
Continuous learning and certification in emerging technologies are crucial to stay competitive and meet client demands . Additionally , an understanding of data analytics and the ability to integrate various platforms seamlessly are important for delivering comprehensive and effective solutions in the digital age .
On demand services
“ The change in pricing strategy has been necessitated because of massive layoffs happening across organisations and the global economic slowdown that has made the market price-sensitive , says Prem Anand Velumani , Associate Director , Strategic Growth MEA , Zoho .
At Zoho , individual products as well as unified suites that bring together multiple products for a specific team into a single unified platform are offered . For instance , Zoho One , an operating system for business , brings together 55 + products .
In terms of pricing , tiered pricing with add-on options in each of the above categories is offered , as well as flexi bundles , wherein customers can change the number of licenses within a bundle as per their needs . By providing this variety of options to businesses , the barrier to entry and the churn rate is lowered . Partners also benefit from it because they will be able to continue selling the products to a wider range of businesses .
“ The primary challenge for both partners and vendors is the difficulty in predicting the revenue as the usage and buying patterns can vary drastically . The second challenge is to learn the new pricing models and be able to help a business with the appropriate solution . This would need some additional training ,” says Velumani
Value-added services are the key differentiator for the channel partners .
Silmi Khanfir , Director of Cloud and XaaS , Middle East and Africa , Mindware
They have the expertise in implementing the products for various verticals and are well-versed in their needs and expectations . They also have an established trust with the customer . All these factors place the channel partners at an advantage .
For instance , when businesses change their license numbers or switch to a vendor offering usage-based pricing , they also prefer to have the partners do the implementation .
“ Channel partners can play a pivotal role as trusted advisors to their customers while planning and deploying an enterprise cloud strategy , whether it is public , multi or hybrid cloud . Their engagement can add value to
the important stages of the customer cloud journey , says Silmi Khanfir , Director of Cloud and XaaS , Middle East and Africa , Mindware .
Channel partners can conduct thorough evaluations of the enterprise infrastructure and application environments after gathering the technical and financial requirements . Based on these assessments channel partners can design and architect customised cloud solutions and suggest a cloud roadmap tailored to the specific needs of their customers .
This includes selecting the right mix of public cloud services , private cloud resources , and on-premises infrastructure to optimise performance , scalability , and cost-effectiveness .
Channel partners can help enterprises optimise their cloud environments for performance , cost , and security . This may involve workload optimisation , resource scaling , automation , and implementing best practices for cloud governance , monitoring , and management .
“ By keeping up-to-date with the latest offerings from different vendors , channel partners can also be in an advisory role for businesses and benefit regardless of the pricing models of the vendors ,” recommends Velumani . •
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