EDITOR ’ S

Challenging economic conditions mean that budgets are tight , and waste is unacceptable . It is great to have subscription billing , but if the service itself is not flexible , or supported with robust guarantees from the vendor , business outcomes will not be met , and precious time and resources will be wasted .

Customers are going to vote with their dollars if vendors continue to offer substandard services , which do not put the customer ’ s needs front and centre , with meaningful SLAs , ensuring ROI for the customer .

There is no doubt that amid cautious spending , and inefficient processes within businesses , procurement cycles are lengthening . Technology decisions are being made in the same period as before , but execution is slowing down in the wake of prolonged procurement decisions . In 2025 we will see a focus from the channel on rearchitecting processes in an effort to improve the efficiency of deals .

This includes a much tighter qualification of opportunities , and a stronger understanding of key stakeholders , who are the people signing the paper . A shorter and better qualified sales process will result in more deals , closing in the correct quarters , which will drive real revenue growth for the channel next year .

In 2025 businesses need to be efficient with their technology purchasing decisions , this means adopting technology to solve a holistic business outcome . This could be business continuity , cybersecurity , sustainability , or several other goals .

Conversely , businesses will avoid individual products and solutions to solve isolated problems and pain points , as this leads to technology sprawl , a lack of interoperability , wasted resources as well as skills and knowledge silos across the business . The partners who will succeed in 2025 are those that can bring a complete solution to a customer to solve for a business outcome . This might mean bringing together technologies from multiple vendors , therefore the importance of working with alliances and partnerships

The partners who will succeed in 2025 are those that can bring a complete solution to a customer to solve for a business outcome .

cannot be overstated . Lastly , it will be critical for these partners to present a comprehensive and clear ROI for the required business outcomes .

We will see further consolidation in the channel in 2025 , as businesses look to acquire not just individual talent in a market with a skills shortage , but entire specialist divisions .

This will help them break into new markets , and serve a wider customer base which will drive increased revenue next year . It is a positive development which will result in partners being able to land bigger , better deals . •

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