As more industries migrate their business software and processes to the cloud, it's become easier for channels such as managed service providers (MSPs) and value-added resellers (VARs) to deliver and manage IT services, given the reduced on-site development and deployment required.
So says Sam Liu, VP of enterprise file-sharing and collaboration services provider Soonr, who notes both kinds of solutions providers benefit from easier remote set-up and ongoing maintenance derived from cloud computing.
He points out cloud computing has transformed the channel as we traditionally know it. "In part, this remote accessibility is the most significant transformation.
"Easier deployments and management of services give MSPs more opportunities to expand their offerings and customer base. However, this shift has also enabled VARs to transform into hybrid MSPs, prolonging their engagement with a customer to include ongoing management of services, which increases their value-add and revenue," he says.
According to Liu, these changes alter the entire channel landscape, putting pressure on traditional distributors to justify their role, as the software-as-a-service model, with its lack of a physical medium, slashes the usual distribution, and sometimes financing, needs.
He believes the ease of adoption of application services and the number of options organisations have to choose from has contributed greatly to the speed of adoption and success of the public cloud.
"What was once dominated by few large IT vendors, such as IBM and Oracle, is now increasingly diversified with medium to smaller vendors offering solutions that can compete - and even win - on quality and ease-of-use."
Forrester predicts the public cloud market will be worth $191 billion by 2020. Resellers that used to focus primarily on product sales and early-stage implementation are suddenly seeing opportunities to take on management of that software, possibly affording them a bigger piece of the pie, says Liu.
He explains organisations looking to shift workloads or other IT processes will find the public cloud provides a number of advantages - lower costs, ease of management, and often a better approach that shortens development and deployment time.
"That said, the ongoing evolution of the enterprise cloud offers businesses numerous avenues for customising their platform, such as a hybrid solution, in order to address privacy and security concerns."
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