Lucrative opportunities

Forecasters are predicting that the IT world will experience increased cloudiness for some time. Gartner has released its Cloud computing outlook for 2011 and forecasts another year of solid growth with 53% of businesses allocating portions of their IT budget to the Cloud. Long-range forecasts predict strong growth through 2020, but analysts are all over the IT weather map with figures ranging from $160 billion to $500 billion.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that the long range forecast for the Cloud is—in a word—sunny. In its data center and networking forecast, IDC projects $1.6 billion for network equipment revenues used to power private and public Cloud deployments this year. 

Cautious optimism

While the future of the Cloud is promising, solutions providers must move with great caution. If conversion were simply a matter of signing clients with a vendor that has the right Web-based application, everyone would be in the Cloud by now.   

Depending on how you look at it, Cloud computing is a wonderfully transformative or highly disruptive technology. For traditional channel partners, the Cloud can be especially disruptive because it greatly reduces the complexity of IT systems, thereby making it easier for end-users to buy direct from Cloud providers. But, in disruption lies opportunity. The Cloud makes prohibitively expensive applications and infrastructure suddenly available to SMBs as it makes new technology implementation faster and easier for everyone. Still, they will need help.

Successful channel partners will add Cloud services. These include managing complexity of systems and integration, customization of applications and services, advising on Cloud solutions and managing Cloud provider relationships. What’s more, providers will learn to derive revenue from recurring service payments rather than getting it from the big expenditures that come from selling onsite infrastructure.

Opportunity comes with expertise

As with most disruptive technologies, the cloud is poorly understood. Value Added Resellers that acquire the skills to provide expertise, training and support for comprehensive Cloud-based business-class offerings, will find a lucrative market. The channel can also offer services such as augmentation, migration and customization services.

It’s clear that there are many services that solution providers can offer end user organizations who may not be asking for a cloud solution, but turning to their Value Added Reseller for a business solution Success will come by determining and selecting the ideal services and solutions for a provider’s specific clients.

Service models and the cloud market

There are three Cloud-based service models. They include Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service  (IaaS). The CompTIA Cloud/SaaS Community has identified a number of channel opportunities within these service models:

SaaS

Enjoying the widest adoption among end users (69%), SaaS consists of Cloud-based applications running via thin client or a browser. They include Web-managed email, CRM solutions and office productivity applications. Vendors of these services sell through solution providers who add deployment, migration, training, and support. Currently, 49% of channel organizations offer SaaS.

PaaS

Users can develop and deploy services using PaaS. Here, the channel can create unique offerings, offer expertise or resell capacity to organizations needing PaaS services. Offering public cloud-based development and test environments to end customers is an opportunity that can be re-sold by Value Added Resellers.

IaaS

Cloud-based infrastructure resources allow users to share infrastructure that would normally be on site. It provides users with processing, storage, networks and other computing capabilities. Solutions providers can provide and broker IaaS services.

Deploying on the Cloud

Services are deployed on private, community or public Clouds. Services are also often deployed on a combination of Cloud types called hybrid Clouds.

With Private Clouds, the channel can offer a range of services including design, deployment, implementation and support.

Community Clouds share their Web-based infrastructure among a set of businesses. Since they’re often hosted by a third party, channel providers can find opportunity in building, managing, reselling and supporting community Clouds.

Public Clouds are used among common industries and groups. Infrastructure is shared over the Internet. According to CompTIA, 26% of solution providers use the public Cloud along with their own data center to provide services.

The most common Cloud deployment is the hybrid because it allows users to take advantage of private and public Clouds and even legacy and on-premise infrastructure. For solutions providers there are opportunities to provide consultation, integration and support.

There is great market potential for solutions providers when it comes to the Cloud. Successful providers will take it slowly, plan carefully and learn all they can before making big changes in their offerings. They must evaluate the collective needs of their customers and decide if they will provide all of the support required, or utilize vendors and partners to take on some of the load. Regardless, the Cloud is not only here to stay, the financial benefits for everyone is too large to ignore.