4 Reasons The IT Channel Will See Cloud-Centric Growth In 2015
CoreDial CEO Alan Rihm made four predictions for the channel, cloud, cloud communications, and SMBs for 2015. He shares the reasons for his predictions in this Q&A with Business Solutions.
1. The IT channel is stronger than ever and will see a surge in growth. The IT channel has the customer relationships, expertise, and efficiency to grow rapidly in 2015. The channel will be where the action is in 2015.
Q: Can you explain why you believe the channel will see a growth surge this year? Also, can you characterize the solutions providers you are referring to — managed services providers, telephony VARs, or others?
Rihm: The key drivers of the IT channel growing stronger are complexity and knowledge. IT environments are becoming increasingly complex, and SMBs don’t have the time or the resources to become familiar with all the possible solutions that they could deploy. Meanwhile, the IT channel has knowledge of the possible solutions as well their customers’ needs. Companies in the channel are perfectly placed to provide the right solutions to their customers; the end users. Businesses know this and trust their channel providers to deliver and manage the right solutions. As IT environments grow more complex, businesses will look more and more to their channel providers. When we talk about IT intermediaries, it includes everyone in the IT channel — managed services providers, VARs, and more.
2. SMBs who have adopted one cloud service are ready for more. Services like UCaaS (Unified Communication-as-a-Service) are acting as a gateway drug for SMBs, who are seeing the benefit today and are ready to take more services to the cloud.
Q: What should solutions providers be prepared to sell in 2015?
Rihm: From CoreDial’s perspective, UCaaS is one of the most exciting genres of cloud solutions available. UCaaS is an efficient, effective way to deliver a host of communication and collaboration solutions — including employee chat, VoIP, and hosted PBX — in one package. UCaaS is already giving many businesses a cost and productivity advantage over their competitors.
Channel companies certainly should be prepared to sell UCaaS in 2015. More broadly, channel companies should be ready to provide whatever cloud solutions their customers require. That is the real benefit of cloud solutions for channel companies; the ability to quickly add and scale a range of new services — such as remote monitoring and management (aka “outsourced IT services”), storage and backup, or utility computing or processing power — to expand their offerings. Each new service means happier, more loyal customers and adds a new source of revenue.
3. The UCaaS tipping point has arrived. The channel, SMBs and end users understand the value of UCaaS and adoption will continue to ramp up in 2015. Businesses are benefitting today and throughout 2015, those that haven’t adopted yet will not want to miss out.
Q: Is this a matter of dollars and cents or are other factors equally — or more — important to end users?
Rihm: The cost savings associated with UCaaS are a very important factor for end users. By receiving a holistic communications solution through a cloud-based package, end users can reach a flexible payment arrangement, where they are only charged for the services that they use. UCaaS also streamlines the management and maintenance of communications, saving on resources. Also, from a CAPEX standpoint, cloud solutions require a minimal initial outlay compared to the investment required to build comparable solutions onsite.
But cost is only part of the benefit of UCaaS — customers receive a number of productivity and operational benefits. For example, by adopting UCaaS, businesses retain the flexibility to quickly increase their communications capacity or add more communications tools, allowing them to adapt to the changing needs of their business. Also, with UCaaS, the onus to maintain and upgrade their communications solutions is with the services provider, not them. This helps future proof the communications solutions they receive.
4. Managed services providers can take over the world. MSPs are extremely well-positioned to deliver cloud services to SMBs. They have the business model and the sales skills to make a huge impact on the cloud market in 2015.
Q: SMBs can also deal “directly” to arrange for cloud services — do end users you encounter consider this a viable option? Are you seeing SMBs who have tried this later seek MSPs for help? Or do most not even attempt to go it alone and find someone with expertise?
Rihm: Many SMBs are technically savvy, and can go directly. For instance, many companies will go direct when adding a storage solution like Google, Dropbox, or Box. The same goes for UCaaS, where they can sign up online, and have equipment shipped to them from a call center. For the smallest micro-companies, or those really technically proficient companies, this can work. But the large majority of SMBs have a business to run, and technology isn’t their core competency. That is why so many MSPs and interconnects exist. SMBs want the latest technologies, but they don’t have what it takes to integrate them without help.
Any savings or efficiencies are lost because they are sourcing a new technology often for the first time, and they don’t do it as efficiently and effortlessly as a channel partner who has done it hundreds or thousands of times.
Think about DIY (do it yourself) projects — putting down a wood floor, for example. Most people could ultimately do it, but it becomes a matter of quality. The DIY wood floor probably won’t last as long as it would if it were professionally installed and maintained. This encapsulates the benefits of the channel; having a professional intermediary to ensure that businesses get the right services, functioning properly.