Techaisle Blog

Techaisle’s research of 2150 SMB, core midmarket, and upper midmarket firms reveals ten key cloud trends. The importance of cloud cost optimization, automation, and orchestration cannot be understated. Techaisle’s research of 2150 SMB, core midmarket, and upper midmarket firms reveals ten key cloud trends. The importance of cloud cost optimization, automation, and orchestration cannot be understated. Techaisle survey data shows that cloud cost optimization has moved from 2nd priority to 1st in cloud initiatives for 59% of SMBs and 55% of upper midmarket firms. In addition, it is the top consulting services priority for 100% of firms.

The explosion in cloud use has led to considerable increases in the extent of automation within SMBs and midmarket firms. SMBs are absorbing cloud systems at a very rapid rate: many core infrastructure requirements, systems of record, and systems of engagement either are or soon will be cloud-based, and the cloud is paving the way for new automation in these areas, and in systems of insight (analytics) within SMBs.

Hybrid cloud is non-optional, security is a priority, automation is critical, and AI platform adoption is when not if. Cloud automation, hybrid cloud orchestration, and cloud cost management are imposing a daunting challenge on the channel. As the cloud adoption landscape continues to shift, each IT supplier has been evaluating and evolving its partner program to drive sales and profitability for its partners. IBM has been working on developing its program since May 2020, when it introduced Build, Sell, and Service tracks. However, the evolution took on urgency after Arvind Krishna, Chairman, and CEO, of IBM, declared the ecosystem as one of the company's key priorities. As a result, IBM has increased its specialized resources by 50 percent and technical resources by 30 percent to support the partner ecosystem. Recently, IBM announced its new program called Partner Plus. IBM PartnerWorld transitioned to IBM Partner Plus experience on January 4, 2023, with the new incentive program taking effect on April 1, 2023.

Enablement, empowerment, ecosystem, and experiences are the unwritten principles driving IBM Partner Plus in transforming the rules of partner engagement. Kate Woolley, General Manager of IBM Ecosystem, says, “A thriving ecosystem is critical to underpin the success of any technology company, and we believe the underpinnings of this must be an open and inclusive ecosystem. We can reach and do more through and with our ecosystem. As a result, we have put our partners at the center of IBM’s go-to-market strategy.”

How can cloud suppliers identify the partners most likely to be successful or very successful in selling cloud? Techaisle’s 7th year of channel tracking survey data indicates that a powerful indicator is found in the growth paths identified by channel firms.

Characteristics of very successful cloud channel partners (“what to look for”)

• Very successful cloud channel firms view advanced solutions as major opportunities and are focused on growing business in BI/analytics and IoT
• Very successful cloud firms recognize that hybrid IT is the key and are anticipating increased revenue from data and/or application integration than their less successful peers
• Nearly 90% of very successful cloud channel firms (as compared with just 23% of unsuccessful firms) offer IaaS to SMB customers
• Over 90% of very successful cloud partners offer SaaS today. Less than one-third of unsuccessful cloud partners offer SaaS, and 20% neither offer it nor are planning to do so
• Successful cloud partners view partner-to-partner (P2P) relationships as a strategic imperative, whereas unsuccessful partners connect with other channel firms on an opportunistic basis
• There is a clear, multi-year trend of very successful cloud channel partners differentiating themselves by selling self-branded (and supported) cloud offerings
• There is strong evidence in data to support the notion that very successful cloud partners are focused on assembling multi-sourced solutions to meet customer needs, 57% of very success cloud partners as compared to 31% of unsuccessful and 34% of successful partners
• Three-quarters of very successful and nearly 70% of successful cloud partners offer UCaaS, vs. just 20% of unsuccessful firms
• Successful channel firms are actively participating in cloud and IT orchestration and are investing in technology advisory & architects
• Digitalization & digital transformation are new focus areas of very successful channel partners

What to look out for – characteristics of unsuccessful cloud partners

In today’s SMB market, it is critical for vendors to build detailed understanding of the small and midmarket segments, and to align resources and strategies with requirements as SMBs move from initial experimentation with sophisticated solutions towards mass-market adoption.

In its latest study, Techaisle analyzes 1,116 survey responses to provide the insight needed to build and execute on cloud solution strategies for the small and midmarket customer segments. Techaisle’s deep understanding of SMB IT and business requirements enables vendors to understand the ‘why’ and ‘when’ of solution adoption, current and planned approaches to solution use, the benefits that drive user investments, and key issues in aligning with buyers and building and intercepting demand.

Highlights of findings presented in the report include: