Techaisle Blog

SMBs are being deluged with IT solutions that aim to address their pain points of reducing costs, improving sales and marketing, penetrating new markets, improving employee and group productivity as well as managing more IT with less. The channel comprising of SIs, VARs, SPs, MSPs and IT Consultants form the essential cogs of an IT vendor’s eco-system that puts products and solutions in the hands of the SMBs.

Today’s SMB channel has numerous vendors to partner with to build and grow its business especially if they are targeting the SMB segment. Each channel partner has usually has multiple vendor partnerships. It is therefore essential to have a positive mindshare of the channel which would potentially translate to wallet share.

Techaisle’s SMB Channel BES-360 provides an actionable path for IT vendors to manage their channels. Techaisle’s BES-360 Model looks at the equity of the brand on six overall independent dimensions:

1. Emotional,

 

1. Likeability,

 

1. Rational,

 

1. Dispositional,

 

1. Visibility, and

 

1. Human Connect

The data is collected by conducting a primary research and thereafter using ANN (Artificial Neural Networks) we model the responses on several variables with action variable using a non-linear model. Action variables are crucial to measuring brand equity, since having a brand equity which does not lead to action is useless. Techaisle’s BES 360 uses ANN for computing the dimensional weights as opposed to assigning arbitrary weights or no weights at all.

Cisco’s Brand Equity Score with SMB Channel Partners = 41

The model reveals that the BES of Cisco is 41 on a scale of 1-100. The question is, is this good or bad? Since the highest BES is 56, 41/56 is “Good”. Two other IT vendors including IBM have a higher BES than Cisco.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breaking down the data for Cisco we find that almost 25 percent of Cisco’s channel partners have a BES of 80+. They form Cisco’s core partners. The customized report can delve deeper into the typical profile of these SMB channel partners of Cisco. The data also shows that almost 35 percent of Cisco’s SMB channel partners have equity of less than 40. These are the partners that Cisco needs to work with to try and raise the brand equity. Further research could also be conducted to check and see what these partners contribute to Cisco’s business and their relative importance.

If we look at Cisco’s equity among its own channel partners and non-partners, the difference in equity is substantial. The BES of Cisco among its partners is 55 and among non-partners the BES is 29. A polarised equity pushes a brand in to a niche status, which may not be desirable for all brands Cisco’s BES is the highest among the channel partners of Avaya and even among the channel partners of SAP too the BES is quite high. These could be potential channel partners for Cisco. 

  

 Techaisle’s BES-360: Why is Brand Equity Score Important?

Companies no longer produce products and services but deliver a brand experience through their products and services. It is widely recognized that the status of a brand in the mental space of the customer is best measured through brand equity. If the brand equity is good then a product or service that is similar to another brand with lower brand equity will sell better. Additionally, a brand with a good product or service but lower brand equity has a lower customer satisfaction compared to a brand with a higher brand equity that offers the same, if not an inferior, product or service. Hence measuring and tracking brand equity score is of critical importance to brand management.

What is the key information that I will get from Techaisle’s BES-360 to manage my brand?

Our customized report answers following nine relevant questions:

1. What is my BES and my competition in the industry?

 

1. What is my BES among my channel partners? Understanding overall equity is fine but this equity should also be good among its own channel partners and the difference between the equity among a vendor’s own channel partners and the non-partners should be significant. Otherwise it indicates a non-exploitation of the market completely.

 

1. What is my Brand Equity profile of my channel partners? The data and analysis provides critical information for assessing the potential for expanding the foot print of the brand to the other channel partners. The composition of the BES among the channel partners of a brand indicates the core strength of the brand. A brand needs to know what proportion of their customers are at, say, half the total BES? If a small portion of the channel partners have high brand equity and a large number have low brand equity then the customer base is shaky.

 

1. What is my BES among the partners of other channels?

 

1. What is the composition of my channel partners at various levels of BES? A brand would like to know the business that their partners generate at different levels of brand equity. For example: what is the number of solutions offered by a channel partner whose equity is twice the average brand equity? Such information can be quite useful to build a complete business strategy by better equity management.

 

1. How is the BES affecting my business among my channel partners?

 

1. What do I do to improve my brand equity? We measure brand equity on nine variables. We can dive and pick up the dimensions on which the brand needs to score. In fact we can even suggest using an optimization scheme the best values of the dimensions that the brand should achieve.

 

1. What business improvement do I expect at 5% increase in my brand equity from my channel partners? We can do a detailed analysis of our data to indicate what will be the impact of an increase of 5, 6, 7 or more points on the business, using the survey data.

 

1. Which brands’ partners should I choose to enlarge my foot print?

For SMBs, channel partners are the trusted advisors. Addressing the channel partners directly contributes to raising the brand equity among SMBs (measured separately by Techaisle). We call it BES-360 because it covers all the dimensions as well as competition.

If more information is needed for developing a comprehensive and successful marketing strategy Techaisle has the capability to provide the necessary information. From the current data itself we can get more information by looking at the scores on each of the nine variables. However, we can also do a dedicated BES 360 Survey for a specific brand and get a comprehensive picture of the brand that can identify and answer strategic questions like “Why my score is low on the VISIBILITY dimension and what should I do about it?”

 

The Quotes

In a recent Techaisle depth-interview, the CIO of a Network Dependent (Techaisle’s proprietary Segmentation) Mid-Market business with 950 employees, 110 servers, 50 percent of servers virtualized, said, “Yes, I have heard about SDN. It’s a service where the architecture can be dynamically reconfigured or driven by a software personality layer as opposed to being hard-wired. Yes, we are planning to invest in it. Today the trend is towards intelligent networking. Software defined networking is something that can be used to automatically handle the traffic in the network. So, we can expect reduced costs from this type of a service. Brocade and Cisco are the two companies that have good solutions about these services.”

Although the awareness starts to fall rapidly for lower employee sized businesses Software Defined Networking (SDN) holds promise within the SMB and Mid-market business segments.

The IT Manager of a 70 employee size business with 4 servers using cloud, virtualization and managed services belonging to Network Increases Efficiency segment (Techaisle proprietary networking segmentation) said in another depth interview, “Yes, I have heard about SDN. I think it probably has an advantage of being much more flexible because of the different approaches that it has to dynamic network management. It has certain development tools that can be used to operate different network services. We, first of all need to investigate more about this technology and then see how well it fits in our infrastructure and only after we find enough information of it fitting the bill, should we implement it.”

The Opportunity

Techaisle’s research finds that 3 percent of small businesses and 11 percent of mid-market businesses globally have heard about Software Defined Networks. In the US the awareness jumps to 19 percent among mid-market businesses. SMBs that have some knowledge about SDNs, exhibit enhanced interest to adopt them in next 12-18 months with the objective of reducing their network related CAPEXs and managing their growth in cloud, mobility, big data technology usages.

Techaisle’s market sizing estimates that the SMB market for SDN will be US$204 million in 2016 growing at CAGR of nearly 81 percent. The market could open up more once the awareness and use cases increase.

The Concept

Software-defined networking (SDN) is a new approach to building computer networks that separates and abstracts the underlying networking elements thereby making the network more agile. SDN allows system administrators to quickly provision and program network connections on the fly instead of manually configuring policies. Administrators have programmable central control of network traffic without requiring physical access to the network's hardware devices.  Some even call this 'virtualizing the network', in the sense that each individual hardware switch may be part of multiple Layer 2 and Layer 3 networks and have its configuration and traffic management policies dynamically changed by the master network controller.

The Strides Made

Most of the large IT vendors have made very strong commitments to providing SDN solutions. Prominent among the larger IT vendors are:

• Avaya with its Application Development Network (ADN)

 

• Brocade with its Vyatta acquisition

 

• Cisco with its Open Network Environment (ONE) and Cariden acquisition and funding of Insiemi

 

• Dell with its Virtual Network Architecture (VNA)

 

• HP with its Virtual Application Networks (VAN)

 

• IBM with its Distributed Overlay Virtual Ethernet (DOVE)

 

• Juniper with its Contrail Systems acquisition

 

• VMware with its Nicira acquisition

Then there is OpenFlow, closely associated with SDN, an industry consortium of about 70 members, much like the Wi-Fi Alliance, a non-profit group that oversees development of the OpenFlow protocol. Both Google and Facebook have adopted OpenFlow (ONF) protocol within their data center operations. And most of the new switches from networking vendors like Arista, Brocade, Dell/Force10, Extreme, Huawei, HP, IBM, Juniper, NEC, and Pronto are OpenFlow compatible.

‘OpenDaylight’ Project which includes Big Switch Networks, Brocade, Cisco, Citrix, Ericsson, IBM, Juniper Networks, Microsoft, Red Hat, NEC and VMware, aims to provide an open-source software-defined-networking (SDN) controller, with vendor-agnostic interfaces thereby accelerating innovation around the SDN controller itself.

All of the above points to tremendous jostling for leadership roles and confusion in the market place. In spite of the confusion, SDN will continue to gain acceptance as enterprises will develop proof of concepts and the market itself will shake out the true leaders in the next 3-4 years.

The Promise for SMBs

SDN is ideally suited for the SMB segment with its promise of reducing complexity, costs and management along with easing implementation of cloud, mobility, social and big data connectivity.

Specifically within the mid-market segment, SDN will begin to pop-up in conversations among CIOs and IT Directors when they find their businesses faced with:

• Increased public and private Cloud adoption

 

• Network's inability to provide flexibility required to support virtualization, cloud, and mobility

 

• Inefficient network and traffic management with the explosion of devices, worker locations and applications

 

• Deployment of ultra-low latency networks to effect real-time transactions especially for the financial services vertical and those working on big data analytics

Announcement from HP

However, it must be said, that SMBs will look for product solutions with embedded SDN. We are already starting to see some solutions for the SMB market segment along the same lines. A new BYOD solution bundle was announced at HP’s recent Global Partner Conference. The solution includes end-to-end management software, switches with integrated wired and wireless capabilities, and is extended with a software-defined security solution. Ever bullish on the SMB market, HP believes this is an easily deployable, complete solution for a small to medium sized-business, very cost-effective and that provides investment protection with free switch software upgrades for OpenFlow support. Not only does it mean lower capex, but also less maintenance and less complexity.

Indeed, there’s a viable play for SDN for SMBs. A perfect use case could include implementation of virtual routed network on hypervisors, a web-based unified management application for provisioning, monitoring and control of the entire distributed network.

Technology complexity is continuing to increase for SMBs. And Techaisle is finding that majority of SMBs are required to re-architect and re-configure their networks to make a move to cloud or virtualization. Most of these SMBs take external assistance either from an IT Consultant or their channel partner. Nevertheless, they all have one refrain that reconfiguration is extremely complex, time-consuming and resource intensive.

Final Remarks

SDN is yet very complex even for the most cutting edge and aggressive technology adopter SMBs. It requires tools and structures that are still evolving. Managed services was introduced into the market several years ago but the RMM, PSA and other tools are still being refined so one should not expect the channels or the SMBs to jump onto SDN immediately.



There will be a lag between the enterprise and the SMB adopters. However, once products are available with SDN capabilities, SMBs will adopt SDN faster than enterprises. The SMBs that have virtualized their servers and storage will be the early adopters. Looking at potential savings SDN will a difficult opportunity to pass up on by the SMBs.

One of the areas we watch most is the evolving needs of the SMB customer, who is being consistently pressured to speed up all core business processes while simultaneously reducing costs, generally  through the introduction of new technologies and specifically by adopting Cloud Computing approaches.

Looking Forward to SDN and SDDC  

Among Mid-Market companies (between 500 and 999 employees) recently interviewed, over 75% described their business being completely “Network Dependent” with a large share planning to move beyond Virtualization to Software-Defined-Networking (SDN) and Software-Defined-Data-Centers (SDDC).  Almost all had implemented Remote Managed Services (RMS), Cloud Computing, and Server Virtualization or VDI.

“Yes, I have heard about it (SDN) and we even tested it on one of our servers. We can get the software easily but we need to get proper hardware implementation as well and that too keeping our costs in control. So, both the things need to be evaluated. Yes, probably we would be investing in it, in the coming future. There are many things that are a concern for us right now, like cost, space and efficiency. So we need things that could help us in these areas.” - 900 Employee SMB IT Decision Maker

Mid-Market Reliance on Outsouced  IT Support

As we have written in the past, the larger SMB customers are more likely to rely on channel partners or vendor direct relationships to free up lean SMB IT departments and allow them to do more with less by supporting the research and selection process, and then testing and implementing the solutions, especially for those solutions involving a high level of configuration and remote management capabilities. The speed that specialists bring to the configuration, testing and implementation tend to outweigh the costs and speed up the decision cycle.

“Yes, the channel partners had a huge role. I sat down with their Cisco engineers and we looked over the changes we were going to make, then we did put together a business case, as to why we needed to upgrade or make changes to the system and what benefit it would result in. They were helpful and they made things look easier for us.” - 750 Employee SMB IT Decision Maker

New Functionality is driving Adoption

As we move into the Late Majority of SMB Cloud Adopters, there is less perceived risk and enough pressure to move companies toward implementing the architecture, if only to remain competitive.

"Now there are products available with better features and are cost effective. Earlier the cost of moving to the cloud was higher. Now because of the tough competition, the costs have marginally decreased. So, these things are enticing to look at different solutions. When we moved on to the cloud there were various benefits like cost effectiveness, in terms of IT management perspective. Previously it required 10 people, but now it can be done with 2 people. Previously the concept of datacenters was not that…important…, but now people are getting rid of the existing hardware and are moving towards datacenters to host most of their things that are in their offices. The datacenter costs are also competitive. If we look at any datacenter today and what they used to offer 5 years back, there has been a significant drop in prices due to the competition in the market.” - 500 Employee SMB IT Decision Maker

Budgets Continue to be Tight

We also see a significant effort on the part of customers to extend the life of the existing equipment and upgrade only the parts that are needed to achieve specific objectives such as 10GB capacity, which may require more robust firewalls, routers and switches, especially in those moving to VOIP. Typically we saw a reluctance to spend until it was necessary.

“Management here is very price conscious; they did not see the value of doing these things in the first place. The major factors were to increase speed and the reach of the network. So by these upgrades, we were able to demonstrate increased speed and increased network segmentation.” - 750 Employee SMB IT Decision Maker

Brand Importance Increases with Size of Company

While in certain areas such as SaaS, SMB end customers tend to be less likely to consider Brand as the key decision criterion, in the area of Networking among Mid-Market firms, virtually all said Brand was very important in their decision, mostly because of the expected service level associated with larger vendors but also to provide cover in a crowded market:

"There are a thousand solutions available in the market, but we had to ensure that what we chose was the best solution available and were cost effective. The new technology and the need to expand our business base were the main factors that drove the change.” - 900 Employee SMB IT Decision Maker

“Brand perception is very important because the management is not very technology minded, so to have a big name like Cisco was important to them. We depend on our channel partners for networking support or for help with windows server and Citrix products. They are our trusted partners.” - ~1,000 Employee SMB IT Decision Maker

Re-enforcing this tendency to Brand, the majors in the market were cited repeatedly as go-to Vendors. Cisco got the most mentions by far, followed by Citrix, Microsoft, HP, Juniper and Dell. As seen in the quote on outsourced support above, the vendors can also help in creating a business case.

“Well, I guess some of the ones (increase share) would be Cisco, HP, Dell and Microsoft. The major ones I know are trying to get there, if they are not close. It’s very hard to say who is going to lose much (share), but probably Microsoft or Apple are going to lose some. ~800 Employee SMB IT Decision Maker

We believe these attitudes represent some evolution that is becoming more pronounced as the market matures and intelligent networking becomes increasingly important to SMBs in general and Mid-Market companies in particular.

Announcement

Cisco has announced a new Cloud and Managed Services Program (CMSP) that integrates its currently existing Cloud Provider, Cloud Services and Managed Services Channel Programs (MSCP) into one. Besides streamlining incentives, discounts and payments for its partners, the program also aims to simplify pricing for Cisco-based cloud and managed services offerings. The program will also enable collaboration and sharing of complementary opportunities between partners through a microsite via Cisco’s partner portal. All partners are expected to transition to the CMSP by August 2013.

Techaisle Take

We believe that with one master move Cisco is strategically addressing the US$94 billion global SMB opportunity by 2016.

Techaisle’s global channel surveys have shown that Cloud, Mobility, and Managed Services Solutions together are changing the SMB channel landscape as these solutions are revolutionizing IT utilization by SMBs. The new paradigm would be the "3-in-1" Channels offering Mobility, Cloud, and Managed Services as a single offering. We first wrote about the 3-in-1 channel here. And now Virtualization is quickly becoming a potent arsenal in the SMB channel partners offerings.

Techaisle’s corresponding SMB research has consistently shown that SMBs want mostly integrated solutions to limit complexity and therefore seek partners that are capable of such deliverables but very few partners currently do so as they are all camped in either one or two solution corners and few seem to embrace a holistic solution view - and this is making SMBs unsure of overall benefits and desire to spend.

With its current announcement Cisco is removing some of the barriers by bringing channel partners serving managed services and cloud needs of SMBs under a common cluster. Since many SMBs want to obtain all services from a single provider, it is important for broad product/solution vendors to evaluate all their partners, seek and cluster partners based on where they are with regards to capabilities of delivering complete solutions and introduce programs to support development. As the dividing line between cloud and managed services is becoming thin, Cisco has just done it, that is, created a single program that should:

• Enable channels to build more dynamic and serious partner-to-partner collaboration to collectively address complementary opportunities


• Enable Cisco partners to add capabilities, such as, managed services to an existing cloud services


• Attract newer partners to join Cisco program


• Help current channel partners qualify and move up Cisco’s channel partner pyramid

The data on the right from Techaisle’s channel study (N=2851) shows that channels that serve the SMB segment are keen to offer multiple services that straddle cloud and managed services. Cisco’s new program should open up opportunity for its channel partners to offer both cloud and managed services using Cisco platforms.

If we look at the survey data at micro-level, we find that is a higher percentage of Channel Partners that are offering some type of Managed Services Solutions than they are offering Mobility Solutions or even Cloud Computing. The channels falling in the green columns will benefit immediately, those in the blue columns will find the program attractive but those within the red columns in the chart would be of immense importance.

It is clear that Managed Services has been the most important offering for Channel Partners, as they evolved from a typical value added channel to offering break-fix services and remote managed services.



The path being chosen by Channels to move from one offering to the next is strongly dependent upon their current offering. Those that are in the mobility space are moving to cloud, while those in the cloud are moving to managed services.

Understanding the channel dynamics and current offerings gives clues in the direction they will move. For those that are offering only one of the services there is a clear path to adding services. In fact Techaisle survey shows that the channels have chosen their path of selection.

Channels are also interested in offering mobility solutions, however, it is also clear that mobility has become possible due to cloud and managed services allowing employees to work from anywhere, anytime and from any device.

 

The responsibility now lies with both the channel partners and Cisco to make the program a success. However, there some other steps that Cisco needs to take as well.

• Extend the reach of its Smart Care to cover cloud based services


• Develop capabilities that not only work with Cisco's networking devices but also with client devices. Although it must be said that Cisco is addressing some of those needs through its partnerships with other vendors


• Further the agenda on not only BYOD but also just BYO


• Market the program aggressively. Channel partners are being courted and trained by many other vendors


• Use the program to establish a strong presence in the datacenter space

With the latest move, Cisco may have begun to shift the tide in its favor more decisively.

Anurag Agrawal
Techaisle