A Slow Moving Cloud

By George L. Koroneos
While the bulk of this issue spotlights the winners of our Innovative Solution Awards, I think it’s wise to let the winners speak for themselves (turn to Page 13 to find out who won). Instead, I want to talk about the dearth of cloud-hosted solutions coming from the Channel. I’m not talking about technologies or servers—I’m referring to purpose-built solutions (particularly in the POS market) designed around the cloud service model and built by VARs.

At first I thought the Channel’s tech mavens were just being
secretive—developing and selling cloud-based solutions on the down low, but instead, I was shocked to learn that adoption has simply been extremely slow. At this year’s Ingram Micro Cloud Summit, Renee Bergeron, VP of managed services and cloud services, offered riveting insights into cloud adoption. According to Gartner, 2010 cloud revenue was $68.3 billion, but 98 percent of that business was direct. For the typical SMB end-user, adding one cloud solution is painless and they typically install it by themselves.

Bergeron explained that problems arise when the end-user starts to add multiple cloud solutions. This is where the value of the reseller and opportunity for the reseller comes in. As more people move to cloud solutions, the reseller can help consult, customize, and integrate multiple cloud solutions. The good news is that the 2014 forecast for cloud technologies is $148.8 billion in revenue with up to 25 percent coming from the Channel.

This month, VSR focuses on how VARs can make a solid play for cloud business and offers surefire steps to adding cloud-services to existing business models (Page 19). We examine the strategies that make sense for resellers transitioning to hosted solutions and what technologies offer a gateway into managed cloud services. Bergeron ended her speech with a Wayne Gretsky quote that fits perfectly: “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” The next two years are going to be critical for earning cloud dollars and VSR wants to help make it as easy as possible to get a piece of that action.