New study shows how the changing demands of supplying good hosting and cloud solutions impact channel relationships The challenge in Europe's cloud and hosting industry is to find good reliable partnerships, where the partners are able to articulate a strong message to clients, with vendors in their turn, supporting the sales channel who may have problems adapting to the new sales model. And it is clear that cost is of less importance than the quality of the relationships, support and the vital question of availability; factors which may help Europe's smaller hosting and cloud specialists against the global monoliths.
A new report “MAKING THE CLOUD WORK - Hosting and Cloud Services in the UK and Europe”, based on a survey conducted by IT Europa, looks at the views of current channels engaged in hosting and cloud provision with the aim of providing a snapshot of trends and intentions.
What concerns do channel partners have? Connectivity is obviously the most important factor given the total dependence of the customer on the server and host link. Such has been the expansion of demand for data centres that providers are becoming aware that deliverable power might be limited in the short term at least. This is also reflected in the high priority given to those suppliers able to actually deliver the required services: That “Ability to Deliver” was overwhelmingly the most important factor in choosing a supplier; more important, even than costs.
It is also a time of some worry for ISVs and sales channels over their own processes. The transition to new sales models and methods of rewarding salespeople has implications for finances and structures, which is why a lack of funding and finance appears as a limiting factor. In such a market, companies are also looking over their shoulders at those competitors they see as better funded and with a more dynamic, faster pace in the market.
The full report, MAKING THE CLOUD WORK - Hosting and Cloud Services in the UK and Europe, is available here and looks at the relationship between suppliers, channels and vendors, examining customer needs, priorities and issues, as seen by ISVs and solution providers. Service support and strong contracts are viewed as key selection criteria in the evaluation of suppliers. What survey respondents believe is holding them back in their growth plans is not technology issues so much as finding sales resources and keeping up to date with changes.
The research and survey on which the report is based was sponsored by iomart, the cloud hosting organisation, who also takes the opportunity in the report to define its offerings and how it can meet the challenges of the changing cloud model and channels. It shows the issues confronting customers and how iomart's model reassures service providers on the key connectivity and resource issues.
To download a copy of the report visit: www.iteuropa.com/?q=making-cloud-work