Services are booming, but channels are faced with complex decisions on strategies and growth plans. The second Everything-as-a-Service online event aims to answer questions and stimulate discussions.
The background is that:
- Cloud-based as-a-service hit a record €1.8bn in EMEA last year
- Infrastructure-as-a-service climbed 34% in EMEA to €1.3bn
- Software as-a-service is in demand, with investment bank Mizuho looking to further upside in the sector - but calls for more selectivity after the past year's gains.
Customers are asking for more solutions alongside existing services, say researchers, and IT channels are scrambling to keep up with demand. IT channels and service providers are looking to meet soaring demand from customers for more and better managed IT services. Already in 2021, rising digital transformation in enterprises and a renewed drive in the SMB sector is placing more demands on IT.
In turn, service providers are looking to expand what they do, and get it under better control as they continue to face resource and management pressures, and they are looking for new ideas to take to market.
It is all about flexibility and management.
As Nick Mayes, chief analyst at researcher PAC, says: “Firstly, clients are looking for a much higher degree of commercial flexibility. One thing they have learned in the last 12 months is to expect the unexpected, and they will be looking for much greater freedom in being able to scale their partner’s services up and down, without fear of financial penalties.”
“Secondly, the aim of these deals will be to deliver real and lasting transformation, as opposed to having a “your-mess-for-less” mindset. In practice, this will mean operating within project frameworks that are geared to support the client’s changing requirements, rather than basing the day-to-day engagement around a contract designed to support a stable environment.”
These kinds of relationship will only ever work if there is a true partnership (perhaps the most abused word in our industry) in place. Those suppliers that have worked hard to earn their clients’ trust during the last year’s disruption will be well placed to benefit.
Nick will be addressing the issue of flexible services in a keynote at the XaaS (Everything as a Service) Summit on March 23 – an online event looking at innovation on demand in the channel.
Given the rising threat levels, security will be a core part of the day, with experts on hand to talk about trends and solutions. Participation is encouraged with online questions and answers
On the issue of transformation, another speaker is Cuan Mulligan, a digital transformation executive who has led and worked on some of the largest transformation programmes in Europe over the last 15 years across TMT, online retail, gambling, banking and government. Cuan developed groundbreaking strategies for successful implementations while running his own consultancy and working with Paypal, Bwin, McKinsey Digital, Schroders and the UK Government’s Digital Service and he will be talking about the reasons why transformation projects fail.
And as IT channel organisations reel under the pressure of change and crisis, we have added Matt Casey as a speaker – former CEO of Moonfruit, he has some strong views on management structures, cost cutting and business rebuilding, which he did at the company. He also has clear views on how workforces are being remotely managed, plus some new ideas for IT staff support.
The XaaS Summit II will:
- offer a unique series of insights from experts and services providers themselves, including MSP Aptum which has trademarked the term “Data as Infrastructure”. We talk to the company about this and also to one of its customers on the future of data services. It will also
- examine the likely impact of new technologies such as artificial intelligence which are beginning to emerge as significant “as-a-service” plays
- provide market insights from many of Europe's leading vendors and distributors of platform technologies for service providers including:IT Glue, ID Agent, Fujitsu and Datto
- explore the latest developments in market trends
- assess the implications of new research into the key issues and concerns currently driving buyer behaviour
The online event follows the successful XaaS Summit I last September. It covers the new types of services in the channel, sales and marketing to build pipelines, services management and organisation and looks at the new wave of solutions arriving during the crisis. It will be essential viewing for the strategic management of IT service providers gearing up for the new services and expansion.
For more information see www.Xaas-summit.com
For Sponsorship opportunities please contact: Stephen.Osborne@iteuropa.com +44 (0) 7516 502 689
