The IT industry is moving faster than ever: The Internet of Things, wearables, BYOD and cloud computing have taken hold and are changing the way that businesses buy technology and run their daily operations. Keeping up with rapid progress can be difficult, let alone figuring out the lasting impact on the industry. That’s why in January this year, CompTIA unveiled its comprehensive 2015 IT Industry Outlook, which surveyed 650 IT companies to examine the factors and trends likely to impact IT companies this year.
The study was a hot topic at the UK Channel Community meeting in Bristol. Paul Tomlinson, managing director at Mirus Solutions and chair of the CompTIA UK Channel Community, kicked off the event by presenting some of the top findings of this year’s report to an audience of over 100 delegates from the UK IT channel. This presentation set the tone for the rest of the event, with breakout sessions organised for attendees to share their views on trends that affect them and how they are adapting to change.
One thing that’s clear: The IT industry is moving faster than ever. Out of the 650 people surveyed in the report, 92 were from the UK, which provided a good set of data to extrapolate trends that affect the channel, from distributors, to vendors and solution providers.
Move to As-A-Service Models
Tomlinson began the presentation by showing that the IT industry, generally speaking, is increasingly turning to cloud-based services — software or infrastructure as a service, for example. While this means that businesses have a much greater ability to scale and procure the infrastructure and software that they need when the need it, it also means that the channel is ultimately selling less physical infrastructure than before. This trend is particularly prominent in the UK, with the country spending 33 percent of total IT spend on IT services compared to the global average of 18 percent.
That’s not to say the UK isn’t buying hardware at all. The research shows an uptick in smartphone and tablet purchases, showing that spending is moving from one area to another. That means channel organisations — like resellers who have relied on selling infrastructure solutions in the past — must diversify their product portfolios to accommodate shifting customer demand for services and mobile devices.
Tomlinson explained that approximately 50 percent of its sales are currently in IT services.
Global Growth
Growth outlooks over the past few years have been particularly gloomy, but Tomlinson was delighted to show that there was a much more positive outlook on growth this year arguably fuelled by the growth of new technology trends like the Internet of Things and the need for more information security services. But what this all means is that channel partners need to diversify their offerings in the long term to accommodate these trends.
Despite more positive growth forecasts, there are still many perceived inhibitors to growth. Customers are increasingly price sensitive, which in turn means decreasing margins. What’s more, the skills gap is becoming more of a problem, with many firms struggling to hire people with the right IT, technical and sales skills. This can be more of a problem for smaller businesses, where employees tend to fill multiple roles, and therefore require a wider set of skills.
Transformation on All Fronts
No matter how you look at it, the IT industry is changing incredibly rapidly. Fifteen years ago, no one could have predicted what we have now in terms of cloud, database systems and social media. It’s equally as impossible to predict where we’ll be 15 years from now. New trends emerge every year, bringing with them new challenges and opportunities. Although the future is by no means certain, there are plenty of opportunities for the channel to capitalise.
Following the presentation, Bristol attendees gathered for workshops, including one that examined a dozen trends for 2015 identified in the newreport. Attendees split off in discussion groups and talked about how each trend could affect them. These insights proved to be invaluable and will inform the development of content and business tools to help our membership stay ahead of the curve in 2015.
