People are not just looking for cloud-based solutions for the sake of doing so; instead, they are finding solutions to real problems via cloud. Meanwhile, some users are unknowingly using a cloud-based solution already – either in business or their personal lives – and are quickly seeing the benefits. Take, for example, Dropbox, a free tool for sharing any size files across devices seamlessly, easily and from anywhere. Users adopt it from a need that it solves; not because of the technology factor behind it or because of any cloud hype.
Cloud computing is expected to enjoy an adoption rate and growth of between 30 to 40 percent per year, every year for the next five years, and its promise of substantial benefits will drive this adoption. A 2012 customer study from Rise indicates that 94 percent of IT departments expect to expand their use of cloud in the next 12 months.
The whole cloud evolution has stirred up discussion in all spheres of the channel, unfortunately usually focused on the concerns around cloud rather than the opportunities it presents. These concerns range from where distribution fits to transferring an upfront revenue model to an annuity based model while keeping cash-flow alive and kicking.
I’ve heard wide and varied questions on cloud from the reseller channel across events, meetings and roundtables over the past 12 months. However, these key questions and concerns come up again and again:
- “Do vendors sell cloud direct?”
- “Where’s the services revenue for me as a reseller?”
- “There’s no differentiator for us as a reseller.”
- “The margins are too low.”
- “Customers can buy it online. Why should we resell it?”
- “Why should I sell monthly billing cloud with products I get paid for up front?”
- “How do I fund the transition period to get from lump-sum to over-time billing?”
- “I don’t want my existing customers switching to cheaper cloud solutions.”
- “I want to bill my customer, not have the vendor do it.”
Clearly there’s a lot of hesitancy here. But it was not long ago that Internet shopping was placed in the same bucket, and now this has become the norm, enjoying compound growth and affecting the traditional brick-and-mortar retail arena.
There is plenty of hype on cloud and certainly plenty of discussion of it happening. Yet there’s still a need for education on the terms, benefits and realities of this growing form factor. Top concerns of businesses in survey after survey on cloud continue to be security, data sovereignty and reliability. In a recent end user study from the Cloud Industry Forum, 62 percent of companies using or planning to use cloud indicate data security is their prime concern. Among individuals, the top concern in the IT arena is job loss and reduction of individual value.
In my experience with the channel, there is a lack of knowledge of cloud solutions and terminology and how to relate both to solving customer problems. In a webinar I ran in March, I held a survey of the audience asking who could confidently explain the following to a prospective client: PaaS, IaaS, SaaS, and private, public or hybrid cloud. Not one attendee said yes.
If this is the case, while surveys of end-users show they lack the same knowledge, then there is a strong opportunity for the channel to up its game and educate, understand and bring value to clients in a consultative manner. IT firms can serve as trusted advisors that understand their customers’ pain points and objectives and help match them to cloud-based solutions – guiding, handholding, configuring and securing their customers’ cloud steps along the way. With this comes margin, differentiation and customer value.
With this growth of cloud – and the opportunities it presents – comes a change in skill requirements and job opportunities. One of CRN’s Top 10 Cloud Predictions for 2012 was a growth in demand for cloud jobs; a prediction echoed by an article in CIO magazine in early 2012. Cloud computing is having and will continue to have a major impact on skills across business. IT will of course be affected, but cloud will also impose itself onto roles in marketing, support and business in general. The demand for cloud-based skills is already showing signs of exploding. A recent report from Wanted Analytics reported that hiring for cloud computing expertise shows a growth of 61 percent year over year. The cloud market is growing at such a pace that the number of job postings is accelerating while the talent qualifying for these roles is marginal.
Cloud offers opportunities for those who embrace the new form factor and self-educate and certify themselves for the needs of employers today and tomorrow. More education is needed in cloud across all sectors to enable businesses to understand and utilize this important new technology to its advantage. Across technical, sales, marketing and management disciplines, attaining certifications and education in cloud will be key.
CompTIA’s Cloud Essentials certification enables employees of varying roles to validate their cloud knowledge, take online training and exam condition testing and differentiate themselves in the competitive job market. “We have had a demand from the user market for a training curriculum with testing to support this rapidly growing new form factor,” said John McGlinchey, CompTIA vice president, Europe & Middle East. “The demand for and adoption of cloud is outstripping the skill base and it is key that individuals and businesses recognize and address this shortfall before it becomes a serious issue for all concerned.”
More education is needed in cloud across all sectors to enable businesses to understand and utilize this important new technology to their advantage – and this need for understanding stretches past the borders of the IT department. Expect to see more cloud courses and exams serving the market with cloud validations. Ignoring cloud is no longer an option; utilizing it to your advantage is.
Ian Moyse is sales director at www.workbooks.com and a Eurocloud UK and Cloud Industry Forum Governance board member.
