At the June CompTIA Business Applications Advisory Council (BAAC) meeting, a story was told of a successful man in his 90s building a giant mansion in Las Vegas. It was his dream home. When built, the house would be beautiful, spacious and, ideally, located on a prestigious golf course. Details were thought out right down to a giant Jacuzzi in the master bedroom. At the end of a tour, a puzzled business partner asked, “You’re in your 90s. Why are you doing this?” The man replied, “because if I’m alive in five years I’ll be kicking myself for not doing it, and if I’m not alive in five years, it doesn’t matter!” This story was used to illustrate an important question – what opportunities are solution providers facing today that they’ll be kicking themselves tomorrow for not pursuing?
That was the prevailing theme at the meeting of the BAAC, an industry think-tank working through the channel opportunities around business applications. With the introduction to the market of myriads cloud-based business applications, solution providers have more opportunity than ever to deliver cutting-edge business solutions to their partners, but the skills required and execution strategy are vastly different, and stretch the traditional channel partner. A guest solution provider in the meeting said there are some significant reasons why a solution provider might opt to pass on a business application, offering up valuable insight on how industry might work together to get past friction points and deliver strong end-user value.
The first new reality, which is almost painfully obvious, is that business application providers have two options in their go-to-market strategy – direct and indirect. While most would prefer to work with a partner well plugged into the end-user’s business, if that option is not available, they are happy to go direct. Unlike in the traditional channel, an untransformed solution provider is not a gatekeeper – so advantage app vendor. App vendors value partners who have deep connections beyond the IT department into the lines of business. Since most of the technical implementation details are well covered by the app developer’s solution in the cloud, technical proficiency is less prized and business skills such as articulating business benefits, integrating with established processes, and providing implementation value in the form of configuration and customization are in high demand. Solution providers who are fully transformed and have made the move to recurring revenue models are also strong indicators of success for these emerging vendors. BAAC members estimated that 80 percent of existing solution providers are not qualified partners, and that in total there are likely only 2,000 solution providers who are equipped to sell business applications.
The discussion at the BAAC covered the fact that that the app developer who can further develop their partnership base by working with solution providers in transition can develop a strong competitive advantage in the marketplace. “Fear doesn’t work, and the message transform-or-die will not have the desired results,” an attendee said. When business app vendors can articulate how solution providers can make money, how they can come quickly up to speed, provide a level of trust – both for the vendors longevity and its commitment to its channel – and support their conversations with the lines of business, transforming solutions providers will become willing and lucrative business partners. In addition, when solution providers can articulate business value and integrate across their existing infrastructure, a powerful solution is brewing.
Once the match is made, much goodness follows. Solution providers can provide provisioning, monitoring, business intelligence and configuration support. In addition, holistic business security remains strongly in the hands of the solution provider. While many app developers bristle at the thought of someone else securing their solution, saying they have security covered, coverage extends only to the edge of their solution. As solution providers integrate with other business applications and workflows, the responsibility for securing the business rests squarely on the solution provider, making for yet more opportunity.
While change is difficult and failure can be costly, the prevalence of innovative business applications represents a huge opportunity for savvy solution providers and business app vendors alike. I’d encourage any progressive solution provider to take a deep dive into working with emerging vendors and members of our BAAC at industry touchpoints like ChannelCon, and profit from the digital businesses of tomorrow.
