Mexico. Learn how Cloud Computing broke different storage paradigms and changed the market, opening new opportunities and business differentials, demanding an efficient business model from IT Channels.
Comstor, a SYNNEX Corporation company that operates in North and Latin America and focuses on security, collaboration, networking and data center, explains why it is important to be an IT Channel specializing in Cloud computing.
Cloud Computing is a reality that is consolidating every year in the market, being used by individuals who generate a lot of data, as well as by microenterprises, reaching large multinationals.
As a technology that broke some paradigms in storage when it was launched, it has demanded from IT Channels new skills and new ways of thinking about current account management, demanding the remuneration of the team, HR management and organizational culture.
What a short time ago was only the sale of a server and a few physical machine components, now produces high added values through the sale of services.
Hardware and products are mostly tabulated, generating a rare competition between e-commerce and the physical store. In this way, the differential of the market for IT Channels is to achieve the inclusion of services, clear doubts, be a consultancy, help solve problems, be 24 hours linked in the real need of the client and try to anticipate future purchases.
It is a very complex context and one that quickly transformed a lot. Channel owners are reformulating their business models, drawing up their strategies to invest in technology and be able to offer certain services such as, for example, the integration and customization of applications and services based on the Cloud or simply sell the infrastructure and offer consulting.
Business Model for Cloud Computing
By observing all the evolutions that the market already presents, it is possible to draw four models for Channels that act with the Cloud:
They are the Channels that offer hardware and software from traditional suppliers and build for the client the infrastructure of the Private or Hybrid Cloud. They are consultants on IT architecture, configurations, and product options. Most Channels start at this level before moving on to offer other types of services.
Suppliers
They are the Channels that centralize the provision of the various services, based on the Cloud, pointing out the workloads, the idleness of some tools and ways to train them, as well as the load on certain points that need to be improved.
Ativators
They are the Channels that offer integration and implementation services, linking the existing technologies in the company, with the new tools of the Cloud. This is the main source of income from an aftermarket and where they are even the largest profit margins.
Support
They are the Channels that offer continuous support in all stages of implementation, closing medium and long-term contracts, which generates recurring revenues.
These business models are the most common, but it is possible that a weighted mix of items will occur, depending on the infrastructure and capacity that the channel has in service.
The Challenges of the IT Channel: Manpower, Training and Recognition
Labor has demonstrated another great challenge for the market and for many companies. Managers are studying the best ways to recruit and train their technicians, as well as salespeople, offering efficient training to set goals beyond the one-time sale.
The remuneration and responsibilities of professionals in the sector. A percentage of the sale of hardware and software continues to be offered, but now the functions of technicians and salespeople are mixed, they need to act as consultants. In addition to that, it is becoming increasingly difficult to establish ways to remunerate employees, who are also placed as the main channel of contact between the customer and the IT channel, at different times of implementation of the Cloud.
Training is another point that IT Channels need to be aware of. There is a lot of information, as well as the news in the everyday market. Therefore, it is necessary a filter of what is really indispensable, so that the collaborator fulfills his function efficiently. Thus, it is essential that the Channels constantly discuss which courses need to be strictly carried out and which suppliers offer continuous training for the development of employees.
With all that, it's no exaggeration to claim that Cloud Computing transformed the Technology Channel market. The company that does not develop an efficient business model and that does not have professionals trained to understand the needs of customers, is doomed to close the doors shortly.
