Gartner touts rise of cloud aggregator
Aggregator role the 'holy grail' for ambitious resellers embarking on cloud quest
Tiffani Bova: Aggregator is the holy grail, but how many will there be in the marketplace?
Smaller VARs should look at acquiring an ISV or partnering with one to get ahead in the cloud game, a leading Gartner analyst has claimed.
Speaking to resellers at the CRN Channel Conference in Reading last week, Tiffani Bova, vice president research of indirect channel programmes and sales strategies at Gartner, said there was no sign of the cloud lifting soon and resellers need to redefine their roles to survive.
“The channel really is more important than ever, but its role is changing,” she said. “It is not about where the cloud takes you, it is about where you take the cloud.”
Bova added VARs should also focus on their messaging. “The message should not be about cost cutting anymore. CIOs like to focus on innovation and growth, and how they can make themselves more agile.”
As a result, some resellers will end up evolving their business model – first into a cloud “broker” and then into a cloud “aggregator” role where they bring together all the different offerings into one solution.
“Aggregator is the holy grail, but how many will there be in the marketplace?
“It requires a lot of investment in terms of capability. I don’t think everybody needs to evolve as there will always be a need for the more traditional VARs and solution providers. You have to figure out where you want to play,” she said.
Simon Ognall, managing director of VAR Shift F7 said he saw the cloud aggregator role as belonging more to distribution. “A distributor would act as an aggregator and we as resellers will buy the solutions from them.
“Once a month we get a bill for a mix of services for our clients and work out our separate charges to the customer after that,” he added.
“Acquiring an ISV would be a big gamble because you are
only backing one horse, but I believe in outsourced partnering. Why buy something when you can rent what you need?”