VARs to disties: We want more help with cloud

Majority of resellers said they are not getting the right kind of info on cloud from their distributors

The majority of resellers across Europe are not getting the right kind of support from their distributors on cloud technology, according to new Context research.

The analyst quizzed more than 4,000 respondents in its pan-European study and found that 53 per cent of those asked said their distie partners were not giving them adequate cloud support.

Only 15 per cent of resellers surveyed are already offering cloud services, with another 14 per cent planning on doing so in the future. Some 42 per cent of respondents said they had no plans at all to develop a cloud business.

"Distributors will be justified in feeling disappointed by these results as they wait for cloud services to accelerate," said the analyst.

Jeremy Davies, Context's chief executive, said disties need to ramp up their cloud education efforts.

"There is... still room for education [about cloud]. Fifty-three per cent of resellers said they weren't getting the right kind of information from their value-added distributors in this area, a clear sign to focus on communication and improve support activities to help resellers better address this market.

"There is no doubting the serious commitment from resellers in engaging in the cloud."

More than half - 57 per cent - of respondents said they did not know their disties offered cloud services, but of those that did know, a whopping 82 per cent said they would make them available to their customer base.

"[This sends] out a strong message to distributors, that the cloud opportunity is waiting to be seized," added Context.

Despite lacking in the cloud department, European distributors got the thumbs up from their partners overall. A massive 96 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with their main distie and a third of those said they felt the service they received had improved since last year.

But resellers' appetite to diversify their product portfolio and branch out into new tech is taking its toll on distributor loyalty, as 75 per cent of those asked said they would consider buying from another distie.

"This is evidence of the fast-changing nature of the technology market where specialist distributors are making a good business introducing key new technologies and their associated brands to the market in ways that are ahead of the main activities of the standard broadliners," the analyst said.