Half of partners are preparing for massive cloud investment - Context

The analyst claims automated provisioning enabled by distributor marketplaces have a far more scalable workflow compared with manual

Nearly half (49 per cent) of European resellers are preparing for a significant cloud push in the coming year to meet rising customer demands for digital transformation.

According to data from Context's upcoming ChannelWatch survey, 73 per cent of resellers are seeing customers accelerate the rate of digital transformation due to the pandemic, and more than half (51 per cent) say the cloud is driving this surge.

The researcher listed scalability, remote management, integrated security and remote delivery of services as benefits that are proving to be major advantages as the new era of the hybrid workplace emerges from the shadow of Covid-19.

Moreover, around half of 6,500 resellers said they are already selling cloud products and services.

Context claims the majority (53 per cent) are selling 1-3 offerings, with 29.5 per cent selling 4-10 and 17 per cent selling more than ten services.

The analyst added that further data reveals the maturity of the market, with a 50-50 split between those who manually and automatically provision their cloud offerings.

"We know that around 50 per cent of resellers acknowledge that the cloud is a vital area to invest in. But now it's time for them to expand their portfolios and move to more active marketing techniques and integration of products," said Context cloud specialist, Chris Vallenduuk.

"After all, this is where the real profits lie and where most distributors are very well positioned to deliver excellent value for the channel."

Vallenduuk stated that those using automated provisioning enabled by distributor marketplaces have a far more scalable workflow which typically supports more than five products aimed at industry verticals.

He continued that those on manual provisioning are more likely to be taking advantage of opportunistic sales from "hero" products like Microsoft 365, which offer "no cross-selling" opportunities and "only razor-thin margins."

Context added that separate data reveals that most (53 per cent) resellers currently rely opportunistically on inbound sales, rather than cross-selling (38 per cent), or driving digital (29 per cent) and traditional (16 per cent) outbound marketing. Those in the latter groups are likely to be more advanced in their cloud offerings.