Fit SaaS for SMB purpose

The time for purpose-built SaaS is now, argues Xavier Juredieu

Like it or not, the role of the reseller – especially in the SMB market – is being transformed. In the 80s and 90s, you could earn a reasonable living selling hardware and software while offering break-fix services to local small businesses. Technology was relatively expensive and complex.

Businesses relied on local providers to fix things when they went wrong. Then came managed services provision (MSP), and many resellers – especially those with a mid-market customer base – got into managed services.

Those two types of reseller have co-existed for some time. However, the past decade has seen technology prices fall, and customers opting to buy directly online. There is no longer enough margin to continue making a decent living as a small-business reseller.

Similar disruptive influences are affecting MSPs. Today's SMBs can pick from a range of new cloud-based alternatives where you no longer need to deploy IT on your site in the first place. SMBs do not need advanced remote administration or complex tools such as scripting engines any more.

It turns out that the MSP model was just another intermediate step along the evolutionary path.

And so we find ourselves entering a new age, that of the cloud services provider. Traditional break-fix shops and MSPs will have an equal opportunity to win in this space. Everything is up for grabs.

For most MSPs this means finding the right delivery platform that moves them away from managing IT complexity, yet helps SMBs take full advantage of the cloud. Complexity is out, data protection – whether data at rest, on the move or in storage – is in.

Resellers have an opportunity to add value when provisioning purpose-built cloud services for small businesses. But the next generation of cloud solutions will need all the security and robustness associated with enterprise offerings, as well as the simplicity and ease of use learned from the consumer side.

This means the time for purpose-built SaaS has arrived.

Xavier Juredieu is vice president for cloud services at AVG