Jan-Feb 2020 - ChannelVision Magazine

its own point person or decision maker. All the while, more than four in 10 re- spondents report to using anywhere from six to 10 vendors for IT support, and responses suggest they are not get- ting the most out of these relationships. Similar to most business and communications services they have sourced throughout recent history, small and mid-market firms complain that cloud vendors tend to cater to bigger buyers and fail to understand or adequately serve smaller busi- nesses’ unique IT needs. More than four in 10 IT professionals sees ven- dors’ lack of understanding of their businesses and the inability to cus- tomize solutions to their unique needs as major barriers to achieving their cloud transformation. “Further compounding this challenge could be the tendency of independent businesses to look to vendors and out- side partners for IT product procurement but not for consultation and services for projects such as migrations and deploy- ments,” said Insight executives. “The preference to do it in-house is under- standable — especially for smaller orga- nizations — but it may be constraining their ability to take full advantage of the opportunities of cloud.” In other words, small and mid- market firms have access to plenty of solutions and vendors. What they lack are true transformation partners. Bring the Bundle So, what are some ways channel partners can help SMBs navigate and source the wide assortment of prod- ucts and services that will digitize their operations? Though this certainly is not an exhaustive list, it would appear a partner’s ability to bring a tailored bundle of IT/communications services will be a top priority for buyers. As mentioned above, growing small and mid-market firms are buying lots of different services across lots of different departments in the business. Between the navigation of service agreements, the juggling of licenses, understanding how they are billed, managing assets and training on new and updated features, mid-market firms often don’t know what IT assets they have in place and where. At the same time, IT’s attention is divided be- tween maintaining existing equipment and infrastructure, upgrading outdated systems and adopting new technolo- gies for innovation. And while it’s not uncommon for smaller organizations to turn to a high number of vendors, said Insight, re- spondents identified negative outcomes related to working with high numbers of vendors. Four in 10, for instance, said asset management and juggling licenses from multiple service provid- ers is “very or extremely challenging,” while 43 percent said it is challenging Source: Insight Enterprises How do I govern and address evolving security requirements? How do I improve agility to the end user? What should i move to the cloud? How do I understand this application ecosystems, wo kloads and depe dencies? None of the above/don’t know 50% 48% 43% 40% 5% Top challenges of dealing with IT service providers Source: Insight Enterprises Services Most in Demand by MSP Customers Today Source: CompTIA Entrusting aspects of data protection to a third party Intergrating new solutions with legacy technology Subscription costs are too high Ability to customize solutions to your specific business need and objectives Coordiating internal/external resources on complex IT Projects Vendors cater more to larger enterprises Scalability to meet growing business needs Asset management, juggling licenses from multiple service providers Vendor don’t understand small-business needs 50% 49% 46% 44% 43% 43% 40% 40% 40% 31% 34% 41% 42% 46% 49% 53% 60% Softwar as a service applications management Security services Storage, backup services Remote network monitoring and management Har wa e as a service management Disaster recovery/business continuity services Help desk services Unified communications as a service Video conferencing and collaboration tools you can trust. Delivered by OneStream Networks, backed by the Cisco Global Cloud. Meet face to face. Wherever you are. Teamwork makes the dream work. Cisco AMs, VARs and Resellers, contact OneStream Networks today! +1(585) 563-1850 sales@onestreamnetworks.com www.onestreamnetworks.com Mobile app allows instant access to participants’ background and company Speed up projects, build relationships, and solve business challenges Screen sharing and meeting recording keeps everyone on the same page Send critical information via direct and team messages, all stored in one place Host events, train your team, and support your customers - all in Webex Share files or drawings - a sketch can convey an idea better than words Partner Premier Certified Meetings Teams 41 January - February, 2020 | CHANNEL VISION