Jan-Feb 2020 - ChannelVision Magazine

use bundled products and services but plan to do so, the percentage of local to mid-market companies using or planning to use bundled products and services jumps to 86 percent,” said Insight. The Sense of Security For channel sales partners that intend to lean toward being a com- prehensive provider of bundled so- lutions, that cart of solutions must include cybersecurity, whether that be security solutions or at least the ability to convince prospects that their systems and company data are locked down and safe as they move to the cloud. Currently, about 40 percent of channel firms surveyed by CompTIA said they offer security services. Among smaller firms (1 to 49 employees), about a third include security in their portfolios. “That percentage is still low, however, considering that security considerations are integral to just about every type of tech implemen- tation,” warn CompTIA researchers. Indeed, check out just about any survey regarding digital and cloud transformation, or technol- ogy adoption in general, and se- curity inevitably appears among the top concerns, challenges and barriers to adoption. Insight’s survey of small to mid-market IT departments is no exception. A full 50 percent of respondents named governing and addressing security threats as a primary obstacle to moving infrastructure to the cloud – topped only by the uncertainty around comparing cloud costs to current costs (56 percent). “Likewise, 65 percent identified security and compliance as a pri- mary challenge for cloud implemen- tation, making it the top concern in this area when considering overall cloud strategy, workload assess- ment, migration, IT governance and modifying security practices,” said the Insight study. “Security concerns” also showed up as the number one hurdle to en- suring an organization is equipped with the best available technology, while security figures prominently in the top two challenges related to managing accelerated data growth in the next three to five years: en- suring security of data in dispersed environments (41 percent) and The top hurdles to ensuring an organization is equipped with the best available technology Source: Insight Enterprises Security concerns Identifying best-fit tools to integrate with existing technogy Understanding which new technologies to invest in Budgetary constraints Lack of priority vs. other business needs Inadequate IT support Locked into long-term licensing deals for existing software Locked into outsourcing arrangements that make it difficult or costly to change 52% 46% 45% 44% 33% 30% 28% 23% Business areas that would benefit most from igital transformation Source: Insight Enterprises Customer experience Operational efficiency Workforce productivity/collaboration 43% 42% 42% Not only are small and mid-market independent businesses embracing digital transformation as a means to improving a vari ty of business outcomes, they are pretty clear on how and where transformation initiatives can help. IT professionals report that the top three areas of their business that would benefit from digital transformation are customer experience, operational efficiency and workforce productivity and collaboration, show surveys from IT optimization company Insight Enterprises. But while many organizations initially focus their digital transformation efforts around enhancing the customer experience, “as the business grows, they strive to improve their internal processes, as well,” said Insight executives. “This is because customer loyalty is often influenced by how well a company delivers consistency and quality,” said the research report, “outcomes that are hard to achieve without maximizing operational efficiency and workforce productivity.” Services Most in Demand by MSP Customers Today Source: CompTIA 31% 34% 41% 42% 46% 49% 53% 60% Software as a service applications manag ment Security services Storage, backup services Remote network monitoring and management Hardwar as service management Disaster recovery/business continuity services H lp desk services Unified communications as a service The top hurdles to ensuring an organization is equipped with the best available technology Sour e: Insight Enterprises Security concerns Identifying best-fit tools to integrate with existing technogy Underst nding which new technologies to invest in Budgetary constraints Lack of priority vs. other business needs Inadequate IT support Locked into long-term licensing deals for existing software Locked into utsourcing arrangements that mak it difficult or costly to change 52% 46% 45% 44% 33% 30% 28% 23% Business areas that would benefit most from digital transformation Source: Insight Enterprises Customer experience Operational efficiency Workforce productivity/collaboration 43% 42% 42% BUYERS SIDE Top Transformation Targets 44 CHANNEL VISION | January - February, 2020