The end of the year is always a great time for reflection. A time to look back on the IT market and assess our decisions. Did we get it right or did we miss the boat entirely?
These are my top 5 observations of the year.
1. Cloud is no longer a decision: 2017 witnessed the major vendors steering the reseller channel rather firmly in the direction of cloud. All resources at the vendor level were clearly realigned to this purpose. Microsoft completely restructured to achieve this aim. Oracle made the commitment to be a 100% cloud company, and most vendors realigned partner incentives and commissions to reward the move to the cloud.
2. Partners own IP is becoming key to profitability: The vendors have been singing this hymn for many a year but the reduction in margin is making this a clear reality.
3. The rise of the born in the cloud reseller: While it is not easy for traditional resellers to build a cloud practice, the barrier to entry for a new company to enter into the IT market and compete against well-established players is relatively easy. We witnessed many new partners of this type joining the ecosystem this year.
4. Public cloud soars: 2017 was a year of exponential growth in the public cloud arena. Misunderstanding and fear is dropping by the wayside, however, it seems that the pull for public cloud is still coming from the customers. Resellers were more reactive when it comes to public cloud, offering this route mainly when asked and not as the standard.
5. AI, IoT, and Blockchain were the hype terms of 2017: While there is so much development happening in this space, very few resellers are turning these technologies into offerings at the moment. Much is being said, little is being offered. This will be a space to watch in 2018.
Overall if you were in the cloud space in 2017, you would be feeling very optimistic for the coming year. The groundwork is starting to pay off and the next few years ahead will see many opportunities in this space. Look out for my next post where I will look ahead to 2018 and make my top 5 predictions for 2018.
See you in the clouds!