Channel Insider, the leading source of channel intelligence and analysis, and HTG Peer Groups, the groundbreaking collaborative network of IT resellers and service providers, announced a collaborative partnership dubbed “Project Nimbus” to produce community-based guidance on cloud computing in the IT channel.

Cloud computing, managed services, and hosted infrastructure and applications are rapidly transforming the way technology is used by businesses and consumed by users. Consequently, cloud computing is changing the way technology is delivered to businesses. Solution providers are struggling to find their place in the cloud computing world where hosting companies, telecommunications carriers and technology suppliers are competing for the same cloud-based business.

“What we hear is solution providers are looking for real, sound guidance on how they should approach cloud computing and where they can add value,” says Lawrence M. Walsh, vice president and group publisher of Channel Insider. “Project Nimbus aims to provide foundational guidance on what solution providers should know about cloud computing business models and where they fit in the cloud computing paradigm.”

Arlin Sorensen, founder and CEO of HTG stated, “We hear consistently from HTG members and solution providers that they are hungry for direction and insight into the coming changes and significant opportunities around cloud computing. This business model is larger and will impact more partners more significantly than anything we have faced in years. We must be prepared or the opportunity will be missed before we realize it.”

Project Nimbus will draw upon the expertise and experience of Channel Insider’s editorial team and key members of the HTG Peer Groups. Some of the topics Project Nimbus will address include:

• Defining the differences between public, private and semi-private clouds

• Managing cloud-based service delivery

• Identifying value-add opportunities in cloud computing models

• Competing with large vendors for share of cloud computing

• Developing go-to-market models

• Understanding peer-level partnership and collaboration opportunities

• Delivering sustainable value to customers through cloud computing

• Ensuring data integrity and application security in cloud environments

The result of this collaboration will be a guidance report that will be presented at the HTG Peer Group Q4 meeting and HTG ALL gathering in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 2-4, being held in conjunction with the annual ConnectWise Partner Summit. The report will be made available through Channel Insider’s Website following the event. 

“One of the most important things that we must do as CEOs and business owners is to interpret the changing tides, and figure out what the business model of the solution provider’s future is going to look like. In the past, we’ve been subjected to riding the coat tails of whatever model has been presented to us. In this case, with the power of HTG, we will have the opportunity to define that business model, and it’s more important now than ever that we do exactly that,” says Zack Schuler, president and CEO of the CalNet Technology Group and HTG chair for Project Nimbus.

In parallel to these cloud computing deliberations, Channel Insider is launching a new blog, “C3: Channel Cloud Computing.” The blog will focus on the business trends, go-to-market models, technologies, value-added services and implementation success stories in cloud computing as they relate to the channel. Channel Insider editors and HTG participants will contribute to the blog and use the blog to market the progress on the Project Nimbus proceedings.