The popularity of the cloud continues to soar, but traditional value added resellers wanting to thrive in the new technology climate may want to look closely at shifting course to take full advantage of the burgeoning marketplace. Channel Insider sat down with channel expert and Forrester analyst Tim Harmon to get some tips for VARs looking to succeed in the cloud. Here are his recommendations.
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Restructure Vendor RelationshipsThe balance of power has shifted, with resellers topping tech vendors in the marketplace. Harmon says, “Three years ago, vendors were dictating the terms. That’s not the case anymore.”
Implement It:Renegotiate and restructure to get better discounts and margins on cloud technologies. Harmon says on-demand ERP vendor NetSuite is a great example of a company doing it right. It offers its VARs 100 percent of yearly subscription revenue up-front. That’s a big score for resellers.
Switch Up the Revenue ModelIf you’re dipping your toe into the subscription model, the change from up-front license fees to monthly payments can be stress-inducing.
Action to Take:Harmon advises that resellers yearning to be powerful cloud services players take a close took at switching-up their models, and solidify a business plan that allows for including subscription fees over a set period of time.
Morphing into MSPsResellers enjoy multiple options in a market where cloud services is the norm. Morphing into a Managed Services Provider (MSP) and reselling value-added solutions on your own infrastructure is a good strategic play.
Here’s WhyTech vendors feeling down and out in the economic environment are more apt to offer revenue sharing and less up-front cost to expand their market reach.
Delving into Financial AnalysisThe days of just taking orders has gone away for resellers, says Harmon. Resellers need to look at providing a true value-add to their services as enterprises make the move to cloud.
The Next ThingHarmon says it doesn’t make sense for every company to move to cloud. VARs that offer financial analysis and services to help their customers determine if the time is right stand to make a bundle.
Vendor Management Organizations Trickle to the SMBBig companies have been outsourcing vendor management organizations (VMOs) for a while, but as cloud skyrockets in popularity, so does the need for smaller and mid-sized companies to tap service providers to manage the costs, contracts and details that go along with multiple subscriptions.
The OpportunityVARs are poised to take advantage of that growing market, Harmon says.
Intel Technology Provider Program
Intel Technology Provider Program (ITP) helps resellers better understand Intel products which power the technology they sell, and enables value-add services such as remote manageability or anti-theft tracking. Learn More
WindowsForDevices.com
WindowsForDevices.com is the comprehensive news site covering Windows embedded technologies. Visitors get news, technical white papers, opinion columns and extensive directories covering the products and companies in the marketplace. Click Here
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