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.