Market volatility and a shaky global economy have created a challenging and worrisome time for channel partners.

Everyone in the channel is scrambling to understand the key trends. That’s so they can focus on strategic growth opportunities to sustain their businesses for the next few quarters.

It’s hard to look long term amid the turmoil. Channel leaders need market intelligence to navigate where governments, enterprises and local businesses are investing in technology. Therefore, they can adjust their business models to the market.

Context’s Alexandre Mesguich

In the Channel Partners Europe session, “Staying Calm Amid Market Volatility,” June 14, Alexandre Mesguich, chief sales officer at Context, will provide insight into the ongoing landscape. Context analyzes technology sales in cloud, infrastructure, hardware, security, networking and more.

In a Q&A with Channel Futures, Mesguich provides a sneak peek of the information he’ll share with attendees.

Channel Futures: What are some of the latest trends in terms of technology investment that channel partners need to be aware of?

Alexandre Mesguich: As companies evaluate new hybrid modes of working, investments will be made in new technologies to facilitate the transition. As a result of this, the workplace will become a place for teams to meet face to face, thus the traditional setting of the office will change into a meeting and greeting environment. This will spur creativity, innovation and collaboration.

It may motivate offices to increase the number of meeting rooms for small-group collaboration, using seamless unified communication technology between office and remote employees, as well as clients.

Additionally, for those who haven’t made the transition yet, the office will become increasingly mobile, which could be a fatal blow for the desktop PC and a further push towards computing mobility and 5G, promoting the challenge of working anywhere and anytime that many companies will have to face in the future.

In the future, CIOs will reassess their needs in regards to infrastructure supporting hybrid models, and in light of delivery delays and shortages regarding backend infrastructure, this may prompt organizations to push further into the cloud either for supporting virtual workspaces, tools and security. The hybrid working model may only succeed if technology can streamline the process.

To manage the increasing complexity of communicating with each other, between remote, satellite and main offices, with an intricate criss-cross of security and governance layers, there could be a time where networking-as-a-service will eventually prove its usefulness. Some vendors like Aruba as well as others have already evaluated its potential and deemed it worthy of investment. Further development in that direction seems to make sense.

The as-a service business model, circular economy, shortages, etc., will be of greater interest to customers due to the need to evaluate new technologies and upgrade accordingly. Technological consumption is moving towards a more pragmatic functional assessment of needs coupled with sustainability requirements. As-a-service models best suit this way of thinking.

In due course, too much fatigue from holding off investment, waiting for supplies, or constantly resetting expectations for project implementation will shift the purchasing mentality toward an OpEx model.

As a result of all of the above, cybersecurity is taking center stage in many investment discussions. The pandemic has seen the worst cases of ransomware, or attacks upon critical infrastructure, which have cost billions. This may be made worse by the return to the office in hybrid mode.

CF Do these trends represent new or increasing opportunities? If so, can you give some examples?

AM: Definitely, there are new and increasing opportunities for channel partners, distributors and vendors. Vendors are eager to embrace the future of technology. They have all been working on the new, shiny tech that will shape the future of work.

Cloud companies have soared during COVID-19 as they provided support to companies going remote during the lockdown, UC companies like Logitech, Jabra and Poly in the same way with accessories, and PC companies for mobile PC and education. The economy has been growing from all angles. And this has given them the opportunity to rethink, invest and promote what the future could be like. And they want to keep up the pace.

During the pandemic, [distributors] were absolutely essential in terms of supply and logistics of the surge in demand for IT goods and services. Their key role going forward will be to…

…support the vendor to transition their channel to the new technology they pursue and make it accessible, available and affordable, whether it is cloud or as-a-service business model. Their goal is to enable the channel and educate their partners about their transformation.

Due to the rise of online purchasing during the pandemic, customers’ expectations have drastically changed in their purchasing experiences. To meet those expectations and foster loyalty, the partners will need to adapt, learn and optimize their processes. Those who can see this transformation through will be rewarded.

A transition to OpEx may seem like a challenge to their bottom line. But it opens up opportunities for better planning, forecasting, cost control and revenue performance once the initial transition period is over. Since vendors and distributors are also willing to support partners during this transition, and the market dynamics are both uncertain and thriving at the same time, there could not be a better time to commence the transformation process.

CF: What’s influencing the trends we’re seeing in technology investment? Are channel partners at a disadvantage if they’re not paying attention?

AM: Vendors are adapting, distributors want to enable and are pretty much ready to support the shift. If partners fail to see the opportunity while sticking to the old ways, they may miss the boat completely.

In addition, customers will look to channel partners for their proximity, expertise and knowledge to navigate their own digital transformation. In order for channel partners to be successful, they still need to listen to their customers’ demands and expectations, and try to differentiate their services, approaches and solutions in response.

CF: Is there anything on the horizon that suggests any shift in technology spending? If so, what is it?

AM: We will soon forget about the pandemic and the world will be completely reopened. Once we make our way back to face-to-face office or event in a hybrid world, and travel becomes once again a commoditized necessity, a shift in spending will occur as companies seek to find their optimal way of doing things.

Nevertheless, the key new topics that need to be addressed include the circular economy, the undeniable need for sustainability, better forecasting, and changing customer mentality in terms of buying model and technology enabling hybrid working.

CF: What do you hope attendees can learn and make use of from your presentation?

AM: I would hope that it opens their eyes or confirms their doubts about the next steps they take to achieve their transformation, survival or expansion.