With summer coming to a quick close it’s time for solution providers to begin seriously planning for 2015. Next year and the years to follow should be ripe with opportunities for those solution providers that are willing to put in the time and dig deeper into their customer relationships, adapt to emerging technology trends and align themselves with new business partnerships.

All the leading research firms from Gartner to IDC have in one way or another said that the IT world is going through a fundamental transformation and solution providers are at the very heart. Through cloud and virtualization environments, small-to-midsize businesses can match efficiencies and reach as their corporate counterparts but need solution providers to guide them along the way. At the same time, IT departments at larger firms are being forced to change their roles, relying on solution providers for many specialties such as mobile integration, security and network monitoring, software migration and in many cases turning over much of their support functions as a result of managed services.

The cloud and advancements in mobile technology has changed nearly every business in some way, shape or form both internally and externally. This change isn’t temporary—it is going to accelerate. In fact, these opportunities were front and center earlier this month at ChannelCon, a partnering and training event for the channel held by CompTIA. There are tons of opportunities for solution providers for years to come, if they are willing to adapt.

“There is more change and more opportunity happening in the next six years than there was in the past 20,” said Brooks L. McCorcle, president, Emerging Business Markets at AT&T Services, in a prepared statement issued by CompTIA. “We need to challenge ourselves to create new and different ways to go to market.”

The theme of this year’s was “Connect to a Smarter Future.” The conference pinpointed the growth areas facing solution providers and speaker after speaker hit on the many opportunity areas for channel firms—mainly around mobility, cloud computing, managed services and voice and data convergence.

This should not be groundbreaking news for any solution provider, as the messages are similar from Gartner, IDC and others. It should be a continuous reminder that solution providers are at the heart of these technology advancements.

However, ChannelCon dug down even further, emphasizing that while the advances in cloud and mobility are creating opportunities, it’s not technology itself that will drive success but how solution providers use these technologies to solve business problems for their customers. That is where the rubber meets the road.

It’s time to shake the sand off your feet, pack up the sunshades and turn your attention to how you are going to evolve your business model next year and beyond to adapt to the market’s needs.

Knock 'em alive!