Channel Partners Will Get More Cloud Business
Concerned about a slowdown in “cloudification,” spurred by inflation and other microeconomic pressures? These experts say not to worry.
“Despite growing ‘cloudflation,’ channel partners will see an increase in cloud-related business opportunities in 2023. The cloud migration trend will slow somewhat in 2023 due to increased costs, driven by inflation and rising energy bills. However, the undeniable benefits of the cloud, including better uptime, scalability, and wider access to information, still makes it an attractive option for large enterprises. The cloud management segment will continue to provide system integrators and service providers new business opportunities as companies struggle to find IT talent in 2023.” —Christina Walker, global director of channel, Blancco
“I expect to see continued slow economic growth in 2023 combined with elevated inflation, which will result in higher interest rates. These higher borrowing costs will make cloud migrations relatively more attractive than refreshing or expanding data center workloads. This dynamic is due to the ‘operational expense’ model of the cloud (‘pay as you go’), as compared to the ‘capital expense’ data center cost model (large, infrequent purchases of equipment that must be funded upfront). Offsetting these pro-cloud-growth dynamics will be an increased focus on optimization of incumbent cloud workloads and potentially even some shrinkage of workloads in stressed sectors of the economy. Netting the two against one another, I still expect healthy growth in overall cloud consumption in 2023.” — Richard Hoyer, director of FinOps, SADA
“Widespread cloud adoption has triggered a rapid pace of innovation across the IT industry, setting the stage for GSIs to extend their capabilities and have a major seat at the table in the new year. Cloud providers are continuing to innovate at a breakneck pace and as a result, organizations are struggling to keep up with the latest developments. To keep pace with competitors on their cloud transformation journeys, businesses will look to outside influencers with the experience, knowledge and connections to help implement transformational IT strategies across their organizations in a timely manner. With solid reputations in the industry and with the experience to back it up, GSIs will play a larger role in providing strategic counsel and services capabilities to empower their customers to choose the right cost-optimized solutions and design successful modern architectures. In 2023, GSIs are well-positioned to step up and help organizations capitalize on their cloud initiatives.” —Mike Walkey, channels and alliances chief, Veritas Technologies
