https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Strategy


Opportunity Billboard

Significant Enterprise Shift to Off-Premises IT and Data Initiatives Ahead

  • Written by Lynn Haber
  • January 22, 2018
451 Research points to investment areas for IT executives, and opportunity avenues for partners.

IT executives are more fired up than ever about using public cloud and data initiatives to differentiate their businesses, according to a recent 451 Research survey. 

In its first-ever Voice of the Enterprise (VotE) Digital Pulse survey, released this week, 60 percent of more than 1,000 IT leaders surveyed report that they plan to run the majority of their IT off-premises by year-end 2019; that includes public cloud and SaaS. For this year, their top three IT initiatives are business intelligence, machine learning/artificial intelligence and big data. 

This quarterly survey signals where partners should focus their efforts. For starters, there’s the increasing importance of data-centric technologies. 

“Business intelligence and analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and big data, which emerged as their Top 3 IT initiatives for 2018, indicate expanded opportunities for associated products and services,” said Melanie Posey, research vice present and general manager, Voice of the Enterprise at 451 Research. Those include backup/recovery, cloud migration, performance monitoring, multi-cloud/hybrid cloud integration, and data protection/identity and access management. 

The growth opportunity around data is particularly clear, with almost 30 percent of organizations rating machine learning and AI as a top priority in 2018, compared with 12 percent of companies who use these solutions today. 

That’s not all. Posey sees new opportunities for the channel with Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS), which respondents rated as their most strategic technology suppliers. Thirty-five percent of organizations say Microsoft will be their most strategic partner by the end of 2019, compared with 33 percent today. While AWS garners only 7 percent of interest today, 17 percent say that the hyperscale cloud platform will tie in appeal with Microsoft in a couple of years. 

Microsoft and Amazon might win in the platform wars, but few organizations will make the shift to off-premises public clouds alone. 

“Organizations will need help getting there and managing workloads on those platforms, which is where the channel comes in,” Posey said. “Joint technology development and go-to market partnerships with hyperscale cloud leaders can help smaller-scale vendors benefit from digital or IT transformation.”

No surprise then that the largest spending increase in 2018 is for IT delivered as-a-service, which comes at the expense of traditional on-premises spend, according to 451 Research. Additionally, survey respondents plan to up their investments in information security. Sixteen percent of respondents, for example, say that security is getting the largest budget increase. 

The most surprising finding? The persistence of what Posey calls the “digital divide.” Almost two-thirds of IT executives have yet to develop formal digital transformation strategies. 

“Clearly, organizations face a number of organizational, cultural and technology challenges with regard to digital transformation,” she said. 

Those challenges provide an opening for partners to step in and till the ground for transformation, Posey says. 

A look at the top IT priorities in 2018 by ranking: business intelligence/analytics (45 percent), machine learning and AI (29 percent), big data (28 percent), software-defined networking (25 percent), containers/container management (23 percent), serverless computing/microservices (18 percent), blockchain (12 percent), edge/fog computing and biometrics (7 percent) each. 

While blockchain technology didn’t garner much mindshare this year, Posey expects to see interest shift from tire kicking to real deployment over the next year. 

“The survey suggests that many, but certainly not all, organizations are finally reaching the point where they can focus on endeavors that help differentiate the business, instead of merely keeping the lights on,” she says. “In 2018, we expect to see much of this effort focused around a new set of approaches to data optimization and analysis.”

 

 

Tags: Agents Cloud Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Strategy

Related


  • SMB cybersecurity
    Top MSPs on Avoiding the Next SolarWinds Hack, Best Preparing Security Clients
    Building on our MSPs’ ongoing cybersecurity flags, we checked back in to get a deeper sense of their concerns.
  • Telarus Vet Ends Short 'Retirement,' Will Lead PPT Solutions' Channel Sales Strategy
    PPT Solutions provides customer experience and contact center consulting services.
  • Alert symbol
    Cybercriminals Target Critical SAP Systems, Could Cause 'Halt of All Operations'
    SAP systems are a prominent attack vector for bad actors.
  • Email Security
    Cofense's Cyberfish Acquisition Creates Email Security Solution for MSPs, MSSPs
    Both Cofense and Cyberfish are focused on email security, but have not been competitors.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Cisco Survey Reveals the Biggest Challenges for Global IT Teams
  • SASE Takes: Service Providers Mull SD-WAN Complexity as Comcast, Versa Enhance AI Capabilities
  • New Cybereason MSSP Program Launches in North America
  • Marketing Agency Marketopia Continues European Expansion with New UK Facilities

Galleries

View all

10 Ways to Keep Customers Safe with Threat Protection by Year’s End

April 9, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

Why Every MSP Should Consider TCO When Selecting a BCDR Solution

April 9, 2021

6 Ways to Ready Your Customers for 5G Security Challenges

April 5, 2021

Endpoint Security Is Huge in the Merging New World of Work

April 2, 2021

Webinars

View all

Top 3 Intel Security Technologies To Help Against Advanced Cybercrime Attacks

April 15, 2021

What to Look For: 2021 Threat Report

April 22, 2021

Health Care and SD-WAN: A Seller’s Guide

April 27, 2021

White Papers

View all

Top Tips: How Resellers Can Leverage Rackspace to Enhance Customer’s Cyber Security Protection with Microsoft 365 Security

March 30, 2021

Top Tips: Optimize Your Microsoft 365 Investment with Rackspace Technology

March 30, 2021

The Smart Approach to Cloud Workload Placement Decisions

March 19, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

MSP Summit

November 1, 2021 - November 2, 2021

Channel Evolution Europe

November 30, 2021 - December 1, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

FASTCHAT: How Fortinet Reduces Complexity Through Networking, Security

Strong Customer Experience Needs Strong Partner Experience

December 22, 2020

Happy Holidays from Channel Partners & Channel Futures!

December 21, 2020

2021 Excellence in Digital Services Awards App Open

December 9, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

"Who could ask for more?? These guys bring an awesome energy and always highlight the need-to-know of the channel..… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 10, 2021
ChannelFutures

Anti-Asian racism, and racism and discrimination of all forms, have zero place in our society. #StopAsianHate and t… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

MSSP @inc_renaissance promotes Trish Kapos to channel chief. #cybersecurity dlvr.it/RxLQ6g https://t.co/oWCdHeRqIW

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@GetSpectrum ordered to pay @Windstream more than $19 million for deceptive mailer. #lawsuit… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@Percona says channel can help with #opensource solutions and #databases for everything from aspirational to must-… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

Our latest #Cybersecurity Roundup features @HuntressLabs on @Microsoft Exchange exploitation, @ptsecurity,… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@SemperisTech unveils first branded partner program. #cybersecurity dlvr.it/RxH4Bq https://t.co/TVjG8xhGNv

April 8, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@PerchSecurity announces its 2021 MSP Threat Report, calling on MSPs to build a mature cybersecurity practice.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 8, 2021

MSSP Insider

Business advice for MSSPs and news from the broader security channel.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X