Communication and collaboration technology will continue to help enable flexibility and productivity across organisations. But, in the future, this will also include greater access to automation and business process management (BPM) technologies, especially for SMBs, according to Giacom CTO, Steve Law.
Law said that the channel has changed because people have moved to the cloud, and puts forward his view of the future of MSPs.
“Even prior to COVID-19, there were many key reasons for businesses to consider a move to the cloud. For instance, flexibility and agility continue to be fundamental drivers for businesses to make this digital transformation, and this has only been accelerated by the pandemic”, he said.
“For MSPs offering cloud alternatives, it’s not just about meeting a client’s immediate cloud needs. Working with the right CSP will enable its partners to add valuable options to its portfolio and identify areas for improvement and further sales. CSPs can also offer MSPs and their client’s training and 24/7 support; access to a raft of cloud solutions, including backup and security; and these cloud offerings can significantly help to extend their business model, adding much needed new revenue streams”, Law said.
Clouds, it seems, are changing all the time. And, it’s the job of CSPs to work with the channel to help partners keep up to date with the latest technologies and ensure access to the latest products, training and sales collateral that will enhance their customers’ businesses, he said.
Law said that for many organisations, the desire to move fast is because of a need for business resilience and to stay competitive. This is especially important in today’s economic environment, where organisations focus on balancing a reduction of costs against managing operational complexity across their IT estates.
“As the uptake in cloud accelerates, organisations, especially SMBs, will start to explore how they can interlink various technologies via APIs to improve business processes and drive greater business value across their organisations. For example, linking accounting CRM and manufacturing systems and more. This automation of processes (e.g. BPM) presents a great opportunity for the channel to deliver more value”, he said.
The cloud isn’t just about keeping business information stored online – MSPs’ roles will change and they need to demonstrate how they can help customers to automate aspects of their operations.
“The opportunity for the channel remains in the cloud. But, in the future, MSPs will need to consider how they can derive profit from not just the fundamentals of cloud – e.g. voice, data, storage, collaboration, backup and security technology – but also through selling automation and BPM-based technologies, to help drive innovation, business efficiency and productivity across organisations”, Law claimed.
