A CompTIA channel study has found that resellers are clearly aware of the benefits of getting involved with technologies like IoT, 5G and AI because of the margins.
The report found that many are already selling in those categories or internally testing to make sure they can provide them to customers soon.
But more would be confident getting involved if they had more skilled staff. Neartly 40 percent of those surveyed by CompTIA admitted that the need for technical training was a hurdle they had to get over and 35 percent reckoned that hiring staff with the right skills was a major challenge.
CompTIA senior director of industry analysis, Carolyn April, said most channel firms see major potential in emerging technologies.
“In many instances it remains a slow, iterative process for technology providers and customers alike. But more than half of the channel companies say they’re selling at least one category of emerging tech to customers today. Customers are eager to take advantage of this new crop of technologies as a way to drive their own revenue growth or streamline their operations. Many are turning to their current tech providers to help them get there.”
One of the reactions to the skills problem has been for a higher level of cooperation between resellers and some of those non-traditional channel players that have found themselves being called on to sell stuff, including accounting firms, law practices and digital marketing agencies.
“These arrangements help fill gaps in skill sets or solutions portfolios, mitigate technical complexity that prevents some companies from entering new markets, and enable an easier entry into the emerging tech arena”, said April.
