It will come as no surprise that we anticipate continuing — and explosive — cloud computing growth this year. What does surprise me is the number of resellers who remain unprepared to take advantage of this trend. As you hone your cloud strategy for 2012, keep in mind these four elements of a successful cloud plan.
1. Is your organization trained for cloud? Every person on your team must be ready and able to define cloud, and articulate the benefits of your particular cloud offering to your customers. Unsure how to tackle training? Most reputable cloud vendors, along with Ingram Micro, offer training geared toward setting your team at ease with the concept of cloud.
2. Have you overhauled your sales incentives? Not only is selling services and cloud computing a departure from traditional IT sales, you simply can’t incent your team the same as with hardware. Consider establishing a separate incentive and quota for selling cloud services, and pay upfront on the booking value instead of on the monthly revenue or margin.
3. Have you decided your role? There are two paths for cloud sales — a cloud broker or a cloud provider. The first entails partnering with a vendor and passing along its cloud service to your customers. The latter requires an investment into a cloud service that you will deliver directly to your customers. Look at your customer base, your own business, and pick a role before going any farther with your strategy.
4. Do you have the right partners in place? Regardless of your chosen cloud role, you need reliable and innovative vendor partners. You can gain a head start in this competitive market by leveraging vendor partners that have been vetted both financially and technically by an industry expert, such as Ingram Micro Cloud.
My best advice is to invest the time now to review your cloud preparedness level, and then continue to leverage industry partners to remain on the cutting edge of cloud technology developments as innovation continues around this game-changing technology.
Renee Bergeron is VP of managed services and cloud computing at Ingram Micro, overseeing such efforts as Ingram Micro Cloud. Monthly guest blogs such as this one are part of MSPmentor’s annual sponsorship program. Read all of Bergeron’s guest blogs here.
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Tags: Cloud Computing Strategies | Cloud Services Strategyes | Ingram Micro Cloud | Renee Bergeron
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Excellent recommendations, Renee. Thanks! I would add to #1 that resellers should take a hard look at their customer service and support operations as well. Chances are the move to the cloud will mean a shift in users they support, and processes will need to be modified. If this isn’t done right, resellers are in for a rude awakening.
I couldn’t agree more. Customer service and support processes need to be reviewed as resellers move to the cloud. Thanks for your comment.
These are very practical steps. The cloud broker or cloud provider is an important distinction. Thanks for sharing.
All,
As I watch the market emerge/evolve I’m still trying to better understand the differences between (A) cloud broker and (B) cloud aggregator. I believe the broker offers services from the aggregator… More thoughts soon.
-jp