How The Channel Can Capitalise On The Massive Opportunity In The Cloud With App Modernisation & Hybrid Work Environments

CIOs and other IT leaders are still grappling with the fallout from years of rapid transformation. They were required to move quickly in response to COVID-19 to unlock remote work, drive cloud adoption, and focus on digitalisation. This has resulted in IT environments that have the right foundations, but need strategic direction to take advantage of the new digital opportunities moving forwards.

Therefore, there is a meaningful opportunity for further innovation and differentiation, and CIOs know this.. However, under-resourced and moving rapidly as they are, CIOs also need the support from their channel partners to fully capitalise on the opportunity.

Research from EDGE Research acknowledges this challenge: businesses of all sizes are prioritising security, digital transformation, and the customer experience. Furthermore, 76 per cent of businesses will be investing in application modernisation in the months ahead.

What this research shows is that having moved to hybrid cloud in pursuit of increased collaboration and innovation (or, at least, having planned to), enterprises are looking to their partners to build secure environments, scale and deliver agility.

ARN and Reseller News, in association with rhipe, will host two webinars to address these challenges and opportunities in June. The webinar Enhancing Hybrid Work: How Can Partners Commercially Capitalise hosted on June 7 is available to watch, will help partners understand the customer dynamics that are driving the IT opportunities. This session will explore in particular migration from on-premises to Azure Virtual Desktop environments, and how the partner can position themselves to win migration projects and drive deeper engagement with their customers.

The key areas that this webinar will cover include:

• Detailing updated customer priorities linked to hybrid work
• Outlining key customer challenges when maximising remote work
• Documenting commercial partner opportunities specific to desktop modernisation

Meanwhile, the webinar It’s All About The Application… Of Data that will run on June 21 will zero in on application modernisation as a key component of the transformation agenda, and help partners understand their customer’s priorities and challenges there.

The key topics that the webinar will cover include:

• Highlighting key customer priorities in the context of app modernisation
• Detailing the role of partners in meeting such increased demand
• Explaining best practice in creating commercial go-to-market strategies

The opportunity for the channel cannot be underestimated

Now is the right time to talk to CIOs about these subjects; the money and appetite is there, as is the sense of urgency.

Spending on IT in Australia will reach Aus$109 billion this year, an increase of 6.5 per cent from 2021, according to Gartner. IT services is the largest part of that spend, and Gartner expects that it will continue to grow to reach $10.5 billion by 2025. “Organisations are entering a new build phase as they accelerate the shift to digital business,” John-David Lovelock, Distinguished Research Vice-President at Gartner said at the time. “There’s a lot more to do and less time to do it, and they need consulting services to help them get it done in time.”

The story is just as rosy in New Zealand, where Gartner is predicting a 7.4 per cent increase in spending to NZ$15.3 billion. Here, too, services will be the largest segment, and particularly consulting.

It’s easy to understand why these numbers in IT services are growing so significantly. In addition to the drive to achieve a lot in a short time, as Gartner noted, there is a skills shortage sweeping both nations. According to recruitment researchers, Hays, 64 per cent of employers believe the tech skills shortage is impacting on the effectiveness of their organisation.

What is partly inflating demand for IT services is the lack of internal resources. Organisations of all sizes are turning to their channel partners for guidance across the entire adoption curve, from strategic advice to execution and management of solutions.

The drivers to Azure Virtual Desktop are numerous. From enhancing organisational security while enabling employees to use their own devices with a full desktop experience, through to capitalising on the opportunity presented by datacentre contract expiry for transformation, there is the understanding among CIOs of the benefits of making the migration. Where they often struggle is in understanding how to accelerate these plans, and this is where the channel comes in.

CIOs know what they want. The challenge and opportunity for the channel is in having the strategic, rather than educational, conversation with these leaders. The two webinars, hosted by ARN and Reseller News, and supported by rhipe, will help partners to articulate the strategic value and use cases of these solutions.

For more information, or to sign up to attend the webinars, click below:

Watch Enhancing Hybrid Work: How Can Partners Commercially Capitalise on demand now.

Watch - It’s All About The Application… Of Data on demand now.