15 Big Tech Trends for ᾽15

15 Big Tech Trends for ᾽15

It’s rather mind-blowing to think about the number of significant technology developments that are completely changing information and communications technology for businesses and, in turn, the business of ICT. As part of our Big Think issue, here are 15 for ’15.

The “Internet of Things,” or IoT, is big. As in huge. That’s why it’s dominating conversations in the channel. Considering IoT’s revenue promise, it’s in partners’ best interest to figure out, soon, where IoT makes sense in their businesses. 2015 will prove the ideal time to do that, as the cost of sensors, processors and bandwidth goes down, and customers’ curiosity about IoT subsequently rises.

1. IoT: ‘The Next Technology Mega-Trend’

2. Wearable Tech: Not Just for Consumers

At first blush, wearable tech may come off as a fad for consumers, but enterprises view wearables as an important method for monitoring and tracking employees’ health, whereabouts and productivity. The overall enterprise wearables market will generate $18 billion in revenue by 2019, with North America leading the charge.

3. Branding Shift: Vendors Take a Back Seat

In the case of cloud services, the customer is unconcerned with what’s under the hood, just that the “car” will get them where they want to go. The trusted partner, then, is moving into the driver’s seat as the important brand.

More and more solution providers are starting to question the value of vendor certifications. The market moves too quickly for the curriculum to keep up, some insist. Others say the investments required simply aren’t worth it. Another gripe? Certifications reward those who can ace multiple choice tests, not necessarily those who can cobble solutions together in the real world.

4. Rethinking Vendor Certifications: No Badge Required

5. Partner M&A: Will Scale Finally Give Way to Scope?

The channel did engage in some M&A in 2014, but the activity came from like teaming with like. The benefits created more geographic reach, added headcount and combined similar back offices. What these unions did not do was bring together unlike-yet-complementary firms, such as a network services agent adding an IT specialist.

6. Partner Exodus: Bye, Bye Baby Boomers

Literally thousands of Baby Boomers reach retirement age every day. Among them are entrepreneurs that built the telecom and IT channels we know today. That’s one big reason why we predict that the channel will see some significant partner exits in 2015. The other, sadly, is an inability to pivot to the new style of IT.

7. Millennials Take Center Stage: Here’s Looking at You Kid

Members of the Millennial Generation are starting to take over from retiring Baby Boomers in droves. More than a demographic shift, the transformation is having an impact of tectonic proportions inside many organizations. Culture is a big reason.

8. Women in Tech Channels: Y We Need More Xs

Could 2015 mark the year the channel draws more women into the fold, and does away with the Booth Babe? Organizations including Women in the Channel, Cloud Girls and CompTIA’s Advancing Women in IT are working to provide mentorship, scholarship and outreach programs to women interested in beginning or retraining for careers in IT and channels.

9. Ecosystem Sales: Shortcutting Solutions Integration

Solutions providers are on notice to begin building a roster of partners that can deliver all of those services. But some are short-cutting the process by tapping into emerging ecosystems sponsored by big cloud vendors and service providers.

10. Born-in-the-Cloud Marketplaces:Reinventing Distribution for as-a-Service Delivery

Born-in-the-cloud marketplaces enable solutions providers to sell SaaS and, in some cases, IaaS through an Amazon-like storefront. Many even allow their marketplaces to be rebranded as customer-facing portals. In most cases, the marketplace handles provisioning and other heavy lifting so partners are free to keep doing what they do best: Sell.

11. Shadow IT Sales: Tapping Into Line-of-Business Buyers

By 2020, 80 percent of the money spent by business on information and communications technology (ICT) will bypass a traditional IT department, according to Gartner. Line-of-business executives or “shadow” ICT buyers are becoming important customers for many solution providers. What about you? Stepping into the shadow might be scary, but it will almost certainly be rewarding.

12. Thinking Vertically: Specialization Key to Differentiation

Many experts say successful solutions providers must be able to sell solutions that impact a customer’s top or bottom line. The best way to achieve this is to develop intimate knowledge of not only a customer’s business but his or her industry as well. That means developing vertical market expertise.

13. The Rise of the Virtual Enterprise: Here Come the 1099ers

A growing number of companies rely on part-time workers known as 1099ers because of the tax forms their get from employers at the end of the year. No one knows how many work in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, but they number in the millions nationwide and are helping small, nimble companies compete for bigger projects and deals.

14. Outcome-Based Compensation:

Getting Paid for PerformanceSome in the industry are suggesting that SLAs may expand to include business outcomes. What results would be measured, by whom and how are critical questions that must be resolved. Nevertheless, the shift — even in its current form — impacts partners from supplier selection to sales to operations.

15. Agent-VAR Partnering:Reaching a New Level

Master agencies are starting to partner with leading IT distributors to implement a one-to-many recruiting approach. All recognize two things: 1. the importance of connectivity to IT and cloud solutions sales, and 2. replicating a telecom sales (quoting and ordering) machine is not easy. It wouldn’t come as a surprise should one or more of these relationships go to the next level — acquisition — in 2015.

Thank you for viewing15 Big Channel Trends for ᾽15

• Visit www.channelpartnersonline.com/15for15 for more focus on the big ideas that are likely to have the greatest impact in 2015 and beyond.