Cloud Research Highlights Opportunities for Solution Providers

Positive trends seem to be a rarity in the business community this year, but according to the latest CompTIA research, the growth in cloud services is bucking the norm. Not only are solution providers overwhelmingly adopting virtualization in their sales portfolios, they are “eating their own dog food” and using it internally to help their own businesses.

As discussed at Breakaway at a press briefing, CompTIA research shows that in 2011 more than 41% of VARs/MSPs both sell and use cloud solutions, up significantly from the 15% response in 2010. That is a huge shift, demonstrating the rapid shift in consumer perception and opportunity for solution providers.

The numbers also may illustrate the urgency to protect their client base, shifting their business model and service mix to blunt the threat of large telecoms and direct market vendors that are adopting the cloud as part of their portfolios.

As of 2011, approximately 30% of solution providers sell cloud services but don’t use them internally, up from 22% last year. This shows that VARs want to benefit from virtualization in the same manner their clients do, enjoying greater platform mobility and the ability to update systems easily. Implementing cloud internally also helps providers understand issues and make changes that help them provide better support for their customers.

Your own IT services business is the best test bed for new technologies and delivery systems, and cloud computing is no different. That may be best illustrated with the survey results showing that just 16% of solution providers employ virtual services as an end user, which is a decline from 22% in 2010.

Finally, only 13% indicated they were not involved in cloud provision or use it themselves, a significant reduction from last year’s 42%. That’s a fast conversion and shows why if you’re still on the fence; time is running out to jump on board. Interested in learning more? Join the CompTIA Cloud Community or review the association’s research.