Top 5 Distributors for Cloud Enablement
February 21, 2012
If distribution has an undisputed king of cloud computing enablement of solution proiders, it’s Ingram Micro.
According to the forthcoming Cloud & Technology Transformation Alliance’s (CTTA) State of the Channel Cloud Report, Ingram Micro led the field of distributors in enabling and supporting solution providers in reaching the burgeoning cloud marketplace.
When asked which distributor provided the channel with the best support for developing cloud practices and participating in cloud computing opportunities, Ingram Micro overwhelmed the rest of distribution with the endorsement of 26.5 percent of the survey participants. The next closest distributor, ScanSource, garnered only 7.8 percent of the channel’s preference. And ScanSource barely edged out Tech Data, which received the commendation of 7.2 percent of solution providers. (See below for the Top 5 Distributors in Cloud Computing.)…
Distributors have spent millions of dollars developing training, hosted services and enablement programs to ease solution providers way into the cloud computing era. Ingram has developed its cloud and hosted services offerings. Avnet and its SolutionsPath program is offering cloud training and professional services support to partners. Tech Data recently launched StreamOne, a service to make software acquisition in the cloud easier.
Efforts by distributors are having an impact. Solution providers say distributors as the second best avenue for adapting their businesses to the cloud era. The programs they offer are making it easier for them to understand cloud models, develop cloud services, gain access to technologies and hosting capabilities, and leverage professional services benches.
However, distributions’ overall role and value in this migration should be questioned as its second best by a long shot. Where 23 percent of solution providers say distribution is the best route to the cloud, 73 percent preferred working directly with vendors and cloud providers. Some critics say the cloud is disrupting the channel by making it easier for vendors to sell direct to end users. The same disruption can be said for distribution, as the cloud makes it easier for vendors and solution providers to cut distributors out of the value chain.
Preferences for working with distributors changed little between IT solution providers and telephony agents, which are working with distributors such as Ingram Micro, ScanSource and Tech Data in near equal numbers. Where the two channels differ is their alternate means for adapting to cloud computing. Telephony agents prefer working with vendors direct by 10 percentage points more than their IT counterparts. Conversely, IT solution providers are four times more likely to develop their own cloud hosting and delivery capabilities than their telephony peers.
The survey numbers shouldn’t diminish the role of distribution in enabling cloud computing in the channel. The reality is cloud computing is still in its nascent stages in the channel, and the majority of solution providers – IT and telephony alike – report their cloud initiatives are immature and developing. As more solution providers chart their cloud strategies, the programs offered by distribution are likely to increase in value and adoption.
The CTTA State of the Channel Cloud report was conducted in December 2011 and January 2012, with 419 solution providers, integrators, managed service providers, and telephony agents participating. The full report will be released at the Channel Partners Conference and CTTA Summit in Las Vegas, March 27-28. For more information about CTTA, visit www.cttalliance.com.
The Top 5 Distributors in Cloud Computing
- Ingram Micro 26.5%
- ScanSource 7.8%
- Tech Data 7.2%
- Avnet 6.6%
Synnex 6.6% - Blue Star 4.2%