Channel unable to cash in on cloud

The fast-paced evolution of the cloud is leaving the UK channel struggling to meet the fluctuating demands of their clients, according to independent research commissioned by IT services expert MTI.

The survey of UK resellers and service providers found that the most commonly demanded service from UK businesses is Infrastructure-as-a-Service(IaaS), with 77% of respondents reporting it as a top request from their clients.

Despite this high demand, less than half of these companies provide IaaS directly (44%) and just 22% can provide the service through vendors. Afurther fifth of the respondents (20%) revealed they might consider sellingIaaS in the next 12 months.

At the other end of the scale, nearly two thirds of respondents (64%) are seeing least demand for managed security services from their clients, yet three quarters of the resellers (75%) provide the service either directly or through a vendor.

Chris Roberts, Head of Channel Sales at MTI, said: “Our research demonstrates there is a clear contrast between what clients want and what resellers and service providers are delivering – either directly or through a vendor partner. This highlights the challenge that resellers are faced withwhere clients’ service demands can shift on a regular basis as technology evolves.

“It’s very difficult for resellers to be flexible enough to provide solutions as and when they come into fashion or when demand from clients peaks. Partnering with a services expert allows these businesses to successfully provide a range of solutions indirectly, without having to worry about providing themselves.“

The MTI research also found that nearly two thirds of UK resellers and service providers (62.5%) make at least 40% of their annual revenue from services, with most stating that services made up between 41% and 60% of their revenue.