To harness industry change and secure long-term progress it is imperative for resellers and MSPs to reimagine their business communications and GTM approaches, writes Andy Smethurst, Channel Sales Director, Gamma (Comms Vision Platinum sponsor). Here, he identifies the critical priority areas for channel firms to consider and shares insights into the strategic interventions that could have the biggest impact on driving sustainable growth.
Balancing today’s strategic priorities means looking at the market and its many opportunities and challenges through a multifaceted lens, which calls for fresh thinking and holistic decision making. Consider this: Businesses are navigating a complex mix of emerging technologies, cybersecurity concerns and the need for agility in a rapidly changing environment. They are also facing into challenges and opportunities around digitalisation, customer engagement, cloud transformation and grappling with what AI means for them, alongside 5G technologies and the IoT – as well as ongoing efforts around sustainability. End users lack the expertise to fully understand and implement these solutions. Therefore channel partners will be increasingly required to educate customers on the value, capabilities and best practices of these newer technologies. Understanding these drivers and how they will shape end user tech requirements over the next three to five years is going to be crucial to the future success of MSPs and their revenue models.
MSPs are already seeing customer revenue models differently. Gone are the days of selling ‘things’ on a contract period. MSPs are now on a consultative journey, constantly sharing solutions and services that could benefit customers. So channel partners need to become trusted advisors, helping end users understand which technologies align best with their strategic goals; while advising how to integrate systems as seamlessly as possible, often with the adoption of hybrid or multi-cloud environments taking into account security and compliance. This way, channel partners can help businesses solve complex problems with comprehensive solutions, rather than just sell products.
A key question for MSP to ask is whether they are keeping up with technological advancements in their portfolio. And with ever greater importance placed on the integration of these technologies, along with scalability and personalised solutions, are MSPs mindful of the opportunity to keep customers supply chains trim? These questions should also be considered in the wider context of the increased emphasis on security and sustainability.
With all this comes a need for upskilling, talent acquisition and talent management. A supplier’s role is to offer comprehensive and ongoing training, whether that’s webinars, online courses, hands-on workshops or accreditations that can help partners differentiate. MSPs and resellers should also weigh up the quality of partner portals and the resources available to them, including product documentation, case studies, competitive analysis and marketing materials. Suppliers also need to work with channel partners to feed into product development as they are the ones engaged with customers. This can be done directly or through creating forums and communities between supplier and partner experts for sharing feedback and knowledge.
Another question resellers and MSPs should address is the extent to which business and industry transformation is being driven by emerging technologies rather than more mature products and services. Gamma believes that emerging technologies are driving change but still very much in conjunction with mature products and services. Technologies like AI, 5G and IoT are pushing the boundaries, changing business models, enhancing customer experiences and driving efficiencies. But they need to be integrated with the more mature technologies that are foundational for stability, scalability and security. Therefore successful business transformation is reliant on potential synergies between emerging and mature technologies and how MSPs help organisations to successfully balance their adoption.
Time to embrace new technology
The channel needs to embrace emerging technology now to meet customer demands, drive new revenue streams and remain competitive. Moreover, end customers will increasingly seek solutions that will give them an edge, so MSPs that evolve will stay relevant. Those that stick to their traditional approaches could see their customers migrate to more forward-thinking providers. The good news is that most MSPs have embraced cloud solutions and many have invested heavily in improving automations. Understanding what AI means for them, and possibly branching out into areas like cybersecurity and the IoT are other ways of entering the emerging tech landscape. The key is to expand into these technologies strategically by starting small, recruiting the capability or making small acquisitions that provide those skill sets and capabilities (while aligning new services with the needs of your existing customer base).
Successful business transformation is reliant on potential synergies between emerging and mature technologies and how MSPs help organisations to successfully balance their adoption
This also means keeping tech stacks under constant review, and strategic partnerships play a huge role in this process, allowing MSPs to expand portfolios, share risk and innovate. By staying agile, forward thinking and collaborative MSPs can maintain their relevance and drive success. In summary, this winning formula prioritises a mix of customer-centric support, the adoption of emerging technologies, optimising operational efficiencies, making the right decisions on strategic partnerships and developing (or acquiring) talent.
Another big challenge facing resellers and MSPs is combating commoditisation through the right technology and GTM approaches. In fact it’s the biggest challenge. But it can be achieved by leveraging newer technologies and being innovative with go-to-market strategies – both of which will help to differentiate, increase value and margins. A good starting point is operating in niche markets or verticals, honing in on specific solutions that solve specific challenges within those verticals. Bundling services into tailored solutions can make it harder to be compared to on price alone. And proactive, verticalised customer engagement with commercial innovation means resellers and MSPs become more of a partner than a provider.
A relatively novel and fairly new commercial model can involve outcome-based pricing. For example, charging based on up-time, proven cost savings through cloud adoption or increased turnover metrics. These all serve to underline the value delivered rather than simply the cost of the service, which strengthens the MSP and customer relationship, helping to maintain pricing power, combat commoditisation, while driving sustainable growth in a competitive marketplace.
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