These are the pressing question I'm asking of the channel in my last post for UCStrategies. This is a series I'm writing in support of the upcoming UC Summit 2012, which I'll be attending May 6-9 in La Jolla, CA. Can't wait!
I have no doubt that video is a driving force for UC, but I'm not sure the channel can really monetize it. However, by effectively supporting/enabling video, the channel can position themselves for bigger things with a full-featured UC solutions. That's what I have in mind for my post, and it's running now on the UCStrategies portal. As always, comments are welcome.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
State of the Cloud - Snapshot Survey
Independent analysts and consultants are hard to come by here in Canada, but long-time colleague Henry Dortmans is one of the best. He's from the technology consulting world, and has a deep reach into both the end user/IT community as well as the consultants and vendors on the solutions side.
Like me, he's got an endless curiousity about the bigger picture, and occasionally puts together a survey to take the temperature of the market on current trends. He just did one on the cloud, and I wanted to share the key takeaways with you here.
The survey audience was a mix of IT consultants, vendors and end users (mostly end users). He polled about 400 in total, and got a very respectable 25% response rate, so there's a credible basis for the findings.
He asked 3 simple questions:
1. Has the industry done a good job explaining cloud?
2. How difficult do you think it will be to implement cloud services in the coming year?
3. Is this an area where you think independent advice can help buyers?
Question 1 - explaining the cloud...
For this one, consultants and end users felt roughly the same - about half for each said NO. Suppliers feel a bit differently - only 25% said NO, and the rest said either YES or PARTLY. It's not a huge sample, but interesting to note that the vendors see this as less of problem than everyone else. Depending how you see things, perhaps this may be part of the problem - ?
Question 2 - difficulty implementing cloud
End users were definitely more apprehensive than either consultants or vendors - 45% said the difficultly level would be HIGH. For the other two communities, only 15% felt that way - and 25% of vendors felt it would be LOW. Again, there seems to be a disconnect between buyers and sellers, but we've heard that before.
Question 3 - can independent advice help buyers?
You'd think this would be a no-brainer, but hey, that's why we do research! Well, consultants sure thought this would be a great idea - 90% said YES - no surprise, right? Vendors were onside, just not as strongly - 60% said YES. However, the buyers - for whom this question was targeted - were the least supportive - only 30% said YES, and 60% said MAYBE. I was hoping the comments from respondents would explain their logic, but there weren't too many clues.
Sure makes you wonder, though. The sample isn't big enough to be conclusive, but it's too small to ignore, so I do think there's some credence to the basic findings. Regarding what buyers are saying, I'm thinking they're not sold on the idea of independent advice simply because they don't trust it. If so, there's a basic credibility issue that the consultants and vendors will have to overcome, especially since the cloud is so touchy-feely. For buyers used to dealing in hardware and physical network equipment, the cloud is all in their head - it's just so ethereal.
Another factor, of course, is the cost-benefit analysis. That independent advice won't be free, and cloud economics doesn't have much of a track record in our space. So, it's not hard to see how this added cost just might wipe out any ROI or TCO advantage that cloud could bring.
To wrap up, I've passed on most of the data highlights, but Henry's summary includes respondent comments for each community. The market researcher in me finds these the most interesting parts of the study, and if this is catching your interest, you'll feel the same. Henry will be happy to share this, so just drop him a line - dortmans@henrydortmans.com - and tell him I sent ya.
Like me, he's got an endless curiousity about the bigger picture, and occasionally puts together a survey to take the temperature of the market on current trends. He just did one on the cloud, and I wanted to share the key takeaways with you here.
The survey audience was a mix of IT consultants, vendors and end users (mostly end users). He polled about 400 in total, and got a very respectable 25% response rate, so there's a credible basis for the findings.
He asked 3 simple questions:
1. Has the industry done a good job explaining cloud?
2. How difficult do you think it will be to implement cloud services in the coming year?
3. Is this an area where you think independent advice can help buyers?
Question 1 - explaining the cloud...
For this one, consultants and end users felt roughly the same - about half for each said NO. Suppliers feel a bit differently - only 25% said NO, and the rest said either YES or PARTLY. It's not a huge sample, but interesting to note that the vendors see this as less of problem than everyone else. Depending how you see things, perhaps this may be part of the problem - ?
Question 2 - difficulty implementing cloud
End users were definitely more apprehensive than either consultants or vendors - 45% said the difficultly level would be HIGH. For the other two communities, only 15% felt that way - and 25% of vendors felt it would be LOW. Again, there seems to be a disconnect between buyers and sellers, but we've heard that before.
Question 3 - can independent advice help buyers?
You'd think this would be a no-brainer, but hey, that's why we do research! Well, consultants sure thought this would be a great idea - 90% said YES - no surprise, right? Vendors were onside, just not as strongly - 60% said YES. However, the buyers - for whom this question was targeted - were the least supportive - only 30% said YES, and 60% said MAYBE. I was hoping the comments from respondents would explain their logic, but there weren't too many clues.
Sure makes you wonder, though. The sample isn't big enough to be conclusive, but it's too small to ignore, so I do think there's some credence to the basic findings. Regarding what buyers are saying, I'm thinking they're not sold on the idea of independent advice simply because they don't trust it. If so, there's a basic credibility issue that the consultants and vendors will have to overcome, especially since the cloud is so touchy-feely. For buyers used to dealing in hardware and physical network equipment, the cloud is all in their head - it's just so ethereal.
Another factor, of course, is the cost-benefit analysis. That independent advice won't be free, and cloud economics doesn't have much of a track record in our space. So, it's not hard to see how this added cost just might wipe out any ROI or TCO advantage that cloud could bring.
To wrap up, I've passed on most of the data highlights, but Henry's summary includes respondent comments for each community. The market researcher in me finds these the most interesting parts of the study, and if this is catching your interest, you'll feel the same. Henry will be happy to share this, so just drop him a line - dortmans@henrydortmans.com - and tell him I sent ya.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Are your clients ready for video? Are you?
I've been on a video theme lately when writing about UC, and this one is my latest post for the series I'm doing on the channel for UCStrategies. Video poses all kinds of questions for businesses, and for VARs and integrators that are ahead of the curve, this is a great opportunity to add value.
My post is running now on the UCS portal, and once there, you're find lots of other fresh content focused on the channel. This effort is part of the lead-up to the 2012 UC Summit, being held a few weeks from now in La Jolla, CA. If you can imagine all the brainpower associated with UCStrategies in one place, that's what the summit is about, and you won't find a better place to immerse yourself in the UC of Things. It's invitation-only, but there's still time to be involved.
My post is running now on the UCS portal, and once there, you're find lots of other fresh content focused on the channel. This effort is part of the lead-up to the 2012 UC Summit, being held a few weeks from now in La Jolla, CA. If you can imagine all the brainpower associated with UCStrategies in one place, that's what the summit is about, and you won't find a better place to immerse yourself in the UC of Things. It's invitation-only, but there's still time to be involved.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Ready, Willing and Able - Keeping Up as UC Evolves
This is my latest UCStrategies post in a series focused on helping the channel sell UC. To sell UC, they need to know where the market is going, and how best to support the client. Easier said than done, especially if your forte is legacy voice. Things are changing quickly with UC, and if you don't keep pace, it's hard to add value and earn your client's business.
My post looks at three ways to keep the value proposition strong with clients, and you can read it here now. The series continues next week.
My post looks at three ways to keep the value proposition strong with clients, and you can read it here now. The series continues next week.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Adding Value - Don't Become Sanford and Son!
Just a quick shout-out for my latest post on the UCStrategies portal. This is part of a series I'm doing now that focuses on the channel and the challenges they face getting their clients to deploy unified communications.
Am sure you're wondering about the title of this post, so you'll just have to read it to find out. Let's just say that the "post-PBX" world will give rise to all kinds of new opportunities - some more glamorous than others.
Am sure you're wondering about the title of this post, so you'll just have to read it to find out. Let's just say that the "post-PBX" world will give rise to all kinds of new opportunities - some more glamorous than others.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
How you can add value in a "post-PBX" world
The term "post-PBX" world carries a lot of weight these days, and it's right up there with the "post-PC" world that Apple is leading us into. Change can be disruptive, and in the communications space, the thought of leaving the PBX behind is about as good/bad as it gets.
This topic has been on my mind for a while, and I just posted some thoughts about what this means for the channels who are trying to sell UC. Definitely a lot of challenges there, but I see a pretty exciting opportunity, and for that, you need to hop over to the UCStrategies site, where my latest contribution is running now. Go!
This topic has been on my mind for a while, and I just posted some thoughts about what this means for the channels who are trying to sell UC. Definitely a lot of challenges there, but I see a pretty exciting opportunity, and for that, you need to hop over to the UCStrategies site, where my latest contribution is running now. Go!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Mobility and UC – the Power of Any Place, Any Time
If you've been following me closely, you'll know I've got some new writing gigs going. One of these is for the CIO Collaboration Network, which just got started. I'm writing two posts a month for them, with the first couple done now - here and here - along with one post that runs exclusively on their portal.
So, I'm posting here for two reasons. First is to let you know that my first post is running now on the portal, and second is to steer you there to become familiar with the community they're building now. It's pretty good, and colleague Dave Michels is the Community Manager, so we're in good company.
If you're not there yet, my post is about the value that UC brings to making mobility a rich enabler for collaboration. That's a lot of ideas is one space, so give my post a read to see how I pull them together.
So, I'm posting here for two reasons. First is to let you know that my first post is running now on the portal, and second is to steer you there to become familiar with the community they're building now. It's pretty good, and colleague Dave Michels is the Community Manager, so we're in good company.
If you're not there yet, my post is about the value that UC brings to making mobility a rich enabler for collaboration. That's a lot of ideas is one space, so give my post a read to see how I pull them together.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
RSS Feed
