Let’s look at three predictions pieces for providers I didn’t want to miss.
First, TechAisle with a top 10 predictions for 2022 – which actually has 13. It’s a good read, with some echos of my own predictions, particularly around cloud. I’ll highlight one in particular – Momentum will build for business outcome-focused IT consumption model adoption. Quoting the piece: “The business outcome-focused consumption model will provide a direct path to tying SMB IT investments to business objectives and value realization. The biggest driver will be connecting consumption costs to usage by giving IT services cost control to business management, managing the department’s costs. In addition, however, SMBs will seek supplier guidance to precisely define the value and benefits of outcome-focused solutions based on consumption agreements and cloud solutions.”
Next, Channel Insider published the Channel Outlook for 2022, focused around an interview with Forrester’s Jay McBain. Again, highlighting a single prediction around Modernizing Marketing. “Tech buying is changing, and so is the psychology, behavior, and journey of the buyers. Many business models are built around the Baby Boomer generation. Yet they are no longer where the money is. The majority of buyers will be Millennials within four years. They are the ones spending money – whether it is on houses, cars, childcare, smart phones, or IT services. And they want to use digital, not traditional channels. Therefore, those in the channel should review their existing models to see if they are clinging to ancient and time-honored methods that the younger generations have stopped using. It is time to freshen up the marketing and sales channels.”
Finally, out of CIODive, “Analysts estimate only 15% of IT spend is in the cloud, but 90% of businesses have implemented cloud systems. The mismatch highlights how much room there is for growth, especially around core app modernization. “
Why do we care?
All analysts worth highlighting. Some quick hit takeaways – TechAisle’s observation about supplier guidance is the trick. Providers can write their own rules of success – -customers want to know what business outcomes are possible, and will ask their providers to help with that. This should be a slam dunk – you write your own goals. I’m not saying it’s all easy, I’m just observing that when you can write the goals, it’s a lot more manageable.
Forrester is right here to focus on the changing behaviors of the buyer. I’ve harped on e-commerce before, because most providers are doing just what Jay highlights — clinging to ancient and time-honored methods that the younger generations have stopped using. Don’t be a dinosaur.
Finally, there’s a lot more cloud to go. Good news.