Many like to consider Canada and the U.S. as a single entity when it comes to economics and trade, as well as a number of other lifestyle and business considerations. After all, the two countries share similar lineages and inhabit the same continent. Of course, those who have spent time in Canada understand that it has its own strong political and economic identity, not to mention distinct provinces and territories, each with its own unique challenges and opportunities. It’s a beautiful country with a citizenry that, despite a mutual respect for the U.S., embraces its dissimilarities and stands rightfully strong on its own.
Of course, those differences may also help explain why there’s so much opportunity left for cloud providers. Canada’s adoption of these Web-delivered technologies has been strong, but a host of challenges appears to be impeding its acceptance and implementation. That topic was center stage at the recent CompTIA IT Services and Support (ITSS) Community meeting in Markham, Ontario, with three IT industry veterans sharing a wealth of research and ideas on the matter.
ITSS Canada community chair Chris Adamson, director of IT and professional services with Ricoh Canada, started the meeting by asking the audience of solution providers and vendors whether Canada was indeed lagging behind on cloud adoption. While some considered the implementation gap with U.S. businesses a real but minor issue, most agreed that leaves a lot of opportunities for a well-prepared and properly positioned IT company. Cloud computing is still a disruptive technological force in Canada and, as Adamson alluded to in his presentation, it’s a real point of attraction for businesses looking for a one-stop solution enabler. With the right skills and complementary industry partners, IT providers will have the ability to boost their implementations of these services and offer greater support to their business clients. While some might consider the Canadian market a bit behind the curve, capable VARs and MSPs see a larger opportunity ahead for capable cloud computing experts.
In his presentation, Brian Jeffries, the vice president of operations, global business services at Cisco, suggested we’re entering “what may be the most impactful transformation our industry has ever undergone.” Considering that 61 percent of Canadian firms rely on solution providers to support their computer systems (this according to CompTIA’s “State of Canadian Technology Adoption and the IT Workforce” survey), channel companies need to pay more attention than ever to their clients’ changing needs. Jeffries outlined the key business transformations over the past few years, shifting from a purely transactional IT procurement model (product and service sales) to today’s pay-as-you-go, no pre-commitment mindset.
In order to succeed in cloud services following that ideal, providers will have to develop, market, sell and install across the organization, involving department heads and a larger variety of decision-makers. Of course, they can change their minds and providers quickly if not satisfied under the pay-as-you-go model, so channel companies must do a better job of managing their customer and user expectations and ensure their satisfaction levels remain high. Client engagement and industry collaboration are crucial to cloud success. After all, if a business customer only utilizes a small portion of its license (user) commitment, future sales are sure to decline. Each provider organization has to determine its role in cloud services, partner with others to fill in any gaps and constantly review and adapt to meet the constantly changing needs of its clients.
Craig McLellan, founder of ThinkOn, used the meeting’s final presentation to address the key sales difference with these emerging technologies. He pointed out that end-users (including department heads and other non-technical decision makers) are bypassing IT departments to secure cloud services 65 percent of the time. That’s a major shift from how traditional solution providers sell their offerings, so they need to make fundamental changes in the processes they employ to close new business. Whether they retrain existing personnel or bring in experienced, recurring sales professionals, the key to success is to deepen their engagement with current and prospective customers. The providers who can position themselves as true knowledge leaders in cloud services are more likely to succeed, especially when their employees can converse in their clients’ business language and understand their organizational needs.
While several solution providers in attendance blamed Canada’s conservative computer mindset for the slower adoption of cloud services, the large geographic and cultural disparities between provinces and territories may also play a part. In a large country with a disparate group of business and compliance issues, unilateral market growth expectations are quite impracticable. The key takeaway from the Canadian ITSS meeting is that the demand and partner opportunities in the cloud are virtually limitless for the solution provider community. It’s a great time to explore the practice options for your organization and leverage the resources of CompTIA (training, education, business credentials, etc.) to construct a portfolio your customers can’t refuse.
Brian Sherman is founder of Tech Success Communications, specializing in editorial content and consulting for the IT channel. His previous roles include chief editor at Business Solutions magazine and senior director of industry alliances with Autotask. Contact Brian at [email protected].
