CLOUD
businesses on how expensive it is to maintain physical servers and data centres while emphasising how cost-friendly cloud-based solutions are. There is no worse frustration than being stifled by legacy technology as businesses work hard to maintain their competitive edge. “Resellers play a huge role in supporting businesses while they navigate their digital transformation strategies. Businesses need to be educated on the tangible benefits of using the cloud and this requires them to have the right knowledge on what the cloud will mean for their business. The benefits of the cloud range from accurate data analysis to produce customer insights, effective backups in the event of unforeseen circumstances, to fast system updates and infinite data storage. “Resellers and MSPs need to educate people on cloud technology, rather than just advertising and selling the services to people and businesses that may not necessarily understand how it works,” said Grindey. “By offering guidance, explaining cloud technology and demonstrating its benefits, resellers and MSPs could easily empower clients to make better and more informed decisions – aligning their needs with the right cloud solutions. “This approach would not only build trust but would also ensure clients utilise cloud services effectively for their specific requirements.”
security risk that cloud seemingly poses.” Smith added: “The resistance to it is not as high as it used to be. I think people are accepting that they should use the cloud. The big thing I’ve seen in the last year is people have tried to use it but they’re just not getting the value the cloud can provide. “They might have been able to do some infrastructure as code components, which is a core tenant of rebuilding infrastructure in the cloud. But they maybe haven’t understood why configuration management on top of that,
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is also then the next logical step. “When businesses are learning it
themselves, without bringing in the people that understand how to use cloud infrastructure, the value proposition is very weak.” Filling the Gap This knowledge gap is where the reseller market comes in. Although partners will primarily want to do some business, Rafferty said that this is an opportunity to educate businesses and build relationships by guiding them through the cloud transition. “For a lot of businesses, concerns around increasing costs can act as a deterrent for considering cloud-based services. This is particularly true for businesses that have tightened their budgets due to the current macroeconomic climate. “To address these concerns, it’s important for cloud service providers to educate
Steve Rafferty VP International
ringcentral.com
Cloud is gradually distancing itself from traditional virtual machines and virtual private servers and is now heading towards containerisation instead
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