How Cloud-Based Applications And Services Can Grow — And Protect — Your Business
In this exclusive interview with Business Solutions, David Byrd, CMO and VP of Operations for CloudRoute, lists benefits of delivering cloud-based applications and services, and also explains why this may be necessary to protect your IT solutions provider business.
BSM: What are the benefits of delivering applications and services via the cloud?
Byrd: IT solutions providers can gain many benefits by adding cloud based applications and services to their portfolios. The first of these is defensive. As businesses continue to transition such applications and services to the cloud, IT solutions providers without a cloud offering will lose the business. While on-premises sales will continue, the size of the market is getting smaller. Without change, legacy equipment, application, and service strategies will fail. Conversely, those IT solutions providers that add cloud apps and services will quickly discover new revenue opportunities in migration, integration, and customization services.
Businesses need IT professionals to assist in analyzing existing environments in determining what changes or upgrades need to be performed. User profile information such as passwords and preferences have to be collected and used to configure new cloud environments. Transitioning to the cloud for most applications does not remove the requirement to continue security reviews, desktop/laptop computer management, network management, and device management. By embracing cloud applications, IT solutions providers have the potential of growing their customer base and revenues. Standing pat will only result in extinction.
BSM: Can you explain the potential for growing IT solutions providers’ customer bases? Is this due to the demand for cloud applications and services or the IT solutions providers’ ability to service more clients — or both?
Byrd: Both. The demand for migrating IT infrastructures to the cloud is growing faster for the existing capacity. And the time to activate cloud services is much less than that required to install, debug, and activate on-premises solutions. This frees up resources to pursue and engage new opportunities more quickly.
BSM: Is recurring revenue inherent with delivering these applications and services, and if so, how?
Byrd: Yes. Current public and hybrid cloud models have monthly recurring revenue as their foundation. While most services revenue is non-recurring or one-time, recurring revenue opportunities exist for user management, network monitoring, security reviews, and other virtual CIO activity/responsibilities.