This year alone, it’s predicted that 50% of enterprises will adopt a cloud-first strategy for their ‘big data’ analytics. Businesses are gathering, storing and relying on data more than ever before, so it makes sense that finding ways to control the cost and to achieve greater flexibility are becoming more of a priority for them.
And the proliferation of big data and cloud-based strategies is only heading in one direction – upwards. As the digital revolution gains momentum, data will increasingly be a driver of business decisions, giving businesses strategic advantage. And of the businesses already using cloud solutions, we expect that more and more will adopt all-in cloud strategies.
With this being the case, the critical role of data service solutions is clear. As a channel partner, the key to empowering the growth and success of your customers is ensuring you’re keeping up-to-date with emerging IT trends and providing best-in-class data service packages. In this blog, we’ll be looking at some ways you are able to do this:
Know your customer
It’s not only isolated to the rapid growth of the global data market, it’s also that more data means a more competitive landscape for channel partners when offering data service packages to customers. Giving yourselves an edge over competitors is therefore key.
One way to differentiate yourself is to make sure you really understand the nitty-gritty of what it is that your customers need. That way, you can offer them a tailored solution that stands up against the competition because it meets their requirements on a point-by-point basis. That could mean anything from offering SMEs a data service package that has just the right storage and security features to suit their individual businesses needs. It could also mean providing public sector companies solutions that are sufficiently resilient and reliable, helping them to improve the services they can deliver to citizens.
Whatever it may be, understanding those demands and being able to deliver against them is key to channel partner success.
Communicate your advantage
Knowing your customer and tailoring solutions to suit their needs is one thing – but being able to communicate your competitive edge is another. When it comes to selling solutions to your customers, it’ll definitely pay off to find out what’s most important to them and use that to your advantage in the sales cycle.
When communicating the virtues of a private data network, for instance, the ease of installation will be a key selling point. Emphasising the advantages of working with a business-only network is another. Some businesses may not even realise that their bandwidth is being throttled by consumer use – nor will they understand the benefits of switching to a business-only offering. Highlighting this might just seal the deal.
Meanwhile, if businesses are undergoing company-wide digital transformation programmes, then working with an experienced multi-service provider will be reassuring. And let’s not forget price – because of course that plays a part. This is where the benefits of offering a converged solution can come into play. It’s about offering the right type of expertise, advice and solution, at a competitive price. Being able to get that balance right is the trick for channel partners when it comes to the future of data services.
Discover more in our eGuide What to look for in a data service provider?.
