2024 PREVIEW
Mike Barron , managing director UK, SYNAXON We are optimistic about the year ahead – for our own business and for our partners. We grew significantly in 2023 and we have
saw increased use of our SYNAXON Hub distribution business and EGIS stock checking and order management system as partners worked harder than ever to seek out the right products and availability. We fully expect the appetite for those services to be even more voracious in 2024. Everyone wants to see some sort of economic recovery this year. As and when that happens it will certainly feed through in the form of higher spending on IT. Yes, there is a lot of excitement around AI and machine learning and while that will potentially bring some big advances in intelligent automation and processes, the real benefit of AI for the channel is the enthusiasm and interest it’s generating in new technology.
ambitious targets for 2024. We expect to see the channel’s move to managed
services and the cloud, and to subscription and consumption-based business models continue. We are also expecting a revival in the hardware market. There’s a whole load of potential for partners – from migrating servers and workloads to the cloud, switching to a managed desktop, or to a managed service for security and backup, to simple PC upgrades. Whatever the product or solution, to compete and win business, partners need a fast, reliable service and competitive prices from their supplier. Last year we
Mike Barron
synaxon-services.com
Geoff Greenlaw , VP, EMEA & LATAM channel sales, Pure Storage We’ll see strong, continued growth in
covering energy-efficiency, capacity density, and data loss protection are now crucial factors in subscription adoption, and this trend will continue in 2024 and beyond. In addition, the tech sector skills shortage will worsen in 2024, driven by increased demand and competition for technology specialists, resulting in demand for higher wages. This will put further pressure on businesses, creating a situation where they must pay over the odds to secure the skilled labour they need. As a result of this, there will be increased demand for managed services to ensure efficient, SLA guaranteed operations, despite labour shortages. The skills shortage will also impact on how the channel embraces AI for their own business as well as selling AI technologies to customers. Customers want to engage with AI services, but many don’t currently have the data scientists to make those investments. The channel needs to better establish what their value proposition is around AI and what it means to potential customers. In 2024, I believe we will see more emphasis on the channel investing in AI training and education, to bridge the skills gap through consultancy. Provided they are willing to invest and learn, channel partners can ride the AI wave, rather than be left behind.
demand for subscription services in 2024, as the move from Capex to Opex gains momentum. A key driver for this is the current economic conditions, which are some of the tightest the industry has experienced since 2008. At present, it’s common for companies operating in the channel to be asked for letters of credit or bank guarantees when transacting business, which demonstrates the pressure on cash in the system – a situation that will continue in 2024 and even 2025. Moving to Opex via subscription services makes a lot of sense and provides an instant remedy to cash flow issues in the channel. Channel partners that embrace this trend will be the ones that see the most success. However, there is a big caveat. Subscription services will only do well if they are properly supported by a robust set of relevant SLAs and guarantees. We’re now entering a new phase in technology procurement where SLAs are becoming differentiators and, in many cases, the ultimate decider in purchasing decisions. Companies that are leaders in their sectors are recognising this shift and making innovative leaps forward by ensuring that their SLAs are tied directly to customers’ C-level priorities. For example, in the data storage space, SLAs
Geoff Greenlaw
purestorage.com
www.newsinthechannel.co.uk
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