Service Provider Insider

The Second Round

I think I've made my thoughts about  IT service providers pretty clear.

Many of us believe that there will be a fundamental shift in IT consumption, from "IT as products" to "IT as a service".  As a result, there will be a new cadre of service providers who will cater to this fundamental shift.

We, as EMC, intend to be the #1 provider to service providers.  To do this, we need more than great products and services -- we need to be business development partners as well.

And, over the last few weeks, I was fortunate to participate in a handful of "second round" discussions with more than a few of our service provider partners.  It was fun.

From Vendor To Partner To Consultant

Sorry about not updating this blog more frequently.  Plenty to talk about, just a scarcity of time when I can gather my thoughts and write them down.  I suppose being so busy is a high-class problem to have.

I thought I'd reflect a bit on the journey I and EMC have been on with regards to this important new category of industry players.  

And I think we're beginning to reach a new plateau.

EMC and Service Providers: A Strategic Overview

As we invest more in learning to understand the newer generation of IT service providers, we're getting far more crisp in our story and our approach.

Previously, I offered up a bottoms-up tour of relevant EMC technolgy and offerings.

This time, I'd like to take you through a more top-down business-level view of the discussion.

From Reseller To Solution Provider To Service Provider

Like many of my brethren, I have been somewhat neglectful in updating this blog.  

There's been plenty to talk about, but just not enough time to write it all down.

Having just returned from EMC's North American Partner Council (see this related post), I was struck by just how many of our partners are now adding a distinct service provider component to their business mix.

And I think we'll see much more of that in the future.

If I Was Starting A New Business ...

I'd certainly take a hard look at creating a new SP that focused on "security as a service".

For me, it looks like the perfect opportunity:

• a growing challenge that can't be ignored
• a topic that strongly favors specialists vs. generalists
• literally thousands of IT organizations that know they have a problem, but haven't figured out how to close the gap
• powerful new enabling technologies from RSA and others
• a demonstrated willingness of enterprises to "risk shift" to outside providers.
• moderate cost of entry, clear opportunity for efficient GTM through partners
• not dominated by a cost-reduction theme

For more, please see my most recent security post on my other blog.

Food for thought :-)

The Interesting Dynamics Of "Trading Up"

"The legacy" is the 800 pound gorilla that's at the core of any serious enterprise IT transformation discussion.  

People want to move forward, but what about the legacy?

I've now met more than a few service providers that are currently impaled on the horns of this exact same dilemna that their traditional enterprise IT brethren face.

They understand their existing model quite well -- pros and cons.  But, at the same time, there's a growing realization that a new model is needed -- one that isn't a mere variation on the existing theme.

And, as I watch these discussions unfold, it's less about vendors like EMC, and more abou overall business strategy -- especially if we're considering a growing and thriving SP.

A New Meaning To "Cloud Bursting"?

One of the more interesting things that happen this week is Equinix guided a tad lower for revenue, and you would have thought the investment community thought the world was ending.

More than a billion bucks wiped off their market cap.  Big dives in VMW and related stocks.  All sorts of commentary that the "cloud bubble has popped".

Not exactly what I think people meant when they were discussing "cloud bursting" :-)

Orange And The Model For Next-Generation SPs

This week's SP-related news was pretty big: Orange Business Services announced their "Flexible 4 Business" cloud services, based on VMware / Cisco / EMC technologies.

The relationship was positioned as a "business alliance".  Some said that seemed a big vague and wishy-washy, but -- actually -- it's a very accurate and insightful characterization.

Because -- at the end of the day -- isn't that what it's all about?

The Innovator's Dilemma Applies To SPs, Too

If you're a student of the IT industry, you're probably familiar with Clayton M. Christensen's famous book "The Innovator's Dilemna".

In a nutshell, his observation is that the same forces that make companies big and successful can also effectively insulate them from new opportunities -- and make them blind to newer competitors who are playing by a completely different set of rules.

If for some reason you haven't read it yet, perhaps you should.  It accurately describes a pattern of change and innovation that you'll see played out over and over again -- once you've learned to recognize it.

Enhancing SP Value Propositions By Expanding Delivery Options

Wow. EMC is up to a lot these days. 

I try to stay ahead of all the different offers and permutations as part of my role here, but I still get occasionally surprised. 

Just today, I chanced across an interesing EMC customer deck that seemed to illustrate an important dynamic in the emerging SP opportunity: the importance of multiple delivery options to enhance your overall value proposition.