Service Provider Insider

Creating A Supply Of Movable Workloads

There's a shift going on -- from workloads that are run in traditional enterprise IT settings, to workloads that make more sense to run using an IT service provider who's a specialist.

We believe that we, as EMC, can grealy help to accelerate this transition in a variety of ways -- by helping to create a supply of workloads that are ready to move to qualified IT service provider settings.

"How?", you might ask.

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" :-)

Another "Cloud Service Provider Report"

A bit of Friday reading for those of you who are tracking this space like I am.

Quick synopsis: EMC sponsors this report on SP market trends and adoption, but with a European focus rather than the traditional US-centric view.  The Aug/Sept 2010 issue can be found here.

Always a good read ... enjoy!

(Thanks to Richard Bradbury and Steve Toft of EMC for making this report available to the rest of us)

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?