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VIP Computers’ Duncan McAuley discuses the opportunities big data brings to the channel.
The channel should be looking to get revenue out of big data projects in the next couple of years.
Big data is a trend propelled by the tremendous volume of information that companies are collecting, storing, and managing.
The growth of storage is an issue being experienced by businesses of all sizes and increasingly many are turning to analytical tools that can help them mine customer trends and other valuable pieces of information.
Even small businesses have big data moments, they run out of storage space, they need more capacity, they want to use their data to make better decisions.
Therein lies the massive opportunity for the channel, helping businesses of all sizes find the right solution to manage their data, and refining it into actionable, revenue- generating intelligence.
The market is on the leading edge of the big data wave, which has the potential of being bigger than cloud computing in its scope and impact. Big data will be one of those mega IT trends that winds up being a gift to the channel that keeps on giving, through product sales, professional services and value propositions.
CHANNEL OPPORTUNITY
Although the majority of services and solutions currently available are aimed at corporates, most channel partners play a little further down in the market.
Not only do you need to define the proposition for big data and analytics for SMBs (and I do think there is a case), vendors still need to scale it down to a format and price level that makes it affordable and consumable for smaller businesses.
HOW TO GET BIG DATA AND GET SALES ROLLING?
So what is the opportunity for channel partners and where should you focus your efforts?
1. DATA CONSOLIDATION
Storing all that data is one thing; but actually doing something useful with it is another. Big data sales in the channel is likely to start with helping businesses to identify where their data is, and put it into a useable format to eliminate redundancy, optimise file systems and things like that.
2. HARDWARE SALES
Big data is likely to drive hardware sales at first. Managing and accessing massive amounts of big data involves storing huge files, creating long-term archives and, of course, making the data accessible.
3. SECURITY
Demand for big data-related security is likely to increase as well, as businesses need to be up to speed on security that provides access control, authentication, data encryption, intrusion prevention, auditing and regulatory compliance.
Duncan McAuley, is Purchasing Director of VIP Computers.
www.vip-computers.com
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