As the business world continues to move to the cloud from on-premises offerings, there has been an emergence of a new entity that makes a company’s move to the cloud easier and more profitable. This entity, the cloud broker, has become a valuable asset in the technology world, using insight to create a customized offering that undoubtedly improves results. Learn more about the cloud broker and the impact on small and mid-market businesses from InCloud360.
What is a Cloud Service Broker?
Gartner defines Cloud Services Brokers as an intermediary in cloud computing. CSBs make it easier for organizations to consume and maintain cloud services, particularly when they span multiple providers. But how are these intermediaries and value-added resellers changing the business world?
The Importance of Cloud Service Brokers
The increasing importance of the cloud services broker marks a new era of information technology service providers evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of technology infused enterprises. According to Protograde Group market research analyst Steven Barberi, cloud service brokers are set to create a market that should exceed $100 billion by 2015.
Micheal Cohn, SVP Marketing at Cloud Sherpas, recommends that cloud services brokers are a recent advancement of information technology, as resellers and systems integrators fuse to provide more value to the customer. “The need for a channel has existed since the beginning of IT,” Cohn states. “The role we play is changing as IT moves from on-premise and data centers to the cloud.”
For example, an enterprise is functional to protect the cloud, and provides a customized product per the customer’s needs and specifications.
Consequently, a Service Broker integrates and incorporates several products to bolster a customer’s cloud protection. The broker adds value to the cloud offering by:
- Lowering Costs
- Increasing the speed of deployment
- Providing Sector expertise and insight to the Enterprise
The Future of Cloud Services Brokers and Information Technology
Garrett Heath, research analyst at BDE Associates stated that
“Information technology professionals and chief information officers are increasingly discovering that modern organizations are employing a larger quantity of cloud based applications that are not specifically authorized by their information technology teams. Furthermore, the rapid increase in cloud computing in general, will help cloud service brokers grow in adoption, as every service, and user, requires cloud service brokerage. In the customer’s perspective, leveraging a middleman to gain intelligence for services discovery is a great value addition. Furthermore, the capability to ensure high service levels to increase channels and partnerships.”
Daryl Plummer, Chief Gartner Fellow, believes that cloud service brokerage is the single largest revenue growth opportunity in cloud computing, bar none. Plummer questions however, “We often talk about clouds, but how often do we talk about stitching it all together? There’s really only one public cloud… But cloud services certainly don’t act like it. They act like a bunch of different providers. How do you make them all work together?”
Jonathan Hutchinson, a cloud analyst at the consulting firm Signal Partners, states
“A broker has many parts to it beyond simple reselling. Brokers should also look into services such as software development, software architecture analysis, and support. A broker must provide indispensable service, so that engineering teams find direct development value in their services, which can then spur brand loyalty.”
In conclusion, cloud service brokers can prove to be very valuable to businesses worldwide. Cloud Service Broker provide a wealth of knowledge derived from experience, and help companies set up and implement cloud infrastructure and customized solutions efficiently. As a provider of services and value-added training and implementation, InCloud360 is pleased to share this article from HostReview author Lauren Ellis about the emergence of cloud services brokers in the technology world.
We welcome you to learn more about the scalable cloud service built to integrate with many other applications on the public cloud—Intacct—by reading through the following resources:
- Guide to Cloud Information Technology [Whitepaper]
- Pros and Cons of Software Delivery Models
- Things you need in a Cloud Service-Level Agreement
- A Brief History of Cloud Computing
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