Insights

The industry insights pavilion is dedicated to help you navigate the profound changes in the telecommunications and cloud channel over the past year. Explore the emerging business models and mergers and acquisitions landscape. Understand how the customer's buying journey has evolved and how you must evolve to keep pace. Join discussion forums and networking lounges to weigh in on industry trends, insights and ideas.

Cloud Conventions 2021
May 12-14

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Navigate the "Next Normal"

On Demand Insights Sessions

Sold! Breaking Down the Decision to Sell

Get an inside look fromTim Mueller from ITExchangeNet as he talks to companies he navigated through the sales process

The Changing Landscape of Compliance

Join Darlene Geller-Stoff of Compliance Point as she leads a discussion on what regulations to pay attention to and how to make sure you are compliant and protected.

The Secrets to Improving the Value of Your Company

If you have thought about selling your business, there are steps you can take now to improve the price you receive when it’s time to sell

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Network & Connect

Meet the Experts

Speakers and panelists joined the Meet the Expert lounges, available after sessions for attendees to take a deeper dive and join the conversation.

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The Networking Lounge

The Cloud Coffee Corner opened each morning and the day ended with a casual lounge & Comedy Night on Thursday.


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The Latest from Cloud Conventions 2021:

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Moving Beyond Owning the Relationship to Owning... Moving Beyond Owning the Relationship to Owning...

You’ve been getting commission checks for years and focusing your time on creating and building relationships with your customers. ...

May 13, 2021 Live Webinar
Live Webinar
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0 Live-Webinar-Live-Webinar jplist-topic-2021 jplist-topic-Altaworx jplist-topic-customer jplist-topic-relationship 05/13/2021 0 508585 508585

Moving Beyond Owning the Relationship to Owning the Customer

Live Webinar

You’ve been getting commission checks for years and focusing your time on creating and building relationships with your customers. However, ...

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The Secrets to Improving the Value of Your Company The Secrets to Improving the Value of Your Company

Look around the industry and you’ll find that more and more agencies, VARs and MSPs are now part of the mergers and acquisitions movement ...

May 13, 2021 On Demand Sessions
On Demand Sessions
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1 On-Demand-Sessions-On-Demand-Sessions jplist-topic-2021 jplist-topic-channel jplist-topic-VAR jplist-topic-msp 05/13/2021 0 508584 508584 Look around the industry and you’ll find that more and more agencies, VARs and MSPs are now part of the mergers and acquisitions movement in the channel. If you have thought about selling your business, there are steps you can take now to improve the price you receive when it’s time to sell. Join Curt Allen as he moderates a discussion with Matt LaHood from Clifton/Larson/Allen, the 8th largest accounting firm in the country with a specialized focus in the telecommunications and cloud industry. You’ll learn how to improve the quality of your earnings and raise the value of your business. Interested in learning more about Cloud Conventions Virtual Events? Visit Cloud Conventions » Want to learn about Convey Services Partner Portals? Visit Convey Services »

The Secrets to Improving the Value of Your Company

On Demand Sessions

Look around the industry and you’ll find that more and more agencies, VARs and MSPs are now part of the mergers and acquisitions movement in the ...

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Rolling up of the Channel – A Unique... Rolling up of the Channel – A Unique...

Steve Braverman, principal in EagleTEQ Advisors is no stranger to the sell side of a channel business after selling his agency, master ...

May 13, 2021 On Demand Sessions
On Demand Sessions
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2 On-Demand-Sessions-On-Demand-Sessions jplist-topic-2021 jplist-topic-EagleTEQ jplist-topic-channel jplist-topic-M-A 05/13/2021 0 508583 508583 Steve Braverman, principal in EagleTEQ Advisors is no stranger to the sell side of a channel business after selling his agency, master agency and achieving a profitable exit as a partner in a technology provider. Steve leads a panel of familiar faces in the channel who have also made the decision to sell their business, become part of larger organizations and become part of new channel business models. Steve moderates what will be a unique look behind the scenes as these long-time channel business owners reveal their thoughts on the current M&A environment and insights into how and when to make the decision to sell your business. Interested in learning more about Cloud Conventions Virtual Events? Visit Cloud Conventions » Want to learn about Convey Services Partner Portals? Visit Convey Services »

Rolling up of the Channel – A Unique Perspective of the M&A Environment for Agencies

On Demand Sessions

Steve Braverman, principal in EagleTEQ Advisors is no stranger to the sell side of a channel business after selling his agency, master agency and ...

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Sold! Breaking Down the Decision to Sell Sold! Breaking Down the Decision to Sell

The mergers and acquisitions market has never been hotter for the managed services provider, but many organizations think they are too ...

May 12, 2021 On Demand Sessions
On Demand Sessions
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3 On-Demand-Sessions-On-Demand-Sessions jplist-topic-2021 jplist-topic-sales jplist-topic-ITExchangeNet 05/12/2021 0 508582 508582 The mergers and acquisitions market has never been hotter for the managed services provider, but many organizations think they are too small to attract interest. Join Tim Mueller from ITExchangeNet in a conversation with companies he took through the sales process. Learn what motivated the sale, the biggest misconception about the sales process and now that the sale is behind them, what might they have done differently. Interested in learning more about Cloud Conventions Virtual Events? Visit Cloud Conventions » Want to learn about Convey Services Partner Portals? Visit Convey Services »

Sold! Breaking Down the Decision to Sell

On Demand Sessions

The mergers and acquisitions market has never been hotter for the managed services provider, but many organizations think they are too small to ...

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2021 Industry Trends – Moving from 2020’s... 2021 Industry Trends – Moving from 2020’s...

The past year, our customers had to pivot quickly just to keep their teams connected during the pandemic. As such, they did whatever they ...

May 12, 2021 On Demand Sessions
On Demand Sessions
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4 On-Demand-Sessions-On-Demand-Sessions jplist-topic-industry jplist-topic-trends jplist-topic-2021 05/12/2021 0 508579 508579 The past year, our customers had to pivot quickly just to keep their teams connected during the pandemic. As such, they did whatever they had to do just to keep their business’s going. At the same time, they were consumed with messages about technologies that enable people to work from home. But what happens now? Well, we've proven two things: the first is that we were all pretty effective working remotely and two, it's not likely we'll ever go 100% back to the way it was. So, what are the strategic decisions that business leaders need to make now to ensure that they're connecting employees and customers alike in an effective and sustainable way? Companies are now making decisions on their eventual return to the office and they're evaluating their long-term strategies around communications, collaboration, and IT support. With that, they're determining which technologies require investment and which ones require consolidation. Evolve IP is enabling employees to Work Anywhere with enterprise solutions that integrate Microsoft Teams, Digital Workspaces, and Contact Center. Please join Scott Kinka, Evolve IP's Chief Strategy Officer, as he walks you through the 2021 industry trends your business needs to consider to prepare your the "Next Normal." Interested in learning more about Cloud Conventions Virtual Events? Visit Cloud Conventions » Want to learn about Convey Services Partner Portals? Visit Convey Services »

2021 Industry Trends – Moving from 2020’s Temporary “fix” to a Permanent Remote Workforce Solution

On Demand Sessions

The past year, our customers had to pivot quickly just to keep their teams connected during the pandemic. As such, they did whatever they had to do ...

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The Lunchbox with EagleTEQ Advisors The Lunchbox with EagleTEQ Advisors

Interested in learning more about Cloud Conventions Virtual Events? Visit Cloud Conventions » ...

May 12, 2021 On Demand Sessions
On Demand Sessions
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5 On-Demand-Sessions-On-Demand-Sessions jplist-topic-EagleTEQ 05/12/2021 0 508578 508578 Interested in learning more about Cloud Conventions Virtual Events? Visit Cloud Conventions » Want to learn about Convey Services Partner Portals? Visit Convey Services »

The Lunchbox with EagleTEQ Advisors

On Demand Sessions

Interested in learning more about Cloud Conventions Virtual Events? Visit Cloud Conventions » ...

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Mutlek Amrov Mutlek Amrov

Senior Channel Manager at Converigia

Click here to request a meetingMutlek Amrov, is a Senior Channel Manager at Converigia, a Pan-American Value-Added Distributor for ...

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6 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-Converigia jplist-topic-mutlek-amrov 0 509913 509913 Click here to request a meetingMutlek Amrov, is a Senior Channel Manager at Converigia, a Pan-American Value-Added Distributor for connectivity solutions. Mutlek’s excellent support for his channel sales teams has been a key contributing factor in the rapid growth Convergia Channel Program.

Mutlek Amrov

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meetingMutlek Amrov, is a Senior Channel Manager at Converigia, a Pan-American Value-Added Distributor for connectivity ...

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Justin Cooper Justin Cooper

EVP, Customer Success & Product at Alianza

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7 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-Justin-Cooper jplist-topic-ALIANZA 0 510478 510478 Click here to request a meeting

Justin Cooper

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David Danto David Danto

Director of UC Strategy and Research Poly Director of Emerging Technology ...

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8 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-David-Danto 0 510473 510473 Click here to request a meeting

David Danto

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Mike Schmidtmann Mike Schmidtmann

Founder, Trans4mers

Click here to request a meeting Mike Schmidtmann has led Information Technology Sales Teams for more than ...

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9 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-mike-schmidtmann 0 509230 509230 Click here to request a meeting Mike Schmidtmann has led Information Technology Sales Teams for more than 20 years. He works with organizations throughout the United States to improve their sales recruiting, new business development, and profit growth. For the past six years, he has led the Trans4mers Peer Groups for Sales Leaders in the IT industry. Members of these groups consistently out-perform the industry in sales growth, profitability, and innovation. Mike produces the award-winning Trans4mers webinar series, and frequently writes for IT Publications on sales and automation topics. During the past 20 years Mike lead national and regional sales teams and recruited and hired more than 300 salespeople and 30 sales managers. Mike’s clients benefit from his extensive experience and the insight and proven results he has achieved. He expanded and led a five-state region for Strategic Products and Services as a highly successful Avaya Business Partner and received national recognition and numerous awards, including the Avaya Largest Competitive Win-Back of the Year in 2005. While serving as National Sales Director for Inacom Communications and General Manager of the Mid-Atlantic for Strategic Products and Services, Mike’s firm was ranked the Number One Telecommunications Reseller in the Washington Business Journal for three years in a row.

Mike Schmidtmann

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meeting Mike Schmidtmann has led Information Technology Sales Teams for more than 20 years. ...

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Rick Beckers Rick Beckers

CEO, XaaS1

Click here to request a meetingFor the past 35 years I have been designing, installing, and supporting computers, cloud, telephone, ...

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10 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-rick-beckers 0 503560 503560 Click here to request a meetingFor the past 35 years I have been designing, installing, and supporting computers, cloud, telephone, video surveillance, Internet-of-Things and all forms of business technology. And now things have evolved so that it is all available "As-a-Service. On January 1, 2019 I launched a revolutionary company, XaaS1, that provides all things "Technology-as-a-Service. It's a new Industry 4.0 era of digital transformation and I'm out in front riding the wave!Specialties: Cloud & Traditional Computer networking (LAN, WAN, & Wireless), Telecommunications, Analog & VoIP Telephony, Analog & IP Video Surveillance, Internet-of-Things, Technology-as-a-Service, & Outsourced CIO.Seeking board and advisory positions with progressive technology organizations. 

Rick Beckers

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meetingFor the past 35 years I have been designing, installing, and supporting computers, cloud, telephone, video ...

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Bruce Ahern Bruce Ahern

Chairman of Convey Holdings

Click here to request a meeting Bruce Ahern is an experienced marketing professional, focusing on high-level communication strategy, ...

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11 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-bruce-ahern jplist-topic-convey-services jplist-topic-cloud-conventions 0 509188 509188 Click here to request a meeting Bruce Ahern is an experienced marketing professional, focusing on high-level communication strategy, sales implementation and positioning for acquisition. Ahern’s experience includes the management of investor relations, M&A and corporate information programs designed to strengthen a company’s perceived value and market reach.Ahern is a respected author and publisher. He built a family of technical publications and is a frequently quoted speaker, commentator and industry analyst.

Bruce Ahern

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meeting Bruce Ahern is an experienced marketing professional, focusing on high-level communication strategy, sales ...

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Forrest Derr Forrest Derr

President, Altaworx

Click here to request a meetingForrest Derr is President of Altaworx, a state-of-the-art UCaaS provider and a fully Integrated ...

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12 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-Forrest-Derr jplist-topic-Altaworx jplist-topic-UCaaS 0 508502 508502 Click here to request a meetingForrest Derr is President of Altaworx, a state-of-the-art UCaaS provider and a fully Integrated telecommunication service provider of data, wireless and IoT connectivity. Altaworx provides business telephone service, hosted PBX, and IP data services to organizations across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Altaworx helps channel partners build their businesses equity value with innovative white label UCaaS voice services, LTE failover, SD-WAN products. Altaworx helps channel partners build their businesses equity value with innovative white label UCaaS voice services, LTE failover, SD-WAN products. We combine our white label products with a turn-key billing platform that allows our channel partners own their customers and build equity value. Forrest has been with Altaworx for almost seven years running technology, marketing, finance and automation. Prior to Altaworx, Forrest specialized in the office equipment industry in warehousing, technology infrastructure, and distribution.

Forrest Derr

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meetingForrest Derr is President of Altaworx, a state-of-the-art UCaaS provider and a fully Integrated telecommunication ...

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Doug Green Doug Green

Editor and Publisher of TR Publications

Click here to request a meeting Having recorded over 2,000 podcasts on UC, Doug is one of the most prolific podcasters and content ...

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13 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-Doug-Green jplist-topic-TR-Publications 0 509326 509326

Doug Green

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meeting Having recorded over 2,000 podcasts on UC, Doug is one of the most prolific podcasters and content creators in UC ...

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Curt Allen Curt Allen

Managing Partner, EagleTEQ

Click here to request a meetingCurt has deep experience on both the provider and partner side of the technology space with roles as ...

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14 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-curt-allen 0 503563 503563 Click here to request a meetingCurt has deep experience on both the provider and partner side of the technology space with roles as global channel leader for multi billion dollar public companies as well as leading one of the premier master agencies for 12 years. Curt also has a background in resale, wholesale, and whitelabel business in network, collaboration, UCaaS and CCaaS. Known as a dynamic channel leader and talented speaker, Allen excels at delivering data driven GTM strategies with specific and actionable tactics to execute that are supported and understood from the boardroom to the street. Allen’s areas of specialization at EagleTEQ are GTM, sales process, partner compensation, partner programs, routes to market, revenue and profitability growth, and team building/ development.

Curt Allen

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meetingCurt has deep experience on both the provider and partner side of the technology space with roles as global channel ...

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Craig Arends Craig Arends

Managing Principal- Private Equity Industry, Clifton/Larson/Allen

Click here to request a meeting Craig Arends is a principal at CLA and is the managing principal of CLA's private equity practice. ...

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15 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-Craig-Arends jplist-topic-Clifton-Larson-Allen 0 508739 508739 Click here to request a meeting Craig Arends is a principal at CLA and is the managing principal of CLA's private equity practice. Craig brings a concentration of experience in providing accounting and transaction structuring advice for leveraged recapitalizations, purchase accounting and SEC reporting, assessing quality of earnings, and GAAP accounting. He has far-reaching experience with critiquing financial models and reviewing target companies' financial performance to identify cost reductions and/or operating efficiencies Craig has more than 25 years of experience in public accounting serving public companies, private equity groups, and companies, including a term as principal in charge of a Big Four Capital Markets Group in Moscow, Russia. He has led financial accounting due diligence projects for private equity investor groups and venture capital funds, primarily in the technology, communications, and manufacturing industries, as well as assisting with Foreign Corrupt Practice Act matters ranging from investigation of payments made, validation of compliance with corporate policies, and review of proposed transactions to ensure compliance.

Craig Arends

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meeting Craig Arends is a principal at CLA and is the managing principal of CLA's private equity practice. Craig brings a ...

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Cardi Prinzi Cardi Prinzi

Partner, EagleTEQ

Click here to request a meetingIn a career spanning four decades, Cardi has gained a wealth of experience as a sales and marketing ...

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16 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-cardi-prinzi 0 508588 508588 Click here to request a meetingIn a career spanning four decades, Cardi has gained a wealth of experience as a sales and marketing leader for telecommunications and technology companies focused on the B2B market from SMB to Enterprise. He has had success throughout the US and Internationally in large corporations through early-stage start-ups - both public & private, and has been involved in multiple mergers, acquisitions, and integrations. Recognized as a thought leader, he excels in “connecting-the-dots” between product, marketing, and sales. His opinions on sales and marketing strategies are sought out by large service providers and technology distributors. His areas of focus at EagleTEQ are Go-to-Market strategies and tactics, international sales and marketing, accentuating unique value propositions, and organizational structure.

Cardi Prinzi

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meetingIn a career spanning four decades, Cardi has gained a wealth of experience as a sales and marketing leader for ...

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Scott Kinka Scott Kinka

Chief Strategist, Innovator and Founding Partner, Evolve IP

Click here to request a meetingVeteran commercial technologist with heavy experience in bringing MSP and cloud offerings to the ...

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17 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-Scott-Kinka 0 503568 503568 Click here to request a meetingVeteran commercial technologist with heavy experience in bringing MSP and cloud offerings to the midmarket and enterprise. Chief Strategist, Innovator and Founding Partner of Evolve IP.40 under 40 award Recipient in 2013, and Philadelphia's Top IT Innovator in 2014, Philadelphia's Top Tech Disruptor in 2017.Recognized Technology Expert having appeared on CBS and Fox news, as well as featured in USA Today, CIO Magazine, Business Week, and Inc., among others. 

Scott Kinka

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meetingVeteran commercial technologist with heavy experience in bringing MSP and cloud offerings to the midmarket and ...

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Scott Forbush Scott Forbush

Chief Revenue Officer of UPSTACK

Click here to request a meetingScott Forbush is Chief Revenue Officer of UPSTACK—the fast-growing platform that transforms the buying ...

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18 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-Scott-Forbush jplist-topic-UPSTACK 0 508501 508501 Click here to request a meetingScott Forbush is Chief Revenue Officer of UPSTACK—the fast-growing platform that transforms the buying experience for businesses seeking cloud and internet infrastructure solutions—where he is responsible for strategic revenue growth, platform adoption and leads the company's agent investment strategy.  A 25-year veteran of the telecom industry, Forbush has served in various executive sales and channel sales positions. Most recently, he was the Senior Vice President of Global Sales for Telarus, where he led the master agency’s six regional sales teams to impressive growth during his tenure. Previously, Forbush was Vice President of Indirect Sales at Zayo Group and Vice President of Indirect Sales at Electric Lightwave. 

Scott Forbush

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meetingScott Forbush is Chief Revenue Officer of UPSTACK—the fast-growing platform that transforms the buying experience ...

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Rob Molinaro Rob Molinaro

Senior Partner Development Manager, Telarus

Click here to request a meetingRob Molinaro became the Senior Partner Development Manager for Telarus in 2020, one of the nation’s ...

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19 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-Rob-Molinaro jplist-topic-Telarus 0 508719 508719 Click here to request a meetingRob Molinaro became the Senior Partner Development Manager for Telarus in 2020, one of the nation’s leading master agencies. Telarus holds contracts with the world's leading cloud voice, contact center, and cybersecurity providers to it easier and more profitable for trusted advisors to sell and source UCaaS and Contact Center solutions. The Telarus GeoQuote platform combines real-time carrier pricing with advanced research features and branded proposals. Telarus'​ experienced sales staff is strategically focused on enterprise WAN and high-capacity bandwidth solutions, making it easier to find the best offer, every time. Telarus has been named the top master agent by the members of the Telecom Association in each of the past three years, the first and only company in the carrier channel to accomplish this feat. In his position as Senior Partner Development Manager, Rob manages and grows an elite and strategic partner base including the recruitment, training and collaboration with partners affiliated with Telarus. He translates training offered by Telarus providers for partners to have the tools to identify services that will produce monthly recurring revenue and commissions month over month. Prior to Telarus, Rob spent 26 years serving as Vice President of Chorus Communications, Philadelphia-based technology consulting firm positioned as one of the largest master agencies on the East Coast.

Rob Molinaro

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meetingRob Molinaro became the Senior Partner Development Manager for Telarus in 2020, one of the nation’s leading ...

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Rickie Richey Rickie Richey

Founder and Visionary, Altaworx

Click here to request a meetingRickie Richey is the founder and visionary of Altaworx, a state-of-the-art UCaaS provider and a fully ...

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20 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-Rickey-Richey jplist-topic-Altaworx jplist-topic-UCaaS 0 508503 508503 Click here to request a meetingRickie Richey is the founder and visionary of Altaworx, a state-of-the-art UCaaS provider and a fully Integrated telecommunication service provider of data, wireless and IoT connectivity. Altaworx provides business telephone service, hosted PBX, and IP data services to organizations across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Altaworx helps channel partners build their businesses equity value with innovative white label UCaaS voice services, LTE failover, SD-WAN products. We combine our white label products with a turn-key billing platform that allows our channel partners own their customers and build equity value It is the Mission of Altaworx to have a meaningful impact on our clients and partners organizations by learning about the current state and their short and long-term goals. We assist them in finding the right technologies to meet those goals. We then put our 18 years of carrier service experience to work to help implement those solutions. These solutions include UCaaS, IoT (Cisco Jasper, AT&T Control Center), and Altaworx Catapult billing as a service platform.)

Rickie Richey

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meetingRickie Richey is the founder and visionary of Altaworx, a state-of-the-art UCaaS provider and a fully Integrated ...

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Mike Cromwell Mike Cromwell

Managing Partner, EagleTEQ Advisors

Click here to request a meetingMr. Cromwell works with innovative emerging technology solution providers who are laser focused on ...

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21 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-mike-cromwell 0 508587 508587 Click here to request a meetingMr. Cromwell works with innovative emerging technology solution providers who are laser focused on driving Digital Transformation of the Enterprise, as well as companies enabling channel partners, who are increasingly being entrusted by IT organizations to serve as trusted advisors to CIOs.During a 26 year career in technology sales, sales & marketing leadership and executive roles, Mike has led organizations ranging from head of sales & marketing at a $1.5B company to launching new business units. He led teams selling to & supporting nearly every customer segment, and through multiple sales distribution channels.Digital Transformation is driving innovation & an accelerating pace of adoption of emerging technologies such as SD-WAN, UCaaS, CCaaS, IoT, and Managed Security. With it comes increasing complexities for IT organizations, disruption to legacy tech companies, and an entirely new set of challenges to grow.Amidst the change & disruption, it is more important than ever for technology companies to be maniacally focused on customer experience, partner enablement, constant innovation, building a winning culture, having the right team in place, and most importantly the ability to EXECUTE.Through a combination of experience in leading organizations through insurmountable obstacles, business transformations, and building new businesses along with learning from some of the industry's top executives & thought leaders, he everages those real-life experiences to help technology companies and their distributors who are committed to transformational growth.

Mike Cromwell

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meetingMr. Cromwell works with innovative emerging technology solution providers who are laser focused on driving Digital ...

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Matt LaHood Matt LaHood

Managing Principal, Telecommunications Industry CLA Clifton/Larson/Allen ...

Click here to request a meetingMatt LaHood, Managing Principal, Telecommunications IndustryCliftonLarsonAllenMatt LaHood is the ...

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22 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-Matt-LaHood 0 503565 503565 Click here to request a meetingMatt LaHood, Managing Principal, Telecommunications IndustryCliftonLarsonAllenMatt LaHood is the Managing Principal for the Telecommunications Industry for CliftonLarsonAllen, the 8th largest accounting firm in the United States serving over 200K clients with 7,400 professionals in 120 locations. Matt became a principal of CLA after his firm Global Strategic Accountants in Alpharetta merged with the firm in November of 2020. In his current role at CLA and in his former role as CEO and Managing Partner of GSA, Matt focused his practice on the communications industry to help clients enhance their regulatory and tax posture, enhance the quality of their earnings and enable clients to increase growth and revenue.

Matt LaHood

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meetingMatt LaHood, Managing Principal, Telecommunications IndustryCliftonLarsonAllenMatt LaHood is the Managing ...

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Ken Bisnoff Ken Bisnoff

Founding Partner, EagleTEQ

Click here to request a meetingKen Bisnoff has over 30 years of experience leading high-performing organizations through periods of ...

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23 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-ken-bisnoff 0 508586 508586 Click here to request a meetingKen Bisnoff has over 30 years of experience leading high-performing organizations through periods of rapid organizational growth, industry change and sales-driven expansion. Repeatedly honored and recognized for his accomplishments and expertise in B2B sales, channel partner & marketing leadership, his ability to drive strong growth, profitability and process improvement was a key element in the growth and profitability of an industry-leader in the managed services and telecommunications arenas.Ken was a Founding Member of the TPx Communications (formerly TelePacific) executive team and played an integral part in that company’s explosive growth and evolution from small startup regional CLEC to billion-dollar national managed services powerhouse. He served as a Senior Vice President there for more than 22 years, leading direct and agent channel sales, Human Resources, Marketing Communications, Sales Compensation and Business Development efforts, among others. Ken also had responsibility for TPx’s M&A due diligence and sales force integrations as the company used that strategy to power rapid growth.

Ken Bisnoff

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meetingKen Bisnoff has over 30 years of experience leading high-performing organizations through periods of rapid ...

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Steve Braverman Steve Braverman

Founding Partner, EagleTEQ

Click here to request a meetingSteve has multiple successful start up ventures under his belt and is a born entrepreneur. Recognized as ...

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24 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-steve-braverman 0 503564 503564 Click here to request a meetingSteve has multiple successful start up ventures under his belt and is a born entrepreneur. Recognized as an innovator, visionary leader, and sales and marketing expert, he has brought and helped bring businesses to market that have changed the technology landscape and partner community. Braverman is sought out by leaders in the space for his "out of the box" thinking and ability to see problems from unique perspectives. His ability to break complex challenges into manageable and understandable pieces makes him the perfect bridge between executive leaders and the people who need to execute the plan. Steve's areas of specialization at EagleTEQ are GTM strategy, marketing and branding, M&A, revenue and profitability growth, and business planning, and channel programs.Most recently, Steve served as Co-Founder and President of Coeo Solutions, a geographically redundant, facilities-based telecommunications provider of SIP, SD-WAN and UCaaS services. During his time at Coeo, Steve created the brand message and marketing automation and built the indirect sales channel. He also helped implement the Rockefeller Habits,  guiding the company with a KPI focus and weekly huddles. Prior to Coeo, Steve was the Co-Founder and CEO of X4 Solutions. Responsible for day-to-day management and marketing, Steve grew X4 into one of the top 10 largest telecom Master agencies in the United States. In 2016, Steve led the sale of X4 to Sandler Partners, which created an unprecedented valuation for the industry.In his earlier years, Steve founded Telelink Communications which was the nation'sfirst Nextlink (XO) distributor. Telelink became a direct and indirect sales agency, representing more than a dozen telecom providers and 40 top PBX dealers. In 2004, Telelink was merged with two companies to become X4 Solutions. Steve earned a Bachelor's Degree in Economics Management from Ohio Wesleyan University, has served on numberous telecom advisory boards, is an active member of YPO and resides in the Chicago area with his wife and six children.

Steve Braverman

Speaker Profile

Click here to request a meetingSteve has multiple successful start up ventures under his belt and is a born entrepreneur. Recognized as an ...

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Tim Mueller Tim Mueller

Strategic Growth Initiatives and Operations, IT ExchangeNet

Click here to request a meetingTim Mueller is an American businessman specializing in the growth of technology and communications ...

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25 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-Tim-Mueller 0 503567 503567 Click here to request a meetingTim Mueller is an American businessman specializing in the growth of technology and communications companies. With a broad range of experience in corporate, early stage and government, he is best known for identifying next generation technologies, assembling teams to leverage these opportunities, and building cultures for success.Tim is the CEO of IT ExchangeNet, a marketplace connecting global buyers and investors with founders of IT-enabled businesses, as well as 3D ExchangeNet, a collective of global additive manufacturing leaders, 3D start-ups, and mature 3D print businesses.Prior, Tim was CEO and Vice Chairman of Phylogy, a Silicon Valley start-up offering groundbreaking broadband technology to telephone carriers globally. In 2010, Phylogy was ranked 243rd on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies in the United States. The company was acquired by Actelis Networks in March 2011.In the early 90s, Tim capitalized on the Internet's growing commercial applications as co-founder and CEO of Vantage One Communications, where he accomplished numerous "firsts" by uniting old school communications with the untapped muscle of the Internet. He was named Entrepreneur of the Year by USA TODAY/ NASDAQ/Ernst & Young in 1997, and received the Pillar Award for community service from SBN in 1999. After expanding nationally, Vantage One sold in 1999 to the private equity firm GTCR.In between Vantage One and Phylogy, Tim turned to public service as Deputy Mayor/Chief Development Officer for the City of Cleveland (Ohio), leading initiatives in city planning, housing, and economic development that resulted in more than $1B of private investment during the last decade.A life-long musician, Tim served on the Board of the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame & Museum for 15 years and Chaired its Technology Committee. He is an advisor to Morino Ventures, served on the Boards of OneCommunity and Union Home Mortgage, and is a frequent lecturer at the Weatherhead School of Business at CWRU.

Tim Mueller

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Click here to request a meetingTim Mueller is an American businessman specializing in the growth of technology and communications companies. With ...

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Bill Patchett Bill Patchett

CEO, P2 Broadband and P2 Business Solutions

Click here to request a meetingAs founder of the company, Mr. Patchett, has also served as CEO since 2008. Under his professional ...

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26 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-bill-patchett jplist-topic-p2-broadband jplist-topic-p2-business-solutions jplist-topic-p2 0 508500 508500 Click here to request a meetingAs founder of the company, Mr. Patchett, has also served as CEO since 2008. Under his professional leadership P2 Business Solutions has come to be recognized as a premier Master Agency that provides ongoing support to thousands of agents throughout the nation. William, as CEO of P2 Business Solutions, is responsible for the evaluation and maintenance of P2 Business Solution’s strategic relationships with all of the companies’ cloud, mobility and telecommunications partners. Further, William is Co-Founder of Technology Solutions Xchange (TSX) which is an association of master agents within the telecommunications and cloud space offering its master agent members a diverse and expanded portfolio consisting of innovative solutions specific to connectivity, cloud, hosting, cybersecurity and loT vendors. TSX, while educating its master agents and helping to develop new sales partners, focused on master agents who were steadfast in their efforts to evolve their company by way of exploring new opportunities and incorporating creative techniques needed to approach the market. With over 250 supplier contracts within the portfolio today, TSX serves its valued customer base, from the SMB to the Enterprise space, with only the highest quality and most effective broad-reaching products and services.

Bill Patchett

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Click here to request a meetingAs founder of the company, Mr. Patchett, has also served as CEO since 2008. Under his professional leadership P2 ...

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Carolyn Bradfield Carolyn Bradfield

Founder & CEO, Convey Services & Cloud Conventions

Carolyn Bradfield is a seasoned CEO with 5 successful start-up ventures, 4 self-financed, achieving profitable exits and strong returns for ...

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27 Speaker-Profile-Speaker-Profile jplist-topic-carolyn-bradfield jplist-topic-cloud-conventions jplist-topic-convey-services 0 508605 508605 Carolyn Bradfield is a seasoned CEO with 5 successful start-up ventures, 4 self-financed, achieving profitable exits and strong returns for investors. A pioneer in the conferencing industry, Bradfield founded several of the industry's largest and most successful conferencing technology providers. Since 1991, she has been a driving force behind the adoption of innovation in the conferencing industry leading with the creation of a fully automated conferencing experience for customers. Bradfield has spent three decades offering communications solutions to businesses to improve productivity, drive revenue and reduce cost.

Carolyn Bradfield

Speaker Profile

Carolyn Bradfield is a seasoned CEO with 5 successful start-up ventures, 4 self-financed, achieving profitable exits and strong returns for ...

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7 Cloud Computing Trends to Look Out For in 2021 7 Cloud Computing Trends to Look Out For in 2021

February 11, 2021 by Samuel O'Brien

Article written by Samuel O'Brien and published on February 11, 2021 to customerthink.com. 2020 was a huge year for digital ...

Cloud Computing Trends
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28 Cloud-Computing-Trends-Cloud-Computing-Trends jplist-topic-cloud jplist-topic-computing jplist-topic-edge jplist-topic-wifi jplist-topic-network jplist-topic-business jplist-topic-transition jplist-topic-transform jplist-topic-adapt jplist-topic-2021 jplist-topic-2020 0 506542 506542

7 Cloud Computing Trends to Look Out For in 2021

Cloud Computing Trends

Article written by Samuel O'Brien and published on February 11, 2021 to customerthink.com. 2020 was a huge year for digital transformation. With ...

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SEVEN CLOUD COMPUTING TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2021 SEVEN CLOUD COMPUTING TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2021

March 17, 2021

Article posted to hava.io on March 17, 2021.Continuing on a stellar trajectory and partly enhanced by the pandemic, the adoption of ...

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29 Cloud-Computing-Trends-Cloud-Computing-Trends jplist-topic-cloud jplist-topic-emerging jplist-topic-transform jplist-topic-engaging jplist-topic-tech jplist-topic-2021 jplist-topic-2020 jplist-topic-transition jplist-topic-adapt 0 506537 506537

SEVEN CLOUD COMPUTING TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2021

Cloud Computing Trends

Article posted to hava.io on March 17, 2021.Continuing on a stellar trajectory and partly enhanced by the pandemic, the adoption of cloud ...

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7 Top Cloud Computing Trends That Will Transform... 7 Top Cloud Computing Trends That Will Transform...

December 11, 2020 by Henry Garcia

Blog written by Henry Garcia and posted on Server Space website.Sometime in the future, Covid-19 will be referred to in history as one ...

Cloud Computing Trends
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30 Cloud-Computing-Trends-Cloud-Computing-Trends jplist-topic-cloud jplist-topic-computer jplist-topic-computing jplist-topic-trends jplist-topic-tech jplist-topic-technology jplist-topic-data jplist-topic-transform 0 506060 506060 Blog written by Henry Garcia and posted on Server Space website.Sometime in the future, Covid-19 will be referred to in history as one of the greatest disruptions to ever occur in business models across industries, in the 20th century. This is the year when every business had to learn how to operate virtually. The gym lovers had to take sessions through online streaming services, corporate meetings went virtual, and so much more! In the tech world, especially the cloud computing industry, the cloud service providers had to increase their level of innovation to help businesses handle the chaos. Despite the rise of trends in cloud computing such as the integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) and, big data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), the most important innovations leaned towards helping businesses face the challenges created by the pandemic. This led to a spike in cloud market revenue for Q12020 $29 billion. With 94% of workloads expected to run on the cloud, it’s critical to underpin the cloud computing trends to expect in 2021. To help your business prepare for any changes in cloud computing models, we have created a list of the 7 top cloud computing trends in 2021, and how they can affect your business and the tech industry at large: 1. Moving Cloud Towards The Edge The ‘Edge’ simply refers to a computing model that optimizes web applications and internet devices by reducing the data source distance. According to Forrester, components such as the rapid 5G rollout, fast AI & ML integration into cloud computing, and other relevant factors will push the cloud towards the edge. Some of the advantages of edge computing include easy deployment for services in the case of developers, and the ability of the cloud to solve the gap existing between the cloud and end-users. However, this may create a problem when it comes to providing high levels of data security. 2. AI and ML Will Revolutionize Cloud Computing AI will be an integral ingredient in driving the cloud towards its full potential in 2021. Think about what the cloud, in collaboration with AI could do to anticipated inventions such as smart cities, self-driving cars, automated health checks, among other inventions. Through cloud computing services such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), or Platform as a Service (PaaS), developers working with low budgets will be able to utilize the full power of Artificial Intelligence(AI) to drive the world to a more advanced civilization. Machine learning will continue playing a critical role to keep data centers running efficiently. 3. Increased Demand For Private, Hybrid Cloud, and Multicloud The argument to choose between private, public, or hybrid may never end. All cloud solutions have their portions of charm and poison in terms of performance, ease of use, data control, and security. Many organizations have learned the hard way that there is no one cloud solution that could work for all enterprises, thus turning into cloud deployment models that give them the freedom to do what they want. Public cloud is perfect for storage, private cloud is perfect for organizations dealing with sensitive data, and hybrid is for those that want a taste of both worlds. Due to the difference in services offered by cloud service providers, many organizations will be turning into multicloud in the near future. In fact, according to Gartner, 80% of customers will be adopting multicloud into their cloud strategy. 4. Rise of The Cloud Native As mentioned earlier, the rise of the multi-cloud is imminent. To activate the experience to be brought about by this change, cloud native technologies will need to be added to the equation. Here are some components that make up the cloud native technology stack: 1. Containerization With projected revenue growth of 24 million by 2024, container management repositories hold the most power when it comes to cloud-native capabilities. This is because they can perform tasks such as workload transportation between multiple channels (on-premise, the cloud, and on the edge.) 2. Serverless computing Being among the 5 best fastest-growing Platform as a Service(PaaS) cloud services in 2020, serverless computing depicts a cloud paradigm that enables developers to build applications across different clouds with different viewpoints. 3. Orchestration Platforms These platforms, like Kubernetes, reduce the complexity of container management across different cloud service providers. 5. Increased need for, Data security, privacy, and Regulations All the trends we have discussed earlier bring with them a whole new level of innovation, and opportunities, but also a high level of data security risk. According to LogicMonitor, IDC, 33.3% of organizations struggle with cloud adoption because of data security. There are many questions on how the integration of new technologies such as 5G, serverless computing, edge computing, and many others will affect the cloud in relation to cloud security. Cloud service providers are therefore expected to come up with sophisticated mechanisms that will ensure cloud data security. 6. Virtual Desktops May Be The Workplace of The Future Am writing this blog post on my Chromebook. Why do I tell you this you ask? Because this is a perfect example of what a virtual desktop means. Unlike Amazon and Microsoft who offer Desktop as a Service through workspaces and windows virtual desktop respectively, Google offers this through Chromebook devices. The idea behind this model is to have the entire workstation delivered to our devices. Not only does it improve productivity, but also cuts off operation costs. These, along with more advantages make it likely for this functionality to be adopted in 2021. 7. Public Cloud Revenue Will Skyrocket The pandemic reshaped and re-defined the cloud to enable businesses to be able to operate remotely. Many businesses found themselves desperate enough to sacrifice their customer experience and quality for cost-efficiency. This led to the accelerated growth of public cloud adoption, along with revenue. Forester predicts that this trend will continue to spike, mainly because the aftermath of the pandemic will likely be forwarded to 2021. The public cloud infrastructure revenue is expected to hit $120 billion in 2021 (35% increase). Embracing The Future Cloud With computer processing speeds doubling almost every 18 months, it is difficult to underpin the direction which leading technology components such as cloud computing will take in years to come. Despite the uncertainty, we still believe that cloud computing is the future and that it will shape society for the better in years to come.

7 Top Cloud Computing Trends That Will Transform the Tech Industry in 2021

Cloud Computing Trends

Blog written by Henry Garcia and posted on Server Space website.Sometime in the future, Covid-19 will be referred to in history as one of the ...

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Guide to 2021 Cloud Computing Trends Guide to 2021 Cloud Computing Trends

December 8, 2020 by Consolidated Technologies, Inc.

Article published to Consolidated Technologies, Inc. on December 8, 2020 The cloud has existed on the Internet since the late 1990s, ...

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31 Cloud-Computing-Trends-Cloud-Computing-Trends jplist-topic-compute jplist-topic-cloud jplist-topic-trends jplist-topic-transformations 0 506052 506052

Guide to 2021 Cloud Computing Trends

Cloud Computing Trends

Article published to Consolidated Technologies, Inc. on December 8, 2020 The cloud has existed on the Internet since the late 1990s, though it ...

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25 cloud trends for 2021 and beyond 25 cloud trends for 2021 and beyond

March 4, 2021 from Accenture.com

Article from March 4, 2021. Published on Accenture.com “Data is currency.” Over the past decade, this phrase has permeated corporate ...

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32 Cloud-Computing-Trends-Cloud-Computing-Trends jplist-topic-accenture jplist-topic-cloud jplist-topic-trends jplist-topic-compute jplist-topic-transformation jplist-topic-2021 0 506045 506045

25 cloud trends for 2021 and beyond

Cloud Computing Trends

Article from March 4, 2021. Published on Accenture.com “Data is currency.” Over the past decade, this phrase has permeated corporate culture ...

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Cloud Trends Coming up Over the Horizon: What to... Cloud Trends Coming up Over the Horizon: What to...

Blog posted to VNT website.Cloud Trends Coming Up The explosion of the cloud has changed the face of how enterprises do business, and ...

Cloud Computing Trends
Cloud Computing Trends
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33 Cloud-Computing-Trends-Cloud-Computing-Trends jplist-topic-blog jplist-topic-cloud jplist-topic-solutions jplist-topic-trends jplist-topic-transformation jplist-topic-digital jplist-topic-compute 0 506041 506041 Blog posted to VNT website.Cloud Trends Coming Up The explosion of the cloud has changed the face of how enterprises do business, and it’s not slowing down any time soon. In fact, Cisco believes that cloud data centers now process as much as 94% of all workloads. Let’s take a look at some of the most important cloud trends and how you can stay on top of the latest cloud trends to make your cloud strategy more successful.  Cloud Trends 1: Multi and Hybrid Cloud Environments Will Continue to Grow Businesses recognize that cloud data management isn’t about having one specific platform or infrastructure, it’s about choosing the solution that’s right for the job at hand. In some cases, this isn’t cloud at all, it might be on-premises or even legacy systems, especially where enterprises are locked into specific systems for business-critical solutions that are cumbersome or complex to adapt.  In 2021, the emerging cloud trend is that enterprises are becoming less worried about sticking with one cloud vendor, and are embracing a multi-cloud or hybrid-cloud offering where they can get the best out of each solution. According to Global Channel Chief at Google, Carolee Gearhart, “Gartner is estimating that by 2021, 75 percent of midsize and large organizations will have adopted multi-cloud or a hybrid strategy.” IDC affirms this in their 2021 report, stating that by 2022, over 90% of enterprises will be relying on a hybrid cloud solutions model that includes on-prem, dedicated private clouds, multiple public clouds AND legacy platforms.  Cloud Trends 2: Retaining Compliance in an Increasingly Complex Environment In order to join this cloud trend, businesses need to have a vendor-agnostic approach and look for SaaS solutions that reduce bottlenecks or blind spots. Visibility across a heterogeneous environment will be more important than ever, ensuring that organizations can achieve the same level of insight across the board, in various instances and platforms, without gaps.  If this is unsuccessful, these blind spots could be leveraged by cyber-attackers, or could leave issues for internal governance and compliance. At the moment, data privacy and security are cited as the top roadblocks for enterprise cloud adoption, and introducing additional infrastructure into the mix further complicates the matter.  Cloud Trends 3: Organizations will make it a Priority to Control Cloud Costs According to Gartner, the worldwide revenue from public cloud will grow by 17% this year to $266.4 billion. A record-breaking 60% of organizations will be using an external cloud provider’s managed services offering by 2022, doubled from 30% in 2018 – growth is an undeniable cloud trend. The decentralized model of consumption has raised costs for organizations exponentially, and often without any control over the spiraling bottom line. Businesses will have to start to get a handle on these costs as cloud usage grows, streamlining the expenditure that they are not utilizing to full effect, and cutting out duplicate spending or unnecessary overheads.  As different cloud and hybrid services have different pricing and billing models, and costs can change from month to month, this could be a tall order. Innovative third-party solutions that can support organizations in getting granular insight into their hybrid network and provide unified management of costs will rise to the top.   Cloud Trends 4: Solution-focused Partners As businesses continue to move their infrastructure using SaaS, PaaS and IaaS, one cloud trend is that there will be a continued need for third-party vendors who really specialize in meeting specific use cases and problem-solving new cloud challenges. While your cloud provider will be responsible for infrastructure needs such as storage, outsources will be taking care of compute and networking, specific needs such as data, visibility, AI and ML technology, or IoT. These external partners will need to have a strong insight into how cloud computing and its associated technologies work, leaving the hardware element to AWS or the other infrastructure leaders, but well-versed in how to get the best solutions on both the cloud and on-premises for specific organizational needs.  Cloud Trends 5: A Continued Shift to Tech on Demand As cloud costs get taken under control, businesses will have more revenue at their disposal to take advantage of these solutions that beat their specific industry challenges. In turn, providers will look to push out innovation that is easily accessible to a wide audience, has a low learning curve, low-code interface, and is more democratized overall, so that anyone can reap the rewards. Without the need for a team of data scientists, organizations will begin to see the benefits of Machine Learning, AI, and automation in a very tangible way to solve and enhance business strategy and an exciting cloud trend in 2021. This is only reiterated by the offerings that cloud providers are pushing to the masses, such as Azure’s Machine Learning Experimental UI, the focus on AI and ML at AWS Innovate, and GCP’s Auto ML.  What’s Next for the Cloud? The cloud has started to reach its full potential, as a conduit for organizations of all sizes to realize huge amounts of value. The first step is already here, as businesses can now utilize infrastructure that has resources that they could never have achieved on their own.  The next level of cloud trends that we’re going to see as we move through 2021 and into 2022 is organizations getting ahead of the challenges of compliance and security, and partnering with smart, innovative external solutions. These companies will already have a deep understanding of the new hybrid reality, and therefore allow forward-thinking customers to see an immediate benefit from their targeted skills and expertise.

Cloud Trends Coming up Over the Horizon: What to Look out for in 2021

Cloud Computing Trends

Blog posted to VNT website.Cloud Trends Coming Up The explosion of the cloud has changed the face of how enterprises do business, and it’s not ...

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The Latest Cloud Computing Trends – 31+ Telling... The Latest Cloud Computing Trends – 31+ Telling...

February 6, 2021 by Nick Galov

Blog written by Nick Galov on February 6, 2021. Published on Hosting Tribunal website.Cloud computing is booming and there are many ...

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34 Cloud-Computing-Trends-Cloud-Computing-Trends jplist-topic-internet jplist-topic-cloud-computing jplist-topic-cloud jplist-topic-emerging jplist-topic-technology jplist-topic-2021 jplist-topic-trends jplist-topic-transformation 0 506039 506039

The Latest Cloud Computing Trends – 31+ Telling Facts

Cloud Computing Trends

Blog written by Nick Galov on February 6, 2021. Published on Hosting Tribunal website.Cloud computing is booming and there are many trends to be ...

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Cloud Computing Trends: 2021 State of the Cloud... Cloud Computing Trends: 2021 State of the Cloud...

March 15, 2021 by Tanner Luxner

Article posted by Tanner Luxner on March 15, 2021 to Flexera.com The 2021 trend of cloud computing results show that enterprises ...

Cloud Computing Trends
Cloud Computing Trends
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35 Cloud-Computing-Trends-Cloud-Computing-Trends jplist-topic-internet jplist-topic-cloud jplist-topic-computing jplist-topic-2021 jplist-topic-trends jplist-topic-technology 0 506033 506033 Article posted by Tanner Luxner on March 15, 2021 to Flexera.com The 2021 trend of cloud computing results show that enterprises continue to embrace multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies and are increasing spend with vendors across the board, citing a higher-than-expected cloud usage due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions throughout 2020. Respondents have a higher cloud spend than ever this year, but they continue to struggle to forecast spend accurately as they significantly exceed their cloud budgets. As a result, optimizing existing cloud use remains at the top of companies’ 2021 priority list for the fifth year in a row, followed by migrating more workloads to the cloud. With cloud computing usage growing at its fastest rate yet, respondents’ adoption of Azure continues to draw closer and closer to leader AWS. Google Cloud adoption grew as well, beginning to reach numbers near Azure and AWS. The data in the report comes from the largest and longest-running survey on the use of cloud infrastructure that is focused on cloud buyers and decision makers. Their answers provide a comprehensive perspective on cloud computing trends in 2021. Data in the Flexera 2021 State of the Cloud Report—formerly known as the RightScale State of the Cloud Report—is based on a survey of 750 vetted IT professionals conducted in October and November 2020.   Selected highlights of 2021 cloud computing usage trends: Enterprises embrace multi-cloud  92 percent of enterprises have a multi-cloud strategy; 82 percent have a hybrid cloud strategyOn average, respondents use 2.6 public and 2.7 private clouds Public cloud adoption continues to accelerate 36 percent of enterprises spend more than $12 million per year on public clouds90 percent of enterprises expect cloud usage to exceed prior plans due to COVID-19 Organizations struggle to get a handle on growing cloud spend  Respondents estimate organizations waste 30 percent of cloud spend61 percent of organizations plan to optimize existing use of cloud (cost savings), making it the top initiative for the fifth year in a row Public cloud adoption is evolving  The top three public cloud providers for enterprises remain AWS, Azure and GoogleAzure is rapidly continuing to narrow the gap with AWS Enterprises embrace multi-cloud Enterprises have almost entirely embraced multi-cloud; 92 percent of respondents reported having a multi-cloud strategy. Eighty-two percent are taking a hybrid approach, combining the use of both public and private clouds.   Organizations currently use multiple clouds Organizations currently are using 2.6 public and 2.7 private clouds on average. Also, they’re experimenting with an additional 1.1 public clouds and 2.2 private clouds.  Enterprise cloud spend is growing Thirty-six percent of enterprises said their annual spend exceeded $12 million, and 83 percent reported that cloud spend exceeds $1.2 million per year. These figures represent a large increase over last year in which 20 percent of enterprises reported an annual spend of more than $12 million, and 74 percent reported yearly spend of more than $1.2 million.  Most believe COVID-19 will increase their cloud usage The emergence of COVID-19 during last year’s 2020 State of the Cloud survey prompted Flexera to add a question gauging how the pandemic might affect cloud plans. Virtually all countries implemented stay-at-home policies for consumers, work-from-home policies for employees and shutdowns of nonessential businesses throughout the majority of 2020, continuing into 2021. Some industries experienced massive economic impacts as a result of the pandemic. Ninety percent said cloud usage is higher than initially planned. Some of the increase is a result of the extra capacity needed for current cloud-based applications to meet increased demand as online usage grows. Other organizations may accelerate migration from data centers to cloud in response to reduced headcount, difficulties in accessing data center facilities and delays in hardware supply chains. As the pandemic runs its course, some organizations may also find that public cloud providers offer a more reliable option for business continuity. Organizations struggle to get a handle on growing cloud spend Organizations are continuing to increase their cloud spend rapidly. In doing so, they struggle to forecast their fast-growing cloud costs accurately. Respondents reported their public cloud spend was over budget by an average of 24 percent. Moreover, respondents expect their cloud spend to further increase by 39 percent in the next twelve months. This cloud computing trend means it’s more critical than ever to get a handle on forecasting and cost optimization.   Organizations waste significant cloud spend Wasted cloud spend is a significant issue, becoming more critical as cloud costs continue to rise. Respondents estimate their organizations waste 30 percent of cloud spend. However, spend is likely less efficient as many organizations tend to underestimate the amount of waste. In working with customers to identify waste, Flexera has found that actual waste is 35 percent or even higher on average. Optimizing spend is top cloud initiative for the fifth year running For the fifth year in a row, optimizing the existing use of cloud (cost savings) is the top initiative for the year ahead, followed by migrating more workloads to cloud and better financial reporting on cloud costs. Major public cloud provider use shifting among enterprises Among enterprises, Azure is tied with AWS for breadth of adoption. Google Cloud, Oracle and VMware Cloud on AWS round out the top five. Among the top three, Google (49 percent running workloads) exhibited the most growth over 2020. The highest percentages for experimentation are with VMware Cloud on AWS and Oracle, which could drive more adoption in the future. AWS and Azure adoption rates rose somewhat among enterprises over the previous year. Azure is now at 96 percent of AWS adoption among enterprises. Google adoption rates rose by 44 percent. Enterprises are growing their public cloud footprint Cloud-first policies and cloud migration are top of mind for senior IT leaders, particularly in enterprise environments. As a result, enterprises are rapidly increasing public cloud spend and workload volumes. Cloud spend is a good indicator of how much an enterprise is using a public cloud provider. Fifty-three percent of enterprises spend $1.2 million or more annually on AWS. By comparison, 48 percent spend $1.2 million or more annually on Azure, indicating Azure’s footprint is approaching that of AWS. Thirty-two percent of enterprises reported spending $1.2 million or more annually on Google. Most heavily used PaaS services have shifted Organizations are increasingly leveraging the many PaaS services offered by cloud providers. The top three are data warehouse, relational database as a service (DBaaS) and container-as-a-service. Organizations are driving this shift due to their growing interest in leveraging containers to speed deployment, scale operations and increase the efficiency of workloads running in the cloud. Summary The Flexera 2021 State of the Cloud Report reveals COVID-19 had a significant impact on cloud adoption in 2020. Multi-cloud continues to be the dominant strategy, adopted by nearly all surveyed enterprises. The most common multi-cloud approach among enterprises is a mix of multiple public and multiple private clouds. The report also indicates that organizations are becoming increasingly comfortable putting even sensitive data in the cloud. Due to its complexity and dynamic nature, the multi-cloud environment brings many challenges, such as assessing the suitability of on-premises apps for migrating to the cloud. The use of public clouds continues to grow dramatically in all organizations. This growth has driven a significant increase in public cloud spend, and the COVID-19 outbreak may have driven that spend even higher. As a result of continually increasing cloud spend, optimizing the existing use of cloud (cost savings) continues to be the top cloud initiative for all organizations for the fifth year in a row. Organizations are leveraging automated policies to continually scan and optimize their cloud costs. Organizations are moving to the cloud because of its scalability, economy and reach, and are using a variety of metrics to measure the resulting business value of cloud. The many advantages delivered by the cloud have proven to be especially valuable as organizations adapted over the past year to meet the rapidly evolving needs presented by the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on business.

Cloud Computing Trends: 2021 State of the Cloud Report

Cloud Computing Trends

Article posted by Tanner Luxner on March 15, 2021 to Flexera.com The 2021 trend of cloud computing results show that enterprises continue to ...

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10 Future Cloud Computing Trends To Watch In 2021 10 Future Cloud Computing Trends To Watch In 2021

November 20, 2020 by Donna Goodison

From the article by Doona Goodison, CRN Senior Editor Cloud computing, which underpinned the world’s economy, global supply chains and ...

Cloud Computing Trends
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36 Cloud-Computing-Trends-Cloud-Computing-Trends jplist-topic-cloud jplist-topic-compute jplist-topic-trends jplist-topic-2021 jplist-topic-future jplist-topic-saas 0 506025 506025

10 Future Cloud Computing Trends To Watch In 2021

Cloud Computing Trends

From the article by Doona Goodison, CRN Senior Editor Cloud computing, which underpinned the world’s economy, global supply chains and remote ...

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2021 Managed IT Services Trends 2021 Managed IT Services Trends

December 17, 2020 By Dan Lapinski

2021 Managed IT Services TrendsIT has been an integral part of business operations for decades now, but 2020 increased the demand.Before ...

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37 MSP-Trends-MSP-Trends jplist-topic-msp jplist-topic-telecom jplist-topic-channel 0 505700 505700 2021 Managed IT Services TrendsIT has been an integral part of business operations for decades now, but 2020 increased the demand.Before the pandemic, most employees require a desktop or laptop, desk phone, and any industry-specific solutions. Once the pandemic hit, employees required a way to work remotely and virtually connect with customers and colleagues. The KR Group worked with our managed IT services customers during the first part of the year as they transitioned to telecommuting. While most of us are excited to leave 2020 behind, the past year will undoubtedly shape the next one, including how we use IT. Some of the questions we’re examining as this year comes to an end: How will MSPs continue to support the remote workforce?How are MSPs responding to shifts in IT?What are MSPs predicting for 2021?What makes switching or sticking with managed services a good option? Whether you’re looking for your first MSP, planning to switch providers, or continuing a contract with us, it’s important you know how we plan to support our customers in the next year. Continued support of the remote workforce In a recent study from economists at Harvard Business School, after the pandemic, one in six employees will work from home full-time or at least two days a week. If the remote workforce isn’t going away, that means the way MSPs support teleworkers has to adapt.  MSPs have always supported a variety of customers across multiple locations. Supporting a business with employees working from various locations is just another layer to the structure MSPs already implement. (For information on everything an MSP can do, check out our ultimate guide.) The increase in the remote workforce also changes how MSPs provide on-site support since customers may have fewer or no employees working and needing support in the office.  Traditionally, one of the perceived problems with managed IT services is MSPs can’t provide continuous, hands-on service. However, even internal IT engineers are limited to how hands-on they can be when resolving issues with remote users. If this reason influenced your decision to move to or continue with managed IT services in the past, re-evaluate. With hands-on support less of a concern, managed services might make more sense for your business now. Responding to shifts in IT The mass increase of remote workers isn’t the only change MSPs weigh when thinking about service in 2021. The need for remote access and movement away from in-office employees created the perfect storm for many businesses to consider moving to the cloud.We believe 2020 was just the beginning of a large influx of cloud migrations. As businesses move to the cloud for various services, MSPs will need to support the migration and ongoing service. Looking ahead, organizations realized the need to deploy solutions that were accessible to users who continued to work remotely. Additionally, if companies were considering downsizing or eliminating office space, a smaller physical IT footprint was an appealing factor. MSPs come into the equation by providing support for these cloud services as well as advising whether a customer is a good fit or not. If you have moved or will move to the cloud, the host will handle hardware issues. However, that doesn’t negate the need for support from your MSP. Regardless of where your solutions are hosted, MSPs can address software and application issues related to your devices, as well as network issues, computer hardware issues, and computer connection issues. In other words, the need for end-user support does not go away when your business migrates to the cloud. Predictions for 2021 The most significant thing to watch for when it comes to managed services is how providers adapt to include advanced cybersecurity protection. MSPs will need to incorporate cybersecurity measures, such as security software-as-a-service or bundled applications, to prevent their customers from being victims of malicious threats. 2020 was an unprecedented year in cyberattacks. Ransomware attacks have increased by 105%.Email phishing attacks increased by 667% and are the most common data breach for users working at home.The number of unsecured remote desktop (RDP) machines rose by more than 40%.Brute-force attacks on RDP machines grew 400% in March and April alone. These statistics should give every business owner a wake-up call if they weren’t already prioritizing cybersecurity. At The KR Group, we’ve seen first-hand that attacks have increased in frequency and become more difficult for software and humans to detect. This is why MSPs, including The KR Group, are expanding our managed services offerings to include security services and solutions. In 2021, we anticipate seeing more MSPs offer cybersecurity and continue to secure home office setups, including implementing firewalls and segmenting home networks. Why should you use managed IT services in 2021? Whether you’re an existing or prospective managed IT services customer, working with an MSP offers an efficient way to adapt to changes in how and where you work. An MSP can help you navigate additional shifts in technology, such as cybersecurity, and cloud migrations. We’ll also keep you in the loop on emerging technology and if your business could benefit from it. While we all hope 2021 will be more predictable than 2020, know that an MSP will help your IT environment adapt to any changes. If you’re an existing customer, we encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on what’s happening in the managed IT services, cybersecurity, and IT industries.

2021 Managed IT Services Trends

MSP Trends

2021 Managed IT Services TrendsIT has been an integral part of business operations for decades now, but 2020 increased the demand.Before the ...

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Business Trends Every MSP, And MSSP Must Look Out... Business Trends Every MSP, And MSSP Must Look Out...

Brad Slavin | Mar 12, 2021

Business Trends Every MSP, And MSSP Must Look Out For In 2021 & AheadManaged Service Providers are the backbone of the IT industry ...

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Business Trends Every MSP, And MSSP Must Look Out For In 2021 & Ahead

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Business Trends Every MSP, And MSSP Must Look Out For In 2021 & AheadManaged Service Providers are the backbone of the IT industry currently. ...

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5 BUSINESS TRENDS SHAKING UP THE MANAGED SERVICES... 5 BUSINESS TRENDS SHAKING UP THE MANAGED SERVICES...

Posted by Kevin Clune | Feb 15, 2021

5 BUSINESS TRENDS SHAKING UP THE MANAGED SERVICES PRICING MODEL IN 2021While the “work-from-home” transition seemed to hog all the ...

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5 BUSINESS TRENDS SHAKING UP THE MANAGED SERVICES PRICING MODEL IN 2021

MSP Trends

5 BUSINESS TRENDS SHAKING UP THE MANAGED SERVICES PRICING MODEL IN 2021While the “work-from-home” transition seemed to hog all the spotlight ...

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Predicting 7 MSP trends in technology for 2021 Predicting 7 MSP trends in technology for 2021

By John Moore, Senior Feature Writer, 06 Nov 2020

Predicting 7 MSP trends in technology for 2021It's all connected. The consulting and MSP trends expected to shape 2021 demonstrate how ...

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40 MSP-Trends-MSP-Trends jplist-topic-msp jplist-topic-telecom jplist-topic-channel 0 505694 505694 Predicting 7 MSP trends in technology for 2021It's all connected. The consulting and MSP trends expected to shape 2021 demonstrate how interwoven maturing technologies and emerging developments have become. Service provider companies can anticipate a continuation of important 2020 patterns, such as the ongoing evolution of cloud computing. Cloud, however, will set the stage for other developments, including AI and machine learning. Cybersecurity will play a central in the normalization of remote work. And robotic process automation (RPA), initially viewed as a distinct technology, will become increasingly embedded in core business applications. Read on for the details regarding seven pivotal tech trends, based on IT executive interviews and recent industry conferences: 1. Managing cloud complexity   Cost and management problems have shadowed cloud companies' popularity. The growing number of cloud options available and the arrival of multi-cloud deployments spanning data centers, private clouds and public clouds add to the headaches. Service providers can expect cloud complexity to be an important issue in 2021 -- and an opportunity for providing operations and management expertise.The rush among many organizations in 2020 to adopt the cloud amid COVID-19 has only intensified matters. Seventy-one percent of senior IT professional reported "negative effects" due to the rate of cloud transformation, according to a study published by Aptum Technologies, an MSP and hybrid multi-cloud provider based in Toronto. Organizations moved to the cloud "too quickly … without adequate planning," said Craig Tavares, global head of cloud at Aptum.David Linthicum"2021 is going to be the year that everyone starts normalizing some of their architecture and the architectural mistakes they made in moving so fast," said David Linthicum, chief cloud strategy officer at Deloitte. "We will hit the complexity wall."The diversity of cloud technologies results in higher costs and lower efficiency, he noted. Groups within a business might maintain dozens of disconnected cloud projects, differing tools and multiple security platforms. The upshot: expensive redundancy and greater security risk due to complexity. Consultants and service providers are taking steps to mediate this complexity. Deloitte, for instance, offers a cloud cost complexity calculator to help customers understand the scope of the problem. The objective is to create an architecture that establishes common governance and security layers.2. Branching out to AI and machine learning   Organizations that get their cloud house in order can begin thinking about layering services on top of that infrastructure -- and might do so in 2021.In the federal market, the defense sector's mandate is to get to the cloud as quickly as possible, noted Paul Wilkinson, executive vice president at 1901 Group, an IT services  provider based in Reston, Va., that focuses on government clients. But the cloud won't be the final destination."Cloud is the way in which [agencies] are going to move into a better environment that will enable them to do things like machine learning and AI," he said. "Our customers know this is the catalyst for transformation."Wilkinson said agencies will likely tap cloud-native services, such as AWS' SageMaker, to start using AI and machine learning. Cloud-agnostic infrastructure-as-code tools such as HashiCorp's Terraform, Progress' Chef, Ansible and Puppet will also come into play.Shawn MillsShawn Mills, CEO at Lunavi, an MSP and technology consulting firm based in Cheyenne, Wyo., sees the future in AI, machine learning and smart applications, but only after organizations have built a solid data platform. "Most people aren't ready for machine learning," he said. "They need to learn what data they have and what data they can get."Solving data access leads to another challenge: how to tie it all together. To that end, Lunavi is building an agile approach to data management and integration, so customers can quickly obtain value from their data, Mills said.Accordingly, Lunavi will focus on building data platforms for customers during the first part of 2021, he said. Minimum viable product (MVP) will be part of the company's approach."Let's [create] the MVP for our customers to get value within a month, not a massive data platform that takes two years to build," Mills said.By the end of 2021, Lunavi will start using the agile data platforms to build intelligence into applications. The company, a Microsoft Azure Expert MSP, plans to take advantage of Azure's machine learning technology. 3. Pushing cybersecurity to the edge  The tremendous increase in the remote workforce amid COVID-19 has fostered the concurrent growth of cloud services and the need to secure them. Employees accessing cloud-based collaboration tools and applications have expanded corporate network boundaries to the individual home -- the branch office of one. Against that backdrop, customers and their service providers must refocus their cybersecurity efforts in 2021, if they haven't done so already.Ben NiernbergBen Niernberg, executive vice president at MNJ Technologies, an MSP based in Buffalo Grove, Ill., said 80% to 90% of the discussions he has with customers already revolve around security. He stated the key question for customers needing to protect remote work: "How do you secure the data at the actual edge of your network versus a single massive firewall in your data center?"Organizations have a couple of options for extending security. One approach involves technologies installed in the employee's home: those include content filtering products, a remote worker gateway appliance that includes a firewall and compact SD-WAN appliance that connects the remote worksite to the main office and its security features.The other option, Niernberg added, is to route traffic to and from cloud-based applications to a private cloud or colocation facility equipped with a data center-grade firewall. "You are now dealing with one firewall vs. 50," he said. "Backhauling traffic … makes [home offices] a little easier for an MSP to secure."Gartner outlined yet another approach for dealing with shifting boundaries. The company listed "cybersecurity mesh" as one of its top strategic technology trends for 2021. The market researcher defines mesh as an architectural approach for providing flexible cybersecurity control."Many assets now exist outside of the traditional security perimeter," Gartner noted. "Cybersecurity mesh essentially allows for the security perimeter to be defined around the identity of a person or thing." 4. Exploring immersive technologies   Augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR), once fringe technologies, will be pressed into service to help retailers and purveyors of physical experiences amid the in-person experience limitations of COVID-19. IT service providers should look out for AR/VR opportunities in 2021 and beyond.An Accenture study found 64% of leading consumer brands have begun to invest in AR/VR, 3D content and 360-degree video. Rori DuBoff, managing director of strategy and innovation at Accenture Interactive, said she was surprised by the percentage of brands pursuing such immersive technologies."We are seeing momentum," she said. "This is the next evolution of where commerce is going."Accenture's report cited retailers' uploading 3D models to product pages and hosting virtual fashion shows as examples of use. Some of the technologies driving immersive experiences come from unconventional sources such as video game engines like Unity and Epic Games' Unreal Engine. "They are aggressively pursuing [opportunities] way beyond gaming now," DuBoff said.Daryl PlummerGartner's list of strategic predictions, published in October, cites immersive experiences as one of 10 key developments. By 2025, 40% of physical-experience businesses will boost their financial results by expanding into paid virtual experiences, said Daryl Plummer, vice president and chief of research at Gartner, speaking at the company's IT symposium. And in the nearer term, by 2022, at least three leading providers of physical experiences will drive more than 10% of their revenue from virtual experiences, he added.Companies offering rock climbing or rafting in the physical setting, for example, "are going to allow you to have a virtual reality experience that might even rival the physical experience," Plummer said. 5. Implementing pervasive RPAConsultants and service providers that built practices around RPA vendors could be in for a significant boost in 2021. Gartner predicts 19.5% growth for RPA next year, when the worldwide market is expected to reach $1.89 billion. Growth is set to continue at a double-digit pace through 2024, according to the market watcher's RPA forecast.The pandemic contributes to what was already a rapidly expanding field. Fabrizio Biscotti, research vice president at Gartner, said COVID-19 has fostered a sense of urgency among organizations that were thinking about RPA adoption. Business processes that involved significant human participation "need to be redesigned very quickly," he said.RPA has become an important tool for doing so. Service provider companies can expect to see activity across a range of industries."I think in several sectors we are witnessing an acceleration of adoption," Biscotti said. He cited banking, insurance, professional services, telecommunications and portions of the manufacturing sector, such as high-tech, as examples.At 1901 Group, RPA plays internal and customer-facing roles. "We are leveraging RPA ourselves to automate the way in which we deliver managed services for our customers," Wilkinson said. RPA lets the company extract data from cloud platforms for reporting on resource provisioning and utilization, for instance.RPA also helps customers seeking higher efficiency, Wilkinson said, noting RPA is often embedded within platforms such as ServiceNow.That nesting of RPA within such application platforms is poised to become more common. Forrester Research forecasts embedded RPA as a 2021 trend."Like machine learning, RPA will become an embedded feature of many platforms by the end of 2021," according to Forrester's "Predictions 2021: Automation" report. Forrester said RPA will be available from nearly 200 "software workflow transformation solution vendors" in addition to pure-play vendors such as Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism and UiPath. 6. Providing VoIP and unified communications  Businesses still relying on legacy PBX systems, which offer no remote capabilities, will be looking to VoIP offerings."Voice over IP looks like a huge market that is untapped," said Robin Chow, CEO of Xbase Technologies Corp., an MSP based in Toronto. Chow, speaking at the MSPAlliance conference, said moving to hosted VoIP "will be a quantum leap" for customers in need of modernization, he added."We have seen a lot of interest in IP-based phone offerings," said Luca Jacobellis, president and COO at 1Path, an MSP based in Atlanta. Customers are jettisoning legacy PBXs, he said, noting systems confined to offices can't support home-based workers.The explosion of a remote workforce is something many organizations will integrate into their new normal, possibly forever.Jeff TonStrategic IT advisor, InterVisionNiernberg said legacy PBXs are harder to manage and not nearly as flexible as a cloud phone offering from vendors such as 8x8, Cisco and RingCentral. "It's easier to diagnose and maintain that type of system … than a legacy PBX," he noted.VoIP and cloud calling fit into the broader context of unified communications, which will continue to see demand in 2021 given the ongoing need for remote work technology.Jeff Ton"The explosion of a remote workforce is something many organizations will integrate into their new normal, possibly forever," said Jeff Ton, strategic IT advisor at InterVision.Ton said 2021 will see many CIOs reevaluating workforce enablement tools, including their collaboration stack, SaaS applications in lieu of legacy on-premises applications and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). As for the latter, Ton called remote workforce enablement "a use case that screams for VDI." 7. Deploying technology at speed: the pandemic's effect on the MSP marketCOVID-19 will not only influence the technologies in demand in 2021, but how organizations will deploy them.Organizations are adopting what Ton called "pandemic mode." The antithesis of incrementalism, this approach calls for faster decision-making, more responsiveness from IT and a reduction in onerous processes, he said."This is a much faster pace than many businesses and IT shops are accustomed to working," Ton said. In pandemic mode, more companies will adopt agile methodologies to keep up with the pace of change, he added.Lunavi's Mills also cited speed as important factor in 2021. "People are really focused on trying to drive value now," he said. "The traditional waterfall [model] and waiting six to 12 months is not an acceptable path any longer."Technologies that dovetail with fast-tracking methodologies should also see demand in 2021. Low-code platforms, for example, will experience high growth, according to Forrester. An uptick in low-code adoption has already occurred in 2020, as organizations tried to react more quickly to changing circumstances."During the pandemic, many organizations embraced low-code platforms to build and deploy new apps fast," wrote Jeffrey Hammond, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, in a blog post. "These experiences will drive most development shops to adopt low-code tools and more."

Predicting 7 MSP trends in technology for 2021

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Predicting 7 MSP trends in technology for 2021It's all connected. The consulting and MSP trends expected to shape 2021 demonstrate how interwoven ...

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6 Big Trends Shaping the Managed Services Market 6 Big Trends Shaping the Managed Services Market

Written by Bobby DeMarzo March 31, 2021

6 Big Trends Shaping the Managed Services MarketThe single most-often asked question of us is, “What are the trends shaping the ...

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41 MSP-Trends-MSP-Trends jplist-topic-msp jplist-topic-telecom jplist-topic-channel 0 505693 505693 6 Big Trends Shaping the Managed Services MarketThe single most-often asked question of us is, “What are the trends shaping the managed services market?” It’s a question asked of us every day regarding the health and well-being of companies that deliver managed services to customers of all sizes. With so much of today’s IT being consumed via managed services on a recurring or subscription basis, monitoring the state of the MSP market has become our industry’s pastime. It won’t replace baseball anytime soon, but it is still fun watching the day-to-day market gyrations of our MSP 501 and the greater managed services market. So below are answers to some of the most pressing issues of the day when it comes to the MSP market. What’s Not Changing? Well, there are some things that aren’t changing, perhaps for the better. Over the past few years, security and cloud have been the main growth drivers for most MSPs. Based on our ongoing conversations with the MSP 501, along with our managed services research, we don’t see that changing any time soon. We will be the first to admit those are very broad category definitions which deserve more detail, but for anyone who wants to know where MSP leaders exude the most confidence, it would be around cloud and security solutions. Do All MSPs Think and Act Alike? Don’t lump all MSPs together. Another major trend we are examining is the distinction between small, medium and large MSPs in terms of their market outlook and behavior. We’re finding some very real differences in the opinions of leaders of small, fast-growing MSPs and those of much larger organizations. Let’s dig a little deeper on this point. When we asked the MSP 501 about their top revenue producing solutions, about one-fifth cited infrastructure-as-a-service. However, the number of large MSPs driving IaaS sales to new heights with storage and server technologies was nearly double that of smaller partners. Of course, one could argue that IaaS is a better fit for enterprise customers. But either way it does show a sharp contrast. The same is true for MSPs who said data center services. So, no, not all MSPs move in the same direction. What’s Going on with the MSP Market and IT Security? Even though IT security overall is one the fastest-growing segments for MSPs, there are some variations. While MSPs of all sizes are seeing similar growth prospects for endpoint, network and managed detection and response, the same cannot be said for identity access management. When it comes to that segment of IT security, nearly twice the number of large MSPs see identity access management as big source of growth. Are MSPs Focused on Midmarket Opportunities? We are huge fans of middle market — you know, those companies with 100 to 1,000 seats that make up the backbone of the U.S. economy. But it’s in this customer segment that differences among MSP business models get really interesting. While the majority of MSPs serve customers that are similar to their size — e.g., small MSPs overwhelming sell to small businesses — there are some huge market gaps. This has major implications for vendors, tech suppliers and distributors who look to their MSP partners for revenue growth. The data show the upper end of the midmarket is  not being served well by the channel. This a total missed opportunity, as senior IT leaders from midsize companies prefer to partner with and purchase from MSPs and solution providers. Only 17 percent of the small organizations surveyed as part of the MSP 501 said they sell to midmarket companies with 501 to 1,000 employees. What was even more shocking is the revelation that only one-quarter of the midsized MSP 501 companies target the larger upper tier of the midmarket. And guess what? Even the large MSPs are not as focused on the midmarket as they could be. The result is a missed channel opportunity to address the midmarket What’s Going on in the Education Vertical? The market which that received the most attention during the pandemic has been education. Vendors and channel partners have helped many K-12 schools, colleges and universities respond to needs for remote learning, security management and infrastructure updates, and much more. While the 2020 MSP data predated the pandemic, it did show that many small MSPs need to step up their sales and marketing focus on the overall education market. Many MSPs said they were not selling into that sector — another missed opportunity. Even their midsize brethren were leaving money on the table when it comes to serving higher education. Are MSPs Just Selling to IT Managers or Engaging with Line of Business? We’ll leave you with one last observation that addresses the heart of an ongoing debate in the IT industry. Some senior channel leaders believe tech budgets and influence have shifted to line-of-business managers. On the other of the debate are those who believe IT managers still hold the vast majority of the tech spend for products and services. Each side has a point with significant evidence to show that LOB professionals are worthwhile sales targets for tech spend. But midsize and large MSPs need to develop a better game plan to address line of business. Nearly half of the MSP 501 companies we spoke to said they did not have a line-of-business focus at the time of our survey. Those that did, however, are reaping rewards and new sales leads.

6 Big Trends Shaping the Managed Services Market

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6 Big Trends Shaping the Managed Services MarketThe single most-often asked question of us is, “What are the trends shaping the managed services ...

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Three 2021 Predictions that MSPs Can Bank On Three 2021 Predictions that MSPs Can Bank On

Barracuda MSP Guest Blogger, December 16, 2020

Three 2021 Predictions that MSPs Can Bank OnAmong 2021 predictions, this one is almost guaranteed: Cloud, security, and training will ...

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Three 2021 Predictions that MSPs Can Bank On

MSP Trends

Three 2021 Predictions that MSPs Can Bank OnAmong 2021 predictions, this one is almost guaranteed: Cloud, security, and training will remain key ...

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What’s Your General Outlook for the MSP... What’s Your General Outlook for the MSP...

BY PROJECTINDIANA, NOVEMBER 24TH, 2020

What’s Your General Outlook for the MSP Industry in 2021?All of us, MSPs and channel vendors alike, want to get a feel for what’s ...

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43 MSP-Trends-MSP-Trends jplist-topic-msp jplist-topic-telecom jplist-topic-channel 0 505691 505691

What’s Your General Outlook for the MSP Industry in 2021?

MSP Trends

What’s Your General Outlook for the MSP Industry in 2021?All of us, MSPs and channel vendors alike, want to get a feel for what’s coming up ...

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Starting Off In 2021: 6 Eye-Popping Industry... Starting Off In 2021: 6 Eye-Popping Industry...

By Zomentum

Starting Off In 2021: 6 Eye-Popping Industry Predictions For The MSP Community2020 was overwhelming for the world as businesses ...

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44 MSP-Trends-MSP-Trends jplist-topic-msp jplist-topic-telecom jplist-topic-channel 0 505070 505070 Starting Off In 2021: 6 Eye-Popping Industry Predictions For The MSP Community2020 was overwhelming for the world as businesses struggled to stay afloat when the pandemic had hit them hard. The eminent health crisis and a sudden shift to working remote forced companies rethink how to stay agile and lean.  The fact that organizations need to adopt new technologies to adapt to this changing landscape is quite evident. Also, hiring experts for every new technology isn’t feasible on a monetary level.  The managed services industry is helping global companies acquire the expertise to deal with these innovations, thereby adding more value and keeping costs and employee agility in mind. This pattern will continue in 2021 as there is no certainty when (or if) things will return to normal for many businesses.  There are several new MSP trends and opportunities that will likely come to fruition this year. Let’s take a look at those inclinations.   1. Financial growth for managed services business owners  The Global Managed Services Market report 2021 suggests that the MSP market, which was valued at $155.91 billion in 2017, will reach $296.38 billion this year. This growth indicates that managed services and MSSP firms will experience a rise in annual recurring revenue. As more and more businesses start to invest in cloud services, automation, and IT upgrades, demand for these companies’ services will continue to soar.  Another important aspect is that businesses are shifting their IT financing model away from capital expenditures to operational costs, contributing further to the MSP market’s growth. 2. Growing reliance on cybersecurity  With remote working comes higher risks. Amidst the COVID19 pandemic, cyber crimes have grown significantly, with the target shifting from individuals and small businesses to major corporations, governments, and critical infrastructure. Therefore, companies and their service providers must refocus their cybersecurity initiatives in 2021.  This reliance on data and network protection will be a blessing in disguise for the service providers who can use different ways to extend security. Some of the popular cybersecurity services would be Patch management and updates, Antivirus, Backup and disaster recovery, Firewall monitoring and updates, spam filtering and several more.  3. The increasing value of managed service providers  Most companies understand that early adoption of new technologies can help them stay ahead of the competition. However, the need to comprehend all the fine details of SaaS applications and cloud security and remain competent in migration projects can be a roadblock. Hiring and training staff to gain such insights is costly and time-consuming, and even if they decide to attempt to go that route, more agile competitors can leave them behind in that race. Smart businesses will increasingly look to MSPs to provide back up or serve as the primary IT experts. 4. Simplify talent sourcing post-pandemic  Before COVID19, there was a shortage of technical talent in the MSP industry. However, this scenario changed drastically over the past year due to staff reductions, pay cuts, and small business failures in specific sectors. Those developments should make it easier for MSPs to recruit skilled technical professionals to enhance their teams in 2021. 5. Marketing initiatives become prevalent Most MSPs realise that generating qualified leads for their business is not easy, especially amidst the pandemic. Many may rely extensively on referrals from their existing clients, but they might not reach their MRR goals just utilizing that methodology alone. For those MSPs, 2021 will be the right time to start ramping up online marketing efforts. That process includes defining their ideal customer and connecting online, publishing informational content relevant to their businesses, and following up with those audiences. 6. Rising Merger and Acquisition activities for MSPs  A recent IT Glue survey report shows that 69% of MSPs are considering being acquired, and 19% are considering being purchased by a peer. Some of the key reasons behind this trend include: IT services providers wish to be one-stop shopping options for their clients, from delivering essential IT maintenance support and cloud solutions to cybersecurity and application integration.Many managed services business owners are approaching their late 50s or 60s and considering retirement.Some leaders of managed services companies simply want to augment their organic growth and increase their business value by acquiring other MSPs.MSPs are trying to gain valued technical professionals and skilled sales teams through acquisition of other companies.MSP owners are shifting their customer targets to a specific domain and wish to excel in it by mergers and acquisitions.The uncertain business environment in 2021 will certainly affect many of these trends and create new scopes and challenges for MSPs.In this ever-evolving technology scene, organizations that prepare for all the potential challenges that could be thrown their way will advance. MSP support is a must for every fast-scaling business. Even with all the uncertainty about when the pandemic will come to an end and if things will return to normal, service providers have a lot of reasons for being optimistic.

Starting Off In 2021: 6 Eye-Popping Industry Predictions For The MSP Community

MSP Trends

Starting Off In 2021: 6 Eye-Popping Industry Predictions For The MSP Community2020 was overwhelming for the world as businesses struggled to stay ...

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Pulse of the MSP 2021: Survey reveals trends in... Pulse of the MSP 2021: Survey reveals trends in...

February 12, 2021 by Ritika Bramhe

Pulse of the MSP 2021: Survey reveals trends in the IT ChannelA key to providing our managed service provider (MSP) partners the support ...

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Pulse of the MSP 2021: Survey reveals trends in the IT Channel

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Pulse of the MSP 2021: Survey reveals trends in the IT ChannelA key to providing our managed service provider (MSP) partners the support and ...

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Top MSP Trends to Look out For in 2021 Top MSP Trends to Look out For in 2021

February 12, 2021 by Ritika Bramhe

Top MSP Trends to Look out For in 2021Unlike the previous year, more managed service providers (MSPs) are embracing digitalization in ...

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Top MSP Trends to Look out For in 2021

MSP Trends

Top MSP Trends to Look out For in 2021Unlike the previous year, more managed service providers (MSPs) are embracing digitalization in 2021. Many ...

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Innovating Channels Through Venture Investments Innovating Channels Through Venture Investments

Larry Walsh - 02 Mar 2021

Innovating Channels Through Venture Investments

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47 Channel-Trends-Channel-Trends jplist-topic-channel jplist-topic-telecom 0 504788 504788 Innovating Channels Through Venture Investments

Innovating Channels Through Venture Investments

Channel Trends

Innovating Channels Through Venture Investments

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Synnex-Tech Data Merger Reflects Distribution’s... Synnex-Tech Data Merger Reflects Distribution’s...

Larry Walsh - 22 Mar 2021

Synnex-Tech Data Merger Reflects Distribution’s EvolutionThe real story isn’t distribution consolidation; it’s evolving ...

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48 Channel-Trends-Channel-Trends jplist-topic-channel jplist-topic-telecom 0 504787 504787

Synnex-Tech Data Merger Reflects Distribution’s Evolution

Channel Trends

Synnex-Tech Data Merger Reflects Distribution’s EvolutionThe real story isn’t distribution consolidation; it’s evolving capabilities and ...

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What’s in store for the channel in 2021? What’s in store for the channel in 2021?

Chris Kelly - 12 Jan 2021

What’s in store for the channel in 2021?The global pandemic has undoubtedly caused organisations to revisit their well-planned ...

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49 Channel-Trends-Channel-Trends jplist-topic-channel jplist-topic-telecom 0 504786 504786 What’s in store for the channel in 2021?The global pandemic has undoubtedly caused organisations to revisit their well-planned strategies for the year and it will continue to dictate the direction the industry goes in during the next 12 months. At Riverbed, we have focused on helping our customers quickly scale work-from-home models with application acceleration and network performance management solutions that keep remote workers productive and networks running and secure. Enterprises have had to accelerate digital initiatives in a matter of weeks rather than years as a top priority to overhaul their business processes and transform services in order to deliver value to their customers and employees. As organisations increase their remote workforces and shift toward work-from-anywhere models and hybrid work environments, technology will play a critical role. More than ever before businesses need visibility over their networks to ensure that they can quickly troubleshoot problems and employees remain productive, regardless of location. It is here that the role of the channel becomes vital, creating both significant market opportunities as well as challenges to solve. With this in mind, here are Riverbed’s six channel predictions for 2021.Customer and employee experience become paramount to sales Covid-19 triggered a significant uptake in software as a service (SaaS) applications, as businesses turned to cloud-based collaboration tools – such as Office 365 – to facilitate remote working. These applications require partners to implement a customer success motion as they often work on an outcomes-based model that factors in adoption and uptake. Therefore, as we move into 2021, channel partners will need to adapt to this technology trend, building on their customer experience methodologies to not just land, but adopt, expand, and renew subscriptions and services. Customer experience goes hand-in-hand with employee experience and similarly requires partners to provide new services that will optimise performance and create that seamless technology environment. This change in approach takes years rather than months to build and is compounded by the restrictions of Covid-19. Moving quickly will therefore be crucial for businesses and partners. Prior to 2020, face-to-face interaction was seen as critical to maintaining and growing sales. However, for the majority of this year, partners have been unable to physically go in and see customers and understand how services are being used by employees. To prevent buyers from making decisions without first reaching out to a partner, partners must re-establish their status as trusted advisors by developing digital customer and employee intimacy. Regular video conferencing will be key to this and driving sales within the channel. It will mean that they can continue to gather information about what is going on within the clients’ business and identify new opportunities that will streamline their experience. Digital transformation continues to dominate channel growth The global pandemic will continue to accelerate digital transformation initiatives creating new opportunities for the channel. With companies forced to modernise their IT infrastructure overnight and support a predominantly remote workforce across Europe, partners are ideally placed to deliver the scale, visibility, optimisation and technology education that will drive business success in 2021. Underpinned by a fundamental reliance on cloud, companies will be looking to the channel to automate processes, maintain performance, provide visibility across the IT estate, and secure their networks. All whilst employees and customers demand the same experience as an office environment. With no time to compromise and Covid-19 not going away, partners will work with businesses to structure and prioritise their digital initiatives in a world now driven by hybrid networks and a ‘work from anywhere’ culture. Investing in new solutions that will drive productivity, deliver ROI and realise the innovation will set them apart. Vendor selection will narrow in response to meeting customer’s immediate needs Vendor models have become more focused on responding to customers’ immediate needs as a result of the disruptions of 2020. For example, in Q2, many partners’ entire focus was on procuring laptops and loading them with Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to enable businesses to shift employees out of the office. This is resulting in the narrowing of solution and vendor selection; a trend that will continue into 2021. In this climate, partners will focus on vendors that provide infrastructure that will make remote working technology more efficient, productive, and secure. As well as vendors who deliver managed services in these areas – such as Application Acceleration – as their services can be expanded or sustained on behalf of the customer so the business can focus on other areas. Changing partner models will catalyse a rise in M&As Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) slowed down due to Covid-19 but will begin to ramp up in the close to 2020 and as we enter the new year. The change in partner models – to narrow initiatives and vendors – will be a key contributor to this. Combined with a second lockdown, we will see certain businesses experience a cash flow crunch which will prevent them from being viable and will therefore accelerate consolidation. Partners move to support new buying models  The demands of both customers and employees will force companies to readdress their business models. This is because customers are recognising the importance of technological investments, but expressing an inability to pay for them, and putting the impetus on partners to find a solution. This will present a large-scale challenge to the value chain or IT, and specifically the channel partners in the middle of next year.  It is a huge opportunity for partners to adapt their focus and find a means for offering pay-as-you-go, or subscription-based financing plans, even for non-subscription based projects. Partners who can make this shift and adapt to this trend will see great success, but they will not be able to do it alone. Drawing on distributors, who have extremely strong financing arms, will empower partners to offer these models. Partners focus on upskilling and training to drive new opportunity The rise in home working, dictated by the pandemic, has provided channel partners with time to learn, uplevel their skills and build their technical expertise. This trend will continue into 2021 with partners opting into training to better understand products, even when it is not required by the vendor in its programme. Those partners who continue to take advantage of these opportunities will accelerate out of the challenging business climate created by Covid-19 in 2021. A year of change 2021 will be a year of change for the channel industry. However, partners who are willing to flex to changing customer needs, deliver strong experiences, champion visibility and performance, and further educate themselves on vendor products will thrive.

What’s in store for the channel in 2021?

Channel Trends

What’s in store for the channel in 2021?The global pandemic has undoubtedly caused organisations to revisit their well-planned strategies for ...

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2021 Predictions for Building the Best Channel... 2021 Predictions for Building the Best Channel...

Ellen Linkenhoker

2021 Predictions for Building the Best Channel Partner Programs If there’s one thing I have to keep from 2020 it’s our newfound ...

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2021 Predictions for Building the Best Channel Partner Programs

Channel Trends

2021 Predictions for Building the Best Channel Partner Programs If there’s one thing I have to keep from 2020 it’s our newfound appreciation ...

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What Channel Marketing Leaders Must Prepare For... What Channel Marketing Leaders Must Prepare For...

Nov 30, 2020,11:36am EST

What Channel Marketing Leaders Must Prepare For In 2021 A critical priority for B2B channel marketing organizations is establishing ...

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51 Channel-Trends-Channel-Trends jplist-topic-channel jplist-topic-telecom 0 504783 504783 What Channel Marketing Leaders Must Prepare For In 2021 A critical priority for B2B channel marketing organizations is establishing annual plans that drive the desired level of engagement, performance and ROI across the channel partner ecosystem in alignment with future buyer needs and considering current market conditions. This year has been unlike any other. Although we hope a return to normal is near, from a business perspective, we expect the effects of this year’s events to have an impact on our plans for the upcoming year.  Understanding partner and buyer needs is paramount during 2021 planning. The current market disruption will have an ongoing impact on the channel, and channel marketers must cultivate acceptance and empathy toward partners and their buyers during these challenging times. To help channel marketing leaders prepare, Forrester recently published our Channel Marketing Planning Assumptions research brief, which describes five key trends that will affect channel marketing in 2021:  Respect buyers by developing a true solution approach. B2B suppliers must develop an understanding of what buyers buy from their channel partners, as this may extend beyond what the supplier sells. When organizations are creating a buyer-aligned strategy, understanding buyer needs is the most critical area of knowledge because it drives true solution mapping. Indirect buyers often prefer to work with channel partners to purchase complete solutions to their business needs. This situation may result in complex solutions that include the definition, implementation, management, and support of multiple supplier offerings as well as multiple partner offerings (i.e., supplier 1 + supplier 2 + partner 1 + partner 2 ++). Understand that leads are not the goal. Historically, many suppliers have focused on campaigns and demand programs for partners that abruptly stop when a lead is generated. The goal of channel demand programs should not be leads, but rather closed/won opportunities and revenue. Channel marketing must design demand programs that support the complete buyer’s journey and extend beyond lead generation to revenue achievement. Accept revenue responsibility by enabling partners. As buyer expectations evolve, so should a supplier’s revenue enablement mindset and approach. Revenue enablement assists all individuals who interact directly or indirectly with the buyer and customer — not just the partner sales rep. Invest in partner experience. Many organizations have undertaken efforts to understand the impact of the recent market disruption on buyers and customers — and channel marketing must also undertake efforts to understand the impact on their partners. Reinforcing channel marketing’s commitment to partner experience is required to keep current on partners’ needs as well as their level of satisfaction. Be proactive and adaptive in the planning process. The lack of market stability and evolving circumstances increase the complexity of the annual planning process for 2021. For this reason, channel marketing leaders must be proactive and allow for adaptability and agility in their annual planning as conditions will change throughout the year.  In times of disruption, channel marketing leaders must align closely with their internal colleagues and while listening attentively to their partners. The current market instability and predicted changes in buyer expectations have an impact not only on direct business, but also indirect business. These five trends should all be top of mind for channel marketing leaders finalizing their plans for 2021.  To find out more about Forrester's 2021 Predictions get the complimentary guide for business leaders here. This post was written by VP and Principal Analyst Kathy Contreras, and it originally appeared here.

What Channel Marketing Leaders Must Prepare For In 2021

Channel Trends

What Channel Marketing Leaders Must Prepare For In 2021 A critical priority for B2B channel marketing organizations is establishing annual plans ...

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What I See Coming For The Channel: 2021 What I See Coming For The Channel: 2021

Jay McBain, Principal Analyst, Channel Partnerships & Alliances JAN 21 2021

What I See Coming For The Channel: 2021Last year ended up being a tale of two cities for the channel. On one hand, customers and ...

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What I See Coming For The Channel: 2021

Channel Trends

What I See Coming For The Channel: 2021Last year ended up being a tale of two cities for the channel. On one hand, customers and governments ...

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Increasing Diversity, Adapting to ‘No Normal’... Increasing Diversity, Adapting to ‘No Normal’...

Edward Gately November 16, 2020

Increasing Diversity, Adapting to ‘No Normal’ Among 2021 Channel TrendsHere's what you need to be ready to face in the new ...

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Increasing Diversity, Adapting to ‘No Normal’ Among 2021 Channel Trends

Channel Trends

Increasing Diversity, Adapting to ‘No Normal’ Among 2021 Channel TrendsHere's what you need to be ready to face in the new year. Adapting to ...

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What’s coming for the channel in 2021 What’s coming for the channel in 2021

Forrester Research for Forrester | January 22, 2021 -- 18:46 GMT

What’s coming for the channel in 2021For the channel, 2020 was a tale of two cities. On one hand, customers and governments recognized ...

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54 Channel-Trends-Channel-Trends jplist-topic-channel jplist-topic-telecom 0 504766 504766 What’s coming for the channel in 2021For the channel, 2020 was a tale of two cities. On one hand, customers and governments recognized partners as an essential service and central to their ability to rapidly respond to a worsening pandemic. On the other, customer demand shifted to automation, cloud acceleration, customer/employee experience, and e-commerce/marketplaces, where many technology channel parts were left in the cold. The industry experienced a "K-shaped" recovery where partners who had skills, resources, and prebuilt practices around the business needs of their customers excelled with double- (and sometime triple-) digit growth. Yet many smaller VARs and MSPs were down by double digits, relying on government, vendor, and distributor funding to survive. This will persist through 2021. The following are a few examples of further channel trends we can expect to see this year: THE CHANGING FUTURE OF WORK BENEFITS THE CHANNEL The pandemic was an acute symptom and accelerant of larger factors already altering the workforce. The levels of systemic risk and global exposure organizations face are rising, robots and automation are reshaping the workforce, and the balance of power is tilting toward employees. The output of this will be a remote topology requiring new levels of service, support, infrastructure, security, compliance, and continuity. The percentage of firms that outsource some or all of their IT will likely start to increase again by double digits -- for the first time in five years. As a result, the channel will begin implementing edge intelligence, edge management, and edge networking technologies. The channel must broaden the scope of cloud strategies beyond public and hybrid to include content delivery networks (CDNs), telecommunications, colocation data center edge fabrics, and domain-specific converged edge infrastructure. Security threat vectors are also intensifying due to the changing future of work. Changing business models, regulatory oversight, litigation, and third-party pressure are forcing partners to secure products and services they sell at a new level. This next-level security protection is an opportunity to expand the conversation into advanced edge, network, application, data, web, and even physical security in a residential-scale network. The channel must also consider its own future of work. Delivering a new level of customer, employee, and partner experience will determine winners and losers in 2021. The roles of channel account managers, sales, and marketing professionals are radically shifting to serve increasing digital-only customer journeys. This year, reimagined events, social selling, digital attribution, and rapidly changing programs will accelerate. SUBSCRIPTION/CONSUMPTION MODELS BECOME MAINSTREAM - BUT THE CHANNEL ISN'T READY Three years of consumer behavior change was squeezed into one year in 2020. Consumers now demand online experiences and want everything at the click of a button. Responding to the changing buyer, as well as pressure from stakeholders, several large vendors announced significant changes to the way they go to market. Additionally, traditional partner relationships are being disrupted almost overnight. This recurring business model may align well with MSPs and telco agents, but most of the VAR channel will experience material disruption. Vendors are busy building ecosystems of transacting and nontransacting partners as well as traditional and nontraditional. They are not increasing channel investments (gross to nets) to do this but instead moving money around to where they can earn more customers with higher lifetime value. MARKETPLACES, PRODUCT-LED GROWTH, AND DIRECT-TO-CUSTOMER WILL FURTHER CHALLENGE RESELL E-commerce grew more in the first three months of COVID-19 than the last 10 years combined. With 60% of customers appreciating the convenience of marketplaces, Forrester predicted 17% of the $13 trillion in B2B spend would flow to marketplaces by 2023. We will likely hit that much sooner. Marketplaces represent the continual digitization of traditional channels, and sit at the intersection of traditional resell-based partners and the world of ecosystem partners. Customers use this channel early in the buyer's journey to explore and compare different offerings, reducing cost and complexity of working with traditional channel sales. Product-led growth (PLG) is an end-user-focused growth model that relies on the product itself as the primary driver of customer acquisition, conversion, and expansion, looking to avoid channels. Companies with successful PLG strategies can grow faster and more efficiently by leveraging their products to create a pipeline of active users who are then converted into paying customers. Software-as-a-service firms traditionally grow direct until their sales and marketing become repeatable and ripe for franchising. A large number of these companies are looking to break from the linear channel model and avoid being constrained by labor and financial-intensive lead generation, sales, and customer success processes. The intent is to get to hypergrowth mode at scale. As technology buyers start to behave more like consumers, direct to consumer (DTC) companies are inspiring companies to relook at their customer experience and build more intimate relationships directly with buyers. As Millennials are at the forefront of driving change in the economy, customer expectations are shifting, with preferences for more streamlined and digital purchase experiences, maximum convenience, and an authentic brand experience. A perfect storm of better technology and full-service buyer tools will complicate channel partners' ability to get in front of the buyer early and lock in their value for the long term. CHANNEL PROCESS AUTOMATION BECOMES REALITY The largest opportunity for the channel coming out of 2020 was automation. Robotic process automation (RPA) vendors are now valued at $17 billion, and 45% of global data and analytics decision-makers have implemented or are implementing RPA in a project, per Forrester. Combining this trend with the movement into ecosystems has led channel and alliances leaders to look at new levels of automation within their programs, processes, people, and technology. Ecosystems have, on average, 10 times more partners than transactional channel programs and require the core elements, such as recruitment, onboarding, and management, to scale comparatively. Ecosystem leaders are not given 10 times the resources, so channel process automation (CPA) has percolated to the top of the list. In CPA workflows, bots will take on the most predictable, mechanical, and repetitive activities, while channel professionals can specialize in using judgment, creativity, and language. THE CHANNEL REVENUE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY CATEGORY GROWS UP The second-largest trend in channel software is the maturation and expansion of the revenue management category. Salesforce made a huge splash in 2021 when it announced Revenue Cloud, a combination of several products, including CPQ, billing (including new multicloud), B2B Commerce, and channel software (PRM). This reinforces industry trends such as subscription/consumption models, marketplace growth, and pan-route strategies vendors are considering. As marketplaces become the connective tissue of ecosystems, revenue management technology that automates and streamlines multiple routes and go-to-market strategies will provide a critical toolkit for buyers, sellers, partners, and distributors. To understand the business and technology trends critical to 2021, download Forrester's complimentary 2021 Predictions Guide here. This post was written by Principal Analyst Jay McBain, and it originally appeared here.

What’s coming for the channel in 2021

Channel Trends

What’s coming for the channel in 2021For the channel, 2020 was a tale of two cities. On one hand, customers and governments recognized partners ...

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8 Trends Channel Partners Should Look Out For In... 8 Trends Channel Partners Should Look Out For In...

Wayne Monk, ASG, January 28, 2021

8 Trends Channel Partners Should Look Out For In 2021We made it through 2020! Now what? While 2021 has already been painted as a year of ...

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55 Channel-Trends-Channel-Trends jplist-topic-channel jplist-topic-telecom 0 504767 504767 8 Trends Channel Partners Should Look Out For In 2021We made it through 2020! Now what? While 2021 has already been painted as a year of recovery – and in many cases, playing digital catchup – there are, in fact, new and exciting things ahead. Yes, many trends will arise in direct response to the pandemic. However, others will surface as companies embark on their steep and accelerated trajectories toward modernization. The pandemic struggle is not over, but there is now potential for business progress. As organizations and their channel partners look to push ahead in 2021, there are eight trends they should pay attention to.Committing To A Digital-First, Virtual-First World While the shift to a digital-first, virtual-first world started in 2020, it will be coming to fruition in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic made companies aware that their businesses were not ready to be fully digital. Despite claiming to operate in the digital economy, many were not prepared to support a virtual workforce in addition to a virtual business. Moving to a digital-first, virtual-first world will become even more important to end customers in 2021 as they define their sets of business requirements, as well as their expectations for customer service. Any companies and partners that were hoping the “new normal” would eventually resemble the old normal, must commit to a more permanent change to their business. Channel Partners Are Moving To Hyper-Automation To service these new demands from end customers, many channel partners are transitioning to hyper-automation, which is imperative to delivering a digital service because it builds resilience and improves the experience. Automation is top of mind because people aren’t in offices or data centers anymore. They’re confronted with manual tasks and human dependencies and need to stitch them together in an automated way. The use of hyper-automation is converging with robotic process automation (RPA), business process automation (BPM), decision support, and presentation layer – all through a single design studio. It enables services to be available faster digitally. In the race to a digital-first, virtual-first world, partners that can keep pace will pull ahead. Digital Dust Will Be An Even Bigger Deal Every person leaves a trail of digital dust – also known as a digital footprint – showing how we view the web, the forms we filled out, etc. Following the dust, companies are harvesting the data and using it in both good and bad ways, from commercializing to hacking it. In 2021, focusing on privacy will be critical. As more regulations come out to protect digital dust, companies must know what data they have, where it is, and how to ensure compliance and privacy-aware governance. There will be no sweeping the digital dust under the rug. Content Management Will Be The Key To Privacy As these data privacy regulations increase, more and more consumers will have the right to understand what data companies are harvesting, how they are using it, and be forgotten. When companies receive these requests, they not only have to acquiesce, but they must also show their work. Content services will be a critical tool to accomplish both. Organizations can establish privacy-aware governance to ensure they can locate all consumer data if and when there are deletion requests. Based on the industry policy, companies can delete, redact, or hold/archive the data as needed. Policy-based redaction also can be federated across multiple data sources, so companies can be thorough in their compliance efforts. Self-Evaluation Is Evolving Into Self-Purchase While the pandemic outmoded many predictions for 2020, one trend did get realized: customers’ preference for self-discovery evolved to an expectation for self-evaluation. Now, in 2021, self-evaluation is shifting to self-purchase. COVID-19 put even more pressure on customers’ autonomy. So now, they can self-discover, play with, and evaluate a tool, go to an online marketplace, and get the product delivered physically to their desk or via the cloud. Ecommerce already transformed experiences for consumers, and now it’s changing the way businesses operate, too. Channel partners must think about how they can play in this world and where they can make their money. The Salesperson Is Now A Customer Care Pro The role of the traditional salesperson is diminishing due to the shift toward self-discovery, self-evaluation, and self-purchase. Simultaneously, business priorities are changing. While customer adoption always has been important, customer retention is even bigger. With an increase in consumption-based and subscription licensing models, there is pressure to retain and earn customers’ business every day – or in some cases, every year. So, salespeople are no longer just selling, they are retaining. Customer adoption is just the first part of a long game of customer support and care. Channel Partners Are The New Influencers The traditional partner model of reselling is under pressure. Profit models are changing. How do partners make money around influence, one might ask? Some partners are shifting their business to provide more advisory and architecture-oriented services, while others are electing to innovate and sell their solutions. Vendors are now challenged to evolve their partner programs benefits to reward partners that can influence customer decisions to incorporate their technology into the customers’ requirements and help users realize the value to ultimately make a purchase. If channel partners can influence the influencers at end-customer companies, they can shift their model from sales and acquisition to influence and retention. Partners Are Teaming Up There always has been ample teaming in the federal government, where it takes a lot of skills to architect and deliver large-scale programs. Now there is more partner-to-partner teaming in the commercial market segments. The commercial markets are demanding solutions that scale across many silos. Often one partner can’t do it all. Digital transformation appeals to that trend, in fact – touching on multiple parts of the business, infrastructure, and breaking down siloes. To deliver the outcomes customers are looking for, it will take collaboration. 2021 is demanding a level of change that many companies and partners – even the channel at large – have not undertaken in recent years, at least not in such a short time frame. From adopting new technologies, to rebuilding sales strategies and roles, to contending with a newly structured business world, there is no shortage of room for growth. Partners that embrace these changes will maintain and improve their businesses and relationships. Those that ignore the trends may be ignored by the market soon enough. About The Author Wayne Monk is SVP, Global Alliances and Channel Sales at ASG.

8 Trends Channel Partners Should Look Out For In 2021

Channel Trends

8 Trends Channel Partners Should Look Out For In 2021We made it through 2020! Now what? While 2021 has already been painted as a year of recovery ...

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Five mobility trends to watch out for in 2021 Five mobility trends to watch out for in 2021

Published on Intelligenttransport.com

From the article:Five Mobility Trends to Watch out for in 2021 Five mobility trends to watch out for in 2021 Carol Schweiger lays out ...

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56 Mobility-Trends--Mobility-Trends- jplist-topic-Mobility 0 503975 503975 From the article:Five Mobility Trends to Watch out for in 2021 Five mobility trends to watch out for in 2021 Carol Schweiger lays out her vision for the transport industry in 2021, while reflecting on last year’s predictions and assessing how many of them came to fruition. There seems to be a plethora of articles that cover mobility trends and predictions for 2021, and I imagine that you have already read several of those. So here are my predictions for 2021 as I consider innovations that are here for the longer term, beyond the pandemic, and the issues associated with those innovations, such as how equity can be achieved with technology-enabled mobility. Let’s do a quick re-cap of my 2020 predictions ( as well as the revisions made as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic) see and see whether or not they were realised. "> "> "> "> "> "> "> "> "> "> "); font-family: muli, Arial; font-weight: 300; background-position: left 9px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">More travel time goals in major urban areas as a result of transportation planning efforts. While Singapore defined their travel time goals in 2019 as part of their Land Transport Master Plan 2040.1 in 2020, the 15-minute city was touted by several cities as a way in “which daily urban necessities are within a 15-minute reach on foot or by bike.”2Mobility as a Service (MaaS) deployments incorporating traffic data. In 2020, Ghent, Belgium, realised Traffic Management as a Service (TMaaS), which was developed as part of the Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) Initiative of the European Union. Ghent’s TMaaS is shown below. 3Automated vehicles (AVs) will actually be put into public transport service. In 2020, the Future Automated Bus Urban Level Operation System (FABULOS) project demonstrated actual public transport operations using AVs in regular traffic in a variety of locations in Europe. Furthermore, in the US, AVs are an integral part of Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s (JTA’s) Ultimate Urban Circulator Program (U2C) to greatly improve mobility in and around Jacksonville. 4More use of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning in public transport. While a Union Internationale des Transports Publics (UITP) Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Mass Public Transport study identified existing and promising applications of AI in 2018, in 2020, new applications of AI have been used to provide flexibility in critical public transport activities that typically take a long time to perform, such as fixed-route scheduling, while considering COVID-19 implications such as social distancing and vehicle cleanliness. I address this more in my 2021 predictions later in the article.Focus on the “Complete Trip.” The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) “awarded over $38 million to five awardees through its Complete Trip – ITS4US Deployment Program. The projects will enable communities to showcase innovative business partnerships, technologies, and practices that promote independent mobility for all. The three-phased effort will create large-scale, replicable deployments that generate increased mobility options across multiple modes of transportation to address the challenges of planning and executing complete trips.” 5More pilot programs that not only digitise the curb, but also institute a reservation system or regulate the curb. Numerous curb management efforts have been conducted in 2020 throughout the world. Notable projects in the US include those in Aspen, Colorado; Bellevue, Washington (part of the 2020 Transportation for America Smart Cities Collaborative); and Omaha, Nebraska. 6Continue to move toward open platforms and data to drive technology-enabled mobility services. In 2020, this move continued and was perhaps best exemplified by the “Openness in MaaS” defined by Boyd Cohen, PhD, IoMob CEO. He “presented the following graphic to guide a discussion on the relative amount of openness we are witnessing and envision for the future.” 7 “Openness in MaaS” Adding to this is the work of the Open Mobility Foundation (OMF), which “is an open-source software foundation that creates a governance structure around open-source mobility tools, beginning with a focus on the Mobility Data Specification (MDS)”. 8 TMaaS in Ghent, Belgium9                                                                                                                 Credit: Wim Vandersleyen 1.     MaaS or MOD? The lines between MaaS and Mobility on Demand (MOD) will continue to blur. While there are and have been many efforts to define both of these terms (eg SAE J3163: Taxonomy of On-Demand and Shared Mobility), the industry continues to discuss critical characteristics of on-demand mobility services. In summary, many of these discussions result in the realisation that MaaS is a tool that provides access to MOD. However, discussions regarding the relevant business models, the impacts of MaaS and MOD on travel behavior, the sustainability of MaaS/MOD platforms given their current reliance on venture capital, the development and use of proper evaluation frameworks, and determining “readiness” for MaaS will continue in 2021.  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 2.     Developing standards within technology The second prediction is that much more work will be done in harmonising standards upon which various types of technology-enabled mobility are based. A project conducted by the USDOT, the Multimodal and Accessible Travel Standards Assessment, developed among other reports, a standards roadmap to address gaps and trends that will be inclusive, address inequities, and meet needs of vulnerable transportation users. One overarching activity that will be necessary is the co-ordination of standards that have been developed independently through different organisations. This has resulted in “inconsistencies, ambiguities and incomplete requirements [which] prevent interoperability.” Furthermore, this necessitates collaboration and the harmonisation of the technical standards among the varied organisations developing standards for the various communities and domains.” 17 For example, in the curb access and management area, there are multiple gaps and overlaps in the current standards that will benefit from harmonisation. Currently, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is developing ISO 4448 – a global standard for the future sidewalk and curb. Another example of mobility standards harmonisation is the “Transport Operator to MaaS Provider [TOMP]- Application Programming Interface [API], which is a standardised and technical interface between MaaS providers and transport operators. This standard-based API from Transport Operators (TO) to or from MaaS Providers (MP) allows all participating companies to communicate about planning, booking, execution, support, general information and payments of multimodal, end-user specific trips. Using the TOMP-API enhances the interoperability between parties in the MaaS ecosystem.” 18The TOMP standard-based API was developed by the MaaS program of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. Standards will need to be harmonised to ensure our mobility technology runs smoothly 3.     Levelling the playing field The third prediction is the recognition of, and effort to, incorporate equity into technology-enabled mobility services. While equity discussions erupted throughout the world in 2020 as a result of the death of George Floyd, this event elevated the equity of mobility services well beyond where it was in the past. Key discussions in the past included the following: In 2016, the equity of technology-enabled mobility services was covered in US Transportation Research Board (TRB) Special Report 319 19In 2017, “STEPS to Transportation Equity” including key equity dimensions were developed in a USDOT project and described in my 2019 predictions article for Intelligent Transport 20In 2018, a mobility equity framework was described in The Greenlining Institute’s “Mobility Equity Framework: How to Make Transportation Work for People” 21In 2019, the “Equity and Smart Mobility” study was commissioned by the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) and conducted by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) 22 In 2021, I expect that equity will be directly addressed, in part, through technology firms and public sector agencies identifying and using equity metrics in the development and deployment of technology-enabled mobility services. This approach could be facilitated by an equity assessment tool, such as that being developed in TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Project (TCRP) B-47: Impact of Transformational Technologies on Underserved Populations. This project will “develop an assessment tool that can be used as a checklist for reviewing the inclusiveness of transformational technologies for transportation services. Develop mobility inclusion guidelines for developing and implementing emerging mobility services. The guidelines will aid practitioners in efforts to include underserved users in the transportation technology revolution.” 23 4.     Speeding up processes The fourth prediction is that activities related to public transport operations that typically take a long time, such as scheduling and restructuring transport services, will be able to be conducted quickly. This flexibility and agility will be required in order to adjust services or provide new information to the public on an as-need basis according to pandemic factors that impact the use of public transport. Download our NEW 2021 Media plannerTo assist in putting together your marketing strategy for 2021, please download our NEW 2021 Media planner which is packed with various opportunities for you to engage with Intelligent Transport’s ever-growing audience.We are continuing our work with leading transport operators, authorities and associations alike on a range of multimedia content that pushes the messages that matter to our audience.Intelligent Transport has been recognised by the TABBIE awards, winning GOLD for digital imagery on a front cover. Partnering with us gives you the opportunity to work with an award-winning team to help you reach the right people at the right level and at the right time. Make sure you are a 2021 Intelligent Transport collaborator.DOWNLOAD HERE These factors, which are expected to exist beyond the pandemic, include physical distancing, vehicle, station or stop crowdedness and cleanliness, modifying services to ensure minimum service levels for critical workers (who often cannot work from home and have no other way to access their jobs), and optimising the transport workforce. Public transport has not been agile traditionally, particularly in adjusting service levels and providing new real-time information. With the advent of new tools, including the use of AI and machine learning, the analyses that drive these innovations can be done very quickly and operational modifications put into place virtually overnight. For example, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in Boston deployed new and critical real-time crowding information to passengers in three months. The effort that was required to bring this information to the public would have normally taken much longer. The idea to provide this information was conceived on 9 April, 2020 and deployed in the field on 19 June, 2020. 24 The MBTA managed to launch a significant project in just three months 5.     Improving technology The fifth prediction, which is directly related to the fourth, is making significant improvements in transport technology, such as real-time transport information and contactless payment methods. One example of improving the accuracy of real-time information is the improved NexTrip system used by Metro Transit in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. In the autumn of 2020, Metro Transit deployed their improved NexTrip system which incorporates a “customised real-time prediction algorithm that combines historical and real-time information with Metro Transit-specific operating rules and practices to produce the most accurate results. “This prediction method uses an adaptive algorithm, so the predictions will improve over time and react to unexpected events. The prediction algorithm employs a Kalman Filter that draws on data from the past weeks, days and hours to handle travel time and dwell time (when the bus is stopped). “The Kalman Filter is an adaptive algorithm, capable of recognizing unusual conditions (such as traffic congestion, weather events, etc.). When these events occur, the algorithm incorporates the travel times of downstream vehicles to create predictions that are more accurate than traditional methods.” 25 The other innovation associated with real-time information comes from a TCRP Transit Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) project in which “Interline Technologies and the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida (USF) have created a prototype platform that makes GTFS Realtime validation tools readily available to, potentially, all transit agencies in North America. The project included testing the prototype platform with staff at a representative sample of transit agencies and proposed next steps for expanding the platform into a ‘self-serve’ process for more agencies.” 26 At Intelligent Transport’s Transport Innovation Summit 2020 in a panel session entitled ‘Assessing What Comes Next For Payments In Urban Transport’, Jeremy Acklam, the Integrated and Smart Travel Director with Transport for the North (TfN), mentioned that identity is what drives the future of payments in transport, so the use of a contactless bankcard is likely to be a more short-term payment solution. The side effect of using a bankcard is what happens to your identity – it is passed around to multimodal services, so it is questionable whether your identity is secure. This session included a discussion of moving toward a pseudonymous payment method and away from bankcards in transport. Put simply, “anonymous data is any information from which the person to whom the data relates cannot be identified, whether by the company processing the data or by any other person. Pseudonymous data still allows for some form of re-identification (even indirect and remote), while anonymous data cannot be re-identified.” 27 In 2021, it is likely that we will begin to see this payment innovation in addition to other innovations such as biometric identification solutions. While technology-enabled mobility advances continue to be identified, it often takes a culture of innovation within public transport agencies to facilitate the application of these advances. In the US, we are seeing more and more agencies embrace innovation by creating positions or departments that focus on innovation. For example, innovation directors can be found in not only major urban transport agencies (e.g., Dr. Joshua Schank, Chief Innovation Officer, Office of Extraordinary Innovation, Los Angeles Metro), but also in smaller agencies (e.g., Sophia Mohr, Chief Innovation Officer at Central Ohio Transit Authority [COTA]). In 2021, I expect to see these leaders drive the deployment of new technology innovations. References https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/dam/ltagov/who_we_are/our_work/land_transport_master_plan_2040/pdf/LTA%20LTMP%202040%20eReport.pdfNatalie Whittle, “Welcome to the 15-minute city,” Financial Times, July 17, 2020, https://www.ft.com/content/c1a53744-90d5-4560-9e3f-17ce06aba69ahttps://www.uia-initiative.eu/en/uia-cities/ghentCarol Schweiger, “Automated Vehicles – Planning for the Future,” prepared for the National Center for Applied Transit Technology, October 23, 2020, https://n-catt.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AVs_Final_WhitePaper.pdf“U.S. Department of Transportation Announces Over $41 Million in Awards for Innovative Technologies to Improve Transportation Mobility and Access for Persons with Disabilities,” January 6, 2021, https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-announces-over-41-million-awards-innovative-technologiesSkip Descant, “Curb-Management Pilots Smooth the Flow of Traffic, Deliveries,” Government Technology, January 13, 2021, https://www.govtech.com/fs/Curb-Management-Pilots-Smooth-the-Flow-of-Traffic-Deliveries.htmlIomob Team, “The Many Shades of Openness in MaaS/MOD,” 23 October 2020, https://www.iomob.net/the-many-shades-of-openness-in-maas-mod/“About the Open Mobility Foundation,” https://www.openmobilityfoundation.org/about/ Stephanie Leonard, “Connecting Traffic Management & MaaS,” Presentation in 2020 ITS World Congress All-Access, Session 4018: The Role of Transportation Systems Management and Operations in Mobility as a Service, October 8, 2020, https://www.itsamericaevents.com/its-all-access/en-us/education-sessions/session-details.1846.45434.the-role-of-transportation-systems-management-and-operations-in-mobility-as-a-service.htmlSkedGo, “MaaS use cases #5: changing business models and innovative use of transport assets,” Medium, September 14, 2020, https://medium.com/@skedgo/maas-use-cases-5-changing-business-models-and-innovative-use-of-transport-assets-dc71b03ddf3cBoyd Cohen, Ph.D., “The MaaS Monetization Matrix,” Medium, May 11, 2020, https://medium.com/@boyd_19249/the-maas-monetization-matrix-by-iomob-a8cc17be5aaJana Sochor, Ph.D., “Piecing together the puzzle of Mobility as a Service: Insights from the user and service design perspectives,” presentation in International Transport Forum (ITF) Roundtable on Integrating Public Transport into MaaS, October 12, 2020, https://www.itf-oecd.org/integrating-public-transport-mobility-service-maas-roundtableMulley, C. and J. Nelson (2020), “How Mobility as a Service Impacts Public Transport Business Models”, International Transport Forum Discussion Papers, No. 2020/17, OECD Publishing, Paris, , https://www.itf-oecd.org/integrating-public-transport-mobility-service-maas-roundtableSusan Shaheen and Adam Cohen, “Chapter 3 – Mobility on Demand (MOD) and Mobility as a Service (MaaS): Early Understanding of Shared Mobility Impacts and Public Transit Partnerships,” In Demand for Emerging Transportation Systems: Modeling Adoption, Satisfaction, and Mobility Patterns, 2020, Pages 37-59, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815018-4.00003-6, December 2019, https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5030f0cdJana Sochor, Ph.D., “Evaluation of Mobility as a Service,” Presentation in 2020 ITS World Congress All-Access, Session 4673: Does MaaS Contribute to Sustainable Transportation?, September 23, 2020, https://www.itsamericaevents.com/its-all-access/en-us/education-sessions/session-details.1846.45413.does-maas-contribute-to-sustainable-transportation.htmlThe Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), in collaboration with Mott MacDonald and a team of international specialists, has developed a MaaS and Mobility Assessment Framework. These framework will be the subject of a webinar in March 2021 sponsored by the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Innovative Public Transportation Services and Technologies (AP020)Paula Okunieff, Deepak Gopalakrishna, Les Brown, Carol Schweiger, Annie Chang, Katy O’Reilly and Adrian Guan, Roadmap for Multimodal and Accessible Traveler (MAT) Standardization Work, prepared for USDOT, Draft Report, to be published on https://www.its.dot.gov/research_archives/mod/mod_resources.htmBlueprint for an API for TOs and MPs (the TOMP-API), https://github.com/TOMP-WG/TOMP-API/wiki/IntroductionNational Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2016. Between Public and Private Mobility: Examining the Rise of Technology-Enabled Transportation Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/21875. http://nap.edu/21875Carol Schweiger, “Top Five technology trends to transform mobility in 2019, Intelligent Transport, 18 January 2019, https://www.intelligenttransport.com/transport-articles/75123/top-five-technology-trends-to-transform-mobility-in-2019/Hana Creger, Joel Espino and Alvaro S. Sanchez, “Mobility Equity Framework: How to Make Transportation Work for People,” The Greenlining Institute, http://greenlining.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Mobility-Equity-Framework-Final.pdfLinda Young, Elizabeth Irvin and Preeti Shankar, Equity and Smart Mobility, prepared for the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), September 2019, https://www.cnt.org/sites/default/files/publications/Equity-and-Smart-Mobility-Report.pdfTCRP B-47 – Impact of Transformational Technologies on Underserved Populations, https://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=4686Ashli Molina, “Communicating Crowding Information to Riders: During COVID and Beyond,” presentation at Autonomy Digital 2020, 4 November 2020, https://autonomy.app.swapcard.com/event/autonomy-digital-2020/planning/UGxhbm5pbmdfMjIyNzYxSarah Anderson, “A pilot to enhance real-time bus predictions for Metro Transit,” Cambridge Systematics Insights, September 09, 2019, https://www.camsys.com/insights/pilot-enhance-real-time-bus-predictions-metro-transitDrew Dara-Abrams, Ph.D., An Open Platform for Transit Agencies to Improve the Quality of Their Real-Time Data, TCRP Transit IDEA Project 93, October 2020, http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/IDEA/FinalReports/Transit/Transit93.pdfCédric Burton and Sára Hoffman, “Personal Data, Anonymization, and Pseudonymization in the EU,” The WSGR Data Advisor, September 15, 2015, https://www.wsgrdataadvisor.com/2015/09/personal-data-anonymization-and-pseudonymization-in-the-eu/ BiographyCarol Schweiger is the President of Schweiger Consulting and Chairperson of the New England Intelligent Transportation Society. She is internationally recognised in transportation technology consulting, providing over 55 transportation agencies with technology technical assistance. She has authored numerous Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis reports and full TCRP reports.Currently, she serves as co-Chair of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Emerging and Innovative Public Transport and Technologies, a Charter Member of the Public Transportation Systems and Services (PTSS) Committee of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America and member of the International Program Committee of the ITS World Congress and TRB ITS Committee.

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57 Mobility-Trends--Mobility-Trends- jplist-topic-Mobility 0 503974 503974 From the article: 5 Standout Talent Mobility Trends for 2021

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6G Communication Myths, Explored by IDTechEx 6G Communication Myths, Explored by IDTechEx

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60 Mobility-Trends--Mobility-Trends- jplist-topic-Mobility 0 503929 503929 From the article: 6G Communication Myths, Explored by IDTechEx Cambridge, UK – March 18, 2021 – 6G Communications will become one of the largest technology investments. It is currently in the healthy first stage of promising everything to widely deploy some in 2030. Meanwhile, 5G to “Beyond 5G” awaits. We upgrade telephony to be more useful every ten years. The new IDTechEx report, “6G Communications Market, Devices, Materials 2021-2041”, predicts 6G communications may be more thing-to-thing than human communication. Once again, frequency increases a magnitude. We may mimic 5G in starting at the easy bottom, then go up another magnitude to grab extra benefits. 5G went from GHz level to tens of GHz. 6G may start at a few hundred GHz, then employ 1THz. Only 6G can widely serve the exponential growth beyond 500 billion connected machines in 2030, real-time holographic communication, the future of virtual reality and empowerment of the poor in realistic timeframes. Expect cell-less communications and Wireless Information and Energy Transfer. WIET is 26 billion passive-RFID tags yearly (IDTechEx analysis). Some sense at the instant of being interrogated. 6G WIET promises that on steroids, even charging your smartphone. 6G will serve airliners at 10 km using Free Space Optical FSO links and deep underwater with fiber-optic links. Internet of Things nodes real-time monitoring billions of trees and ocean oil spills in 3D, billions in concrete structures? Hold on. This sits awkwardly with the consensus that local 6G has to be at terahertz frequencies to get magnitude-or-more improvements in data-rate, capacity, and latency. Terahertz is the Wild West of physics and electronics: little understood, even less demonstrated. They call it the Terahertz Gap. However, this we know. Beam spreading and attenuation, combined with feeble transmission technologies, currently limits these sad pencil beams to a few meters on earth. They are stopped dead by almost anything. We may need electronic wallpaper to get them round the house and many electronic billboards boosting and redirecting them outside. Caption: Aerospace candidates for widest area 6G coverage. Craft usually multipurpose with 6G as one option. Green good, yellow medium, dark grey bad. Source IDTechEx report, “6G Communications Market, Devices, Materials 2021-2041”. Raghu Das, CEO of analysts IDTechEx, advises, “Massively-deployed Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces RIS are known by six other names just to confuse you. They will be essential for 6G to boost, redirect, collimate, polarise and otherwise manipulate those feeble THz beams using metamaterials embedding new active devices.” Even at this early stage, some myths are emerging. They are: 6G will be everywhere. No. It flies in the face of the megatrend of eliminating infrastructure. THz local investment will never be justified to put 6G local infrastructure “everywhere.”Widest-area 6G backhaul/ fronthaul is a done deal with thousands of Low Earth Orbit satellites recently flung up there and maybe 60,000 in prospect due to competition? No. They have a growing number of legal, safety, light-pollution, repair, latency and other issues. Solar fixed-wing and airship drones intended to be aloft at only 20km for a similar time of 5-7 years have huge advantages of holding position, far-lower latency and cost, easy repair and heavier payloads. Add them. Smaller numbers suffice.6G should benefit IoT in locations with long-distance optical links. Serving unpowered devices such as 30-year, multi-sensor IoT nodes with fit-and-forget supercapacitors will be excellent. For more, existing energy harvesting is too weak and intermittent to power 99% of envisioned IoT nodes but add 6G WIET. Nonetheless, affordable 6G IoT everywhere in tens of billions yearly? Unlikely.6G is essential for autonomous vehicles. No, not even desirable. The Tesla approach is to make a car you can put anywhere and it will navigate safely without being connected to any wireless system. Even the interim stage of LIDAR using ongoing mapping does not need connectivity. Relying on a new form of connectivity that requires exceptionally complex hardware everywhere would be downright dangerous. That is why the telecom operators went quiet about the 6G robot vehicle idea. Vehicles need connectivity and 6G may provide a better form but that is another matter.License 6G bands near 10THz for even greater 6G performance? Sadly, in air, there is a nasty jump in attenuation beyond 1THz and active components get really challenging. This is not desirable or achievable.Nevertheless, those arguing B5G means no need for 6G are wrong. Basic physics. IDTechEx report, “5G Technology, Market and Forecasts 2020-2030” explains and the IDTechEx 6G report tracks even more-demanding requirements arriving, making this more of a myth. We need 6G. For more information on this report, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/6GComms, or for the full portfolio of 5G and 6G related research available from IDTechEx please visit www.IDTechEx.com/Research/5G. About IDTechEx IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research, Subscription and Consultancy products, helping you profit from emerging technologies. For more information, contact research@IDTechEx.com or visit www.IDTechEx.com.

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71 Telecommunications-Trends-Telecommunications-Trends jplist-topic-Telecommunications 0 503814 503814 From the article: 2021 Telecommunications industry outlook by DeloitteKey strategies for a bold recovery Heading into 2021, telecommunications, media, and entertainment industry leaders should consider three key strategic opportunities both to recover from the COVID-19 crisis and to boldly position themselves to thrive in the future: Renewing the focus on customers’ needs by taking a more nuanced approach to customer engagementConverging and remixing entertainment experiences through new service offerings and entertainment bundles—and by adopting new strategies that can enable business agilityRepositioning to monetize advanced wireless networks through new products, services, and business models Download a PDF of the full report to learn more about the impacts of telecommunication industry trends, key actions to take, and critical questions to ask.

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