I've been absent. AWOL.
I did have a rhythm posting a new blog post several times a month and sometimes several a week. On energy efficiency. On cloud.
Crunched for time and stopped.
Like golf - a time thing. You enjoy it. You need time to do it.
As one EMC exec says: "You can do anything you want, just not everything you want."
So I've been grappling with that for some time.
Well, I don't have any new time bonus but I'm coming back to the blog fold - at least part-time. That's because I'm seeing some interesting developments as cloud is forcing a rethink for channel and value-added reseller business models.
It's a cloud topic that hasn't gotten enough attention.
Just as we have some early adopter customers, we have early adopter resellers. These are advanced EMC partners making a fairly rapid shift toward expertise and offerings that support their customers in transition to cloud-based IT models.
So, what's that mean?
This week I am in Europe to spend time with a few EMC partners in a series of visits and
and a couple of advanced training days. The point is that our partners - not just in EMEA - are very aware that the coming of cloud computing means change for their customers but also a fundamental change in their own business models. While it's easy to say and may even be obvious, it isn't easy to do. There are new roles that need new skills. New ways of consulting, selling, offering services that require new thinking.
So, EMC is looking to help in a variety of ways - advanced training being one. That's why we created the new "Cloud Architect" training. But more importantly we are increasing investment in the advanced technical, sales and business capabilities of partners because the shift to cloud is more than a technology advance. It's a whole new way of doing business. New way of doing government too.
The "Information Policy" blog recently noted that cloud computing is critical to European Union competitiveness:
"European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes sees cloud as ... one of the key enabling information technologies that can help European businesses –especially SMEs – to drastically reduce IT costs, help governments supply services at a lower cost to citizens and make computing much more energy efficient. The promotion of cloud computing in Europe is therefore an important objective of the Digital Agenda for Europe."
So, if the EU sees it and EMC partners see it and EMC is taking a position to lead it, then EMC should be doing all that it can to address the transformation. That, of course, is frequently demonstrated in EMC technology advances.
But there is more to be done in "how to. The development of the business models, the means to transition from what we did to what we need to do next and the need to understand just what the benefits and opportunities of the new model have in store.
Pitfalls too.
As the idea of cloud has become more widely understood and accepted, the how-do-we get-there questions are more critical. For example, it's clear that there must be an organizational evolution as well as a technical one.
The traditional technical skills are still absolutely needed but in many ways it's even more important for the people and business process to advance. Start with a new understanding of business service implications and look at developing skills in cloud architecture and the management of new services such as virtual desktops, infrastructure services, application services etc.
Then think about how to accelerate all of that through consulting, education and certifications.
Many of our partners are well on their way - and their customers are too.
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