Differences
It seems that the largest differences between distie cloud portals are similar to the distributors themselves: what they are generally like to work with as a reseller, and the specific products and services available through the system.
The larger vendors – such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Citrix, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM Softlayer and Symantec – are widely available from multiple distributors. All the systems provide hosting and networking infrastructure. VMware is well represented for private hosting, and the big public clouds of AWS and Azure are easy enough to come by, with Avnet adding Google to its offerings shortly.
Distributors tend to offer only one or two data protection or security vendors, and a smattering of other, higher-level services depending on their market focus.
The big standout is Nextgen Connect. It has chosen to focus solely on the Oracle cloud ecosystem; there’s no buying other public cloud options here.
Different cloud portals, while offering similar services in broad terms, will no doubt diverge as they come to serve different sets of customers; both their resellers and the vendors that plug into their ecosystem. Nextgen Connect has chosen to jump into this approach from the beginning.
We expect to see some of these ecosystems flourish, and others to wither and die. While it’s not possible to know which this early on in the game, the distributors that listen to the needs of their channel will have the edge. Tom Ward, director at Vigilant IT, says he really likes the way Dicker Data’s team “listen and work collaboratively with us to deliver on what our business needs.” It’s this responsiveness to what resellers want that will ultimately determine if an ecosystem will succeed or fail.
It’s still early days for cloud portals, and it’s not completely clear how a reseller can make best use of them. For some, a multi-distributor approach may make sense, particularly if your customers need vendor offerings that aren’t available in a given distie’s platform. For others, getting really cosy with a single distie and encouraging them to build the features you need could provide a lot of benefits in becoming part of a robust and well integrated ecosystem. The cost advantages of a one-stop shop might outweigh the variety available by shopping around.
The breadth of the offering from the bigger players will need to be countered by the smaller players paying close attention to the needs of their reseller partners and growing a robust ecosystem. This is a fast-moving space, so resellers interested in expanding their offerings would be wise to talk to distributors about what they have coming up – not just what’s available today.
CLOUD PORTALS IN FOCUS
Arrow ECS
Arrow ECS launched its DC CloudSelect platform in May 2015 (back when it was local distie Distribution Central).
Key vendors include AWS, IBM Softlayer, Sophos, F5, Adobe and Xero.
The CloudSelect platform appears to be aimed at the mid-market, and would suit resellers familiar with Arrow’s approach to distribution who want to add cloud services to their offerings.
Avnet
Avnet was the first to launch its cloud portal in Australia back in 2012. Its portal is based on the Orbitera platform that was acquired by Google in August 2016.
Avnet provides a large array of services in its cloud marketplace, including AWS and Azure, IBM Bluemix and Softlayer services, and Oracle cloud. Avnet’s commercial relationship with Microsoft complicates the way it provides Office 365, which needs to be purchased as part of a larger bundle. Given Orbitera’s new owners, we can expect Google cloud offerings to be added to the Avnet platform quite soon.
Avnet’s broad offerings, plus its enterprise and data centre acumen, will appeal to resellers from the mid-market upwards, though many SMBs will also find something to like here.
Dicker Data
Dicker Data’s CloudPortal launched in August 2015 and was developed entirely in-house.
Key vendors available through the platform include Microsoft, Citrix, Symantec, Veritas, HPE, and StorageCraft.
Dicker Data’s focus is on the SMB to mid-market, and would suit resellers with a strong SMB background who are looking for a distributor that wants to work closely with them at that end of the market.
Ingram Micro
Ingram Micro’s Cloud Marketplace is based on the Odin services automation platform it acquired from Parallels in December 2015.
Major vendors available in the Cloud Marketplace include Acronis, IBM Softlayer, Microsoft, Adobe, BitTitan, and Symantec.
Ingram Micro is aimed across the full spectrum, from SMB to mid- to high-end markets, and their offerings are broad enough to cater for just about anybody.
Nextgen
Nextgen Connect is a subsidiary of Nextgen Group set up specifically to focus on cloud. Its portal, Nextgen Connect, is based on software by Austrian company Infonova, with in-house IP layered on top. Its launch in March 2017 makes it quite a recent entrant.
The portal focuses exclusively on Oracle and is aimed firmly at high-end enterprise and government services. Nextgen Connect is part of the whole-of-government finance panel (part of the Digital Transformation Agency) and Nextgen positions this as a way for smaller partners to gain easier access to government customers, via its Nextgen Connect Accelerate program.
Rhipe
Rhipe was best known for being a cloud licensing outfit before launching its own cloud portal in 2015, based on joining the Microsoft Cloud Service Provider program.
It maintains a software focus to its offerings, with major vendors including Acronis, Citrix, Datacore, IBM Softlayer, Veeam and VMware.
Rhipe would suit resellers with a software focus, particularly those looking to help customers move from on-site deployments of software to something similar in the cloud.
Synnex
Synnex looked at the market for cloud portals and decided that none of them suited it, so it built its own, which launched in Australia in 2016.
Synnex hosts vendors such as Microsoft, IBM Softlayer, Acronis, Barracuda, Nomadesk, and MYOB. Synnex added Microsoft’s Cloud Service Provider suite of products in the middle of 2016.
Synnex is focussed more on the mid-market and SMBs with its offerings, and as a major Microsoft distributor, would suit resellers with a strong Microsoft focus.
Westcon-Comstor
Westcon-Comstor’s Cloud Solutions platform, called BlueSky, is based on the Verecloud platform it acquired in 2014, after spending 18 months working with the vendor to develop its Cloud Solutions Distribution Platform. It launched in July 2015.
Major vendors available through the platform include AWS, Cisco, Symantec, VMware, Chef, NGINX, Barracuda, and Cloudian.
Westcon is a broad provider that offers both software and hardware from a variety of vendors, and is geared more toward the mid- to high-end of the market.
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