Cloud Marketplaces Become Crucial for IT Channel Success, GTDC Report Finds

According to a new report from the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC), cloud marketplaces are essential for channel organizations to optimize their sales, support, and billing processes.

The report cites MARKETSandMARKETS research, predicting that the market for IT service offerings will rise from $696 billion in 2023 to approximately $3.15 trillion by 2030, marking a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 24.1%. This growth indicates the substantial opportunity available to the IT industry, particularly the channel that supports a significant portion of the SMB community. The increase is attributed to post-pandemic workplace changes, economic concerns, global and regional conflicts, and the rapid pace of innovation.

Vendors anticipate significant revenue growth from distribution cloud marketplaces in the next twelve months, with 10% expecting an increase of more than 50%, 20% forecasting a rise of 25%-50%, and 25% predicting an increase of 10%-24%.

The report notes that AI, though still in its infancy within this context, is rapidly gaining traction as a force-multiplying engine capable of transforming technology sales, distribution, and support. Incorporating AI into marketplace programs is expected to significantly enhance the speed and aptitude of data collection and analysis tools. This improvement will provide greater insight and automation opportunities for solution providers, vendors, and distributors.

The report also highlights leveraging data and insights from cloud marketplaces to identify complementary product and service sales opportunities, enabling more meaningful customer interactions. This approach involves tracking and evaluating transactional information to identify complementary solutions, which can significantly improve the customer experience and client retention. Using the data, account managers can explore the reasoning behind new purchases, gain feedback on the process and solutions, and address potential issues.

As I outlined in my Future of Distribution video to close out 2023, I’m increasingly bullish on distributors as the avenue to help IT service providers scale and keep up with the pace of change driven by the cloud.    This revelation is particularly pertinent against an IT service market poised for explosive growth.  

Leveraging data and insights from cloud marketplaces to unearth complementary product and service sales opportunities represents a nuanced strategy for enhancing customer interactions and retention. This approach, centered on analyzing transactional data to identify complementary solutions, underscores the importance of data-driven decision-making.

That’s hard to build for IT companies, and that’s why distribution can help.   Layer on some AI, promising greater insights and automation opportunities, and leaning into someone to help becomes a solid strategy.