Four Ways Enterprises Can Leverage IT For Cloud Success In 2025

Forbes

19-05-2025

David Grant is CEO at Westcon-Comstor, a global technology distributor specialising in cybersecurity, networking and cloud.
Cloud technology has transformed how enterprises operate, accelerating digital transformation and unlocking new levels of scalability, flexibility and innovation.
The cloud revolution shows no sign of stalling, either. Quite the opposite.
According to a recent Gartner forecast, worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services will rise 21.5% to hit $723 billion this year, driven by increasing GenAI adoption. The analyst predicts that 90% of enterprises will adopt a hybrid cloud approach by 2027.
Despite this growth, enterprises are facing major practical, operational and financial challenges on a micro level.
From migrating workloads to optimising costs and more broadly deciding on a cloud strategy, business leaders are facing headaches on multiple fronts.
Many, it seems, are turning to the IT channel for help.
As a technology supply chain consisting of value-added resellers, managed service providers, system integrators and distributors, this mini-sector is playing an increasingly central role in the cloud economy.
The evolution in the IT channel's relationship with cloud is the subject of my company's Mastering the Maze research report, which asked channel partners in eight countries about the challenges facing them and their customers as they look to capitalise on the benefits of cloud.
Here are four key areas in which business leaders can harness the IT channel to improve cloud outcomes.
The cloud skills shortage is well documented, with enterprises and SMBs alike struggling to attract and retain in-house talent.
Against this backdrop, it's perhaps unsurprising that many organisations are looking to partners to provide the requisite technical expertise.
The research suggests that 69% of end-user businesses prioritise specialist skills and expertise when choosing a cloud partner. Finding a reseller or MSP that fits the bill on skills can be a game-changer for the modern enterprise. A partner with genuine expertise can serve as a trusted advisor through a long-term collaboration covering all stages of your cloud journey.
Many channel partners offer training, education and enablement services to customers, providing opportunities to upskill and gain deeper insights on specific products and solutions.
The growing importance of cloud security in the tech ecosystem is emerging as a dominant theme of 2025.
Heightened awareness can be detected in our research, which found that businesses value cloud security services above all else when selecting a channel partner. Data privacy and protection, security of cloud interfaces and Identity Access Management (IAM) emerged as the top three focus areas.
Separate Westcon-Comstor research earlier this year found that Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are planning to ramp up cloud security spending in 2025 and want channel partners to help them maximise their return on investment.
83% of security leaders intend to invest in Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) and other cloud security technologies, and 95% already engage with channel partners when procuring and deploying such solutions.
The rise of hyperscaler cloud marketplaces is reshaping how enterprises procure and deploy software. From shortened procurement cycles to reductions in administration and improved transparency on pricing and spend, these platforms are offering users new levels of simplicity.
After an uncharacteristically slow start, the IT channel has woken up to the marketplace opportunity and now stands ready to guide customers in getting the most out of these platforms.
In fact, a recent Canalys report projected that more than 50% of hyperscaler marketplace sales will come via channel partners by 2027.
This growth potential for channel partners explains why, according to our research, 71% have a positive outlook on hyperscaler marketplaces and 75% are actively using them, seeing them as an opportunity.
Partners with the expertise to guide their enterprise customers through the idiosyncrasies and nuances of different marketplaces will be in demand in the coming years, as enterprises seek input and guidance.
As Canalys states: 'Channel partners will become increasingly important to hyperscaler marketplace momentum, as vendors prioritise partner-led strategies and customers turn to partners to help them manage marketplace procurement.'
With cloud adoption accelerating, businesses are facing complex pricing, hidden costs and fears of budget overruns. Cost management and budgeting are among the biggest challenges facing businesses as they move to the cloud.
Saving money, improving visibility of cloud spending and avoiding unexpected expenses were flagged as some of the most prized FinOps outcomes.
Channel partners can play a key role in helping their customers to achieve FinOps success, for example, by mastering cloud service providers' often complex pricing models.
Whatever stage you are at in your cloud journey, engaging with IT channel partners offers many advantages. From upskilling through training and enablement to gaining insights on achieving FinOps success, the channel has the power to accelerate your progress.
As organizations look to deploy AI solutions within their businesses, they will need to have control over their data. Many will lack well-structured controls around consolidation, architecture and governance, driving greater demand for the channel to provide data migration into the cloud and requiring additional security and network architecture considerations.
That's not to say that channel partners have themselves fully mastered the cloud maze. Many are grappling with their own challenges.
But with 93% of partners stating a determination to further develop their cloud capabilities, and a clear demand from customers, we are on the cusp of a paradigm shift in the channel's cloud relationship with enterprises.
This new dynamic has the potential to be mutually beneficial, enabling enterprises to realise the transformative power of cloud while creating a new growth frontier for the IT channel.
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