DaaS – The Way To Do It
Event Report – Tech Data’s Channel Link 2019
Two takeaways stood out from our participation at Tech Data’s Channel Link event in June, which brought together technology vendors and channel partners to discuss trends across a range of enterprise communications sectors.
The first was that Device as a Service (DaaS) has become a key focus for both vendors and resellers looking to shift enterprise clients onto more attractive subscription-based contracts. The second was that very many of the resellers we met are also working hard to understand how to build an IoT practice and take it to market.
In both cases, the need for a communications platform to support connected services and experiences was abundantly clear.
As the DaaS model for the provision of connected devices takes hold, resellers and vendors are looking for additional services which they can bundle with the device to add value to the offering, differentiate from the competition and reduce churn among enterprise customers.
Perhaps the most obvious and compelling candidate is connectivity itself, a proposition which, as our conversations at the event made clear, already has good traction among DaaS providers. The decision they face is whether they look to partner with traditional communications service providers for the connectivity piece, or to compete with them head on.
The amount of interest generated by our Experience Cloud platform and Smart Network suggests at least some of these players are looking at the competitive option. The platform gives DaaS providers the ability to connect, manage, monitor and bill for device portfolios for each of their customers. Meanwhile the unified cellular and Wi-Fi experience provided by the Smart Network offers multiple network options in every market, and the ability to intelligently switch networks and offload for price or performance benefits.
We saw just as much interest around our platform for its ability to power the IoT plays that many resellers attending the event are also looking to develop. From our discussions the big issue facing most of these players right now is to prioritize their approach in terms of the verticals they plan to serve. At the same time they’re looking at the capabilities they need to build into their portfolio to take services to market once the targets have been identified.
The evolution of DaaS players into broader enterprise communications service providers is a fascinating prospect for the market as a whole, as is the shift of so many Channel Link attendees towards IoT services.
It was a great event, with the kind of buzz that comes when an industry is in the midst of dynamic change. Perfect for a platform player like Pareteum, ideally positioned to enable and harness that change.
