In this Channel Partners TV (CPTV) interview with Robert Kenney, chief revenue officer of CloudCover, we discuss the opportunities and challenges his company’s partners face.
CloudCover, an AI-powered cloud security threat prevention platform, will have a booth at Channel Partners Conference co-located with the MSP Summit April 13-16 at Las Vegas.
Kenney said the biggest opportunities for channel partners are deploying AI and everything-as-a-service. The major challenge partners face is platform and system integration.
“Whether it's a platform to help better run their own services business, providing visibility and predictability into that business, or systems integration with other tools that drive efficiency,” Kenney said. “That includes integration with existing platforms or exploring integration with new ones.
“The other big thing we hear about every day is the need for burstable capacity on a global or regional basis, along with new skill sets being demanded by the data center buildout and the AI wave — geographic expansion and skills to support emerging technologies.
“And then finally, the parts world is red hot right now. Our partners' ability to get their hands on parts to support the infrastructure their customers are asking them to support is a real challenge. Pricing is going crazy, and we're helping our partners navigate that parts ecosystem to support their customers as well.”
CloudCover sells exclusively through the channel. Kenney said the vendor has recently brought a professional services catalog to market that lets partners go to market faster around professional services.
“Something we're hearing about every single week right now — is all things as a service … desktop-as-a-service, server-as-a-service,” he said. “All the technologies people are talking about installing, we're being asked to provide as-a-service, which creates a unique opportunity for the right kind of channel partner.
“We've also launched a remote monitoring capability to help partners move from a reactive service level to a proactive one,” he said. “We want to continue bringing those kinds of services to market. We also want to understand the barriers to growth for partners. Is it geographic coverage? Technology experience? Product offering? Access to resources? Are they looking to get into third-party market services versus OEM-only services? All of those represent very high-margin opportunities for partners. Our goal is simple: how can we help you get to market faster, reduce friction, and drive higher margins? That's the granular business conversation we're looking to have at the [Channel Partners Conference].”
Watch the entire video above.