MSPs face skills gap as they try and develop cloud capabilities

An overwhelming 89 per cent of Australia-based respondents see developing a cloud practice as a priority, but nearly half feel they lack the tech right technical skills to meet customer needs.

In Westcon-Comstor’s latest Mastering the Maze report, Australia ranked higher than most other surveyed countries when it came to partners viewing an in-built cloud practice as a priority.

More than two thirds (68 per cent) of Australia-based partners said their customers are looking for specialised cloud skills, but only 52 per cent are confident in fulfilling this demand, with the remaining 48 per cent describing skill shortages as a challenge.

Along with associated hurdles around hiring and talent, a lack of technical skills and the need for financial operations expertise were cited as the main obstacles facing partners as they strive to meet end-users’ cloud requirements.

Leveraging cloud provider programs to full effect was another major challenge for partners, with 54 per cent of Australian respondents highlighting this as one of the biggest barriers they face when advising their customers on cloud cost optimisation.

Meanwhile, 63 per cent of local partners pointed to issues around understanding cloud pricing models, with the complex nature of these models making it hard to give customers certainty over costs.

Other barriers to cloud success include meeting customers’ cloud security needs and fending off fierce market competition, with 45 per cent of Australia-based partners highlighting the pressure to outperform rivals by delivering better, faster solutions.

The global technology provider and specialist distributor surveyed almost 900 partners across eight countries for its Mastering the Maze report, with the desire to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the rapidly growing cloud market found to be consistent across all markets where the research was conducted in Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the UK.

Westcon-Comstor CEO David Grant said the research shows that the channel is poised to grasp the huge growth opportunities presented by the cloud market but is facing certain gaps around skills, capabilities and expertise.

“Partners around the world are at different stages of their cloud journey, but there is a common thread in their desire to expand their cloud capabilities and meet their customers’ needs,” he said. “It is incumbent on distributors to support, enable and empower partners in pursuit of these aims by harnessing and deploying their own cloud expertise.”

Westcon-Comstor Asia Pacific managing director for cloud Jacquie Young said the channel still has some way to go on its journey to mastering the cloud, with many partners still developing their own skills as they work to satisfy customer expectations.

“Our findings suggest that partners know where they need to develop their cloud capabilities the challenge is finding the right support to help plug those gaps,” she added.