Rick Ribas, VP Global Channels at LogMein, shares what we can expect for the channel and MSPs in 2021:
The unexpected: One of the unexpected indirect results from the pandemic has been a global increase in channel business as organizations worldwide rapidly looked to change the way they conducted business. We are now seeing momentum for the channel as companies leverage their services to make continued operating enhancements, gain efficiencies, bring in new tools, and add more integrated products. However, as we move into 2021, both channel partners and MSPs will face an underlying challenge, which is to have a large enough portfolio of products and ensure they are well integrated, easily deployed and offer advantages to help clients move their digital journey forward.
Opportunities for growth: We’ve seen the demand for ‘everything remote’ this year. So, over the next 12 months this demand will only continue, we expect to see even greater use of products that help employees streamline their work from home, while providing the necessary visibility and security into the company’s resources. In addition, the exponential growth in collaboration and remote access management tools is something we also expect to significantly increase in the demand, mainly for integrated product suites.
The MSP space: This year the rate of digital transformation that businesses had to make suddenly was dramatic. It was important for them to consider and deploy the right technology that fit their new needs and future goals. Choosing the wrong products and solutions could pose a bigger threat, especially for smaller companies that do not have an internal IT team. This is the reason why working with master agents, distributors and MSPs, will become a norm, MSPs will become more of an extension of the company’s team instead of being thought of as middlemen.
As we move into 2021, MSPs will also see changes within their organizations, they will need more extensive product portfolios to provide true specialized knowledge that – for some – can only be viable if they outsource tasks.
