1. Key channel plays for 2015
Customers will demand simple, scalable means of exposing data and services to third-party partners, suppliers and customers, facilitating new revenue streams and opening up new markets. This will give way to new technologies and products that could connect hardware, software and services in one offering, and significant areas of opportunity will open up for the channel. For many systems integrators, it will represent a chance to demonstrate their specialist remits, thus making them more ‘sticky’ and an increasingly important part of the value add chain.
Also, as emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) take off, developers will want to access low-cost, highly integrated development platforms and resources. The channel will play a significant role in making IoT technology and tools available to these developers and large companies alike to make their innovative ideas into a reality.
2. Key technology for 2015
This year will be about API-led connectivity. It will be about businesses focusing on identifying and exposing core capabilities as well-defined APIs, allowing others in the business and (more importantly) external entities to piece together capabilities across multiple businesses to rapidly go to market with something new. Agility and speed will be vital. APIs allow an organisation to expose its core competency to the outside world for consumption (e.g. PayPal exposing their payment system), as well as outsource and acquire functions that are not their core competency (e.g. Fedex for shipping, Workday for HR, etc).
3. Key message to the channel for 2015
With new technology developments, there will always be new challenges – just look at the way the channel had to adapt to Cloud deployments back in the mid-2000s. The IoT, for instance, will present the channel with a similar set of challenges, especially given the variety of technology areas encompassed by IoT. It used to be that the channel could differentiate its offerings between the three very separate categories (hardware, software and services). The IoT blurs the boundaries between these categories, which will give the channel a reason to rethink and transform their traditional ‘siloed’ approach.
4. Key warning to the channel for 2015
One of the biggest challenges for the channel will be keeping pace with high expectations of customers as they become more demanding than ever. There are too few organisations, with the exception of top global system integrators and small boutique organisations, that really understand and practice ‘agile’ integration, which is the ability to quickly unlock and connect data between departments, on-premises systems to create new apps on demand by business users. The vast majority of the channel will need to step up and get to a position where they are able to articulate, productise and deliver the kind of agile integration that customers and business users will demand. On the other hand, vendors will need to continue to simplify their offerings to enable channel assimilation.
5. Key to Mulesoft’s success in 2015
MuleSoft is focused on helping companies realise business transformation through API-led connectivity. Trends like mobility, Cloud, Big Data and the Internet of Things are creating tremendous pressure for companies to transform themselves into digital businesses. We’ve tackled the challenge by delivering a unified enterprise platform that can easily connect applications, data and devices, and help companies realise their digital transformation initiatives faster. Through an API-led connectivity, MuleSoft helps our customers unleash the value of their information whilst maintaining security and control of their core enterprise data.
MuleSoft is growing rapidly to address the market opportunity. Having a skilled, vibrant and dedicated pool of channel partners is a key factor in our drive to keep pace with customer demand.
