Accelerate your success.A H O W - T O G U I D E T O C L O U D P A R T N E R S H I P S

Maximize cloud revenue fast with the help of a vetted platform technology, ecosystem and go-to-market partnership.

If you’re a telco or managed service provider (MSP), you probably see the cloud as a double-edged sword. On one hand, it offers incredible promise: IT spending on cloud services keeps rising as the anything-as-a-service (XaaS) and IoT markets continue to grow. These cloud technologies are making it easier than ever to meet the growing digital demands of customers, creating a huge upside for telcos and MSPs.

On the other hand, rapid growth in cloud technology can create roadblocks to your success. For example, it’s easier than ever for disruptors to enter the market and infiltrate your customer base. But it’s still challenging for a large company to move to a cloud-based architecture. And scaling with legacy technology? A non-starter. While selling cloud services is the ultimate goal, there’s a good chance your go-to-market strategy isn’t evolved enough to meet the demands of today’s boom in cloud technology.

So what are your options if you want to win in the cloud market? Either you build your own platform or you find a partner with the technology and ecosystem to help your business thrive. In most cases, connecting with the right platform partner is a better way to go.

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As a telco or MSP, your goal is to gain as much valuefrom the cloud as possible while avoiding the high costsand drain on resources associated with going it alone. Working with an established cloud partner lets you:

Leverage existing scalable and future-proof technologyto save time and money while streamlining billing,provisioning and subscription management.

Gain access to an infi nite ecosystem to sell your core solutions through new channels.

Take advantage of go-to-market expertise and support services to accelerate your sales and improvecustomer service.

It’s time tomake cloudsimple.

By having a cloud partner that brings hundreds of pre-vetted solutions to your platform for instant resale,you can sell your own offerings as well as hundreds of others to tap the unlimited revenue potential of the cloud.To start enjoying these and other advantages, follow three simple steps for choosing the right cloud platform partner for your business.

If you build your own online marketplace, it’s essentially an empty store until you can attract customers. However, by working with an established cloud partner, you’ll gain instant access to an existing ecosystem of customers worldwide. That means you won’t have to spend time negotiating the complex contracts or commercial API service-level agreements necessary to start marketing multiple vendor solutions. Instead, you can immediately connect with more customers and sell a wider range of solutions.

Keep in mind that navigating a global ecosystem also requires you to understand the organization that provides it. Before you can count on an ecosystem of partners, resellers and customers to help your telco or services organization grow, you’ll want to know the cloud platform partner’s size, number of employees, reputation, the quality and number of long-term business partnerships, and how much it has invested in the cloud.

Step 1:Look for a partner with expertise in platform technology and a proven history of success.

Delivering cloud services can be complex. For example, with infrastructure as a service (IaaS), you’ll need to fully understand and manage metering, reporting, recurring billing and invoicing. And with IoT or various XaaS services, you’ll be required to bundle hardware that might have a different billing cycle than the accompanying cloud solution. You’ll also have to manage the pricing and bundling for multiple tiers of customers. But by using a cloud partner platform, you can go to market with your solutions almost immediately, streamlining the process.

To support your success in the cloud market, the platform partner you select should provide a cloud-based, self-service onboarding tool to make it simple, fast and cost-effective to deliver new cloud services to customers. And with scalable APIs, you can automate the delivery of your core services, eliminating manual processes and freeing your time to pursue new business.

In addition, a robust cloud technology platform allows you to create your own ISV ecosystem by quickly and seamlessly adding third-party solutions to your platform for resale. As a result, you can significantly increase your company’s market reach while substantially expanding your revenue streams.

Ideally, your cloud platform partner will take care of all this for you with minimal effort on your part. This way, you can to focus on what’s important—growing your business and increasing your profits.

Step 2:Find a partner with a well-established global ecosystem of solution providers and customers.

How can a cloud platform partner help your business when it comes to expanding your cloud services from thousands to millions of customers? With the right cloud platform partner, you’ll learn how to monetize and manage the entire lifecycle of digital services delivery—including cloud, IoT and XaaS—effortlessly.

Ask yourself this: Does the partner you’re evaluating offer enablement and channel optimization, sales assistance to drive success, 24/7 technical support and premium customer support? Together with optional managed services, these customized programs can dramatically simplify your operations, letting you focus on optimizing your business.

By having a knowledgeable partner that offers comprehensive programs designed to kick-start every aspect of your sales and support efforts, you can accelerate your go-to-market strategy to achieve success in the cloud.

Step 3:Evaluate a partner’s industry expertise andgo-to-market supportprograms.

As a service provider, you’re likely facing numerous challenges in the cloud. Yet many of these hurdles can be reshaped into valuable opportunities that help you quickly deliver the products and services your customers want.

Finding a platform partner with a strong technology offering, impressive ecosystem and effective go-to-market support programs will allow you to capitalize on the unlimited potential of the cloud today and into the future.

Turn your business challenges into opportunities.

Learn how to easily accelerate and expand your business with CloudBlue, a hyperscale, cloud commerce platform that delivers an increasingly infinite ecosystem and comprehensive go-to-market services.

1.800.705.7057

Together@CloudBlue.com

www.cloudblue.com

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A B O U T C L O U D B L U E

An independent software business of Ingram Micro, CloudBlue is dedicated to helping service providers build, scale and monetize cloud services in the as-a-service economy. Our cloud commerce engine gives customers access to a global ecosystem with more than 200 ISV solutions and 80,000 resellers. CloudBlue also powers the world’s largest service provider cloud marketplaces, representing 27 million enterprise cloud subscriptions and $1 billion in annual revenue.

Together@CloudBlue.com www.cloudblue.com 1.800.705.7057