Missed June’s Cloud News? AWS, VMware, HPE, Google Cloud Made Headlines
In case you’ve been busy (or on much-needed summer break), we’ve collected the biggest news for cloud partners.
![Cloud computing news Cloud computing news](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blt90c9e47e4ef9cbe9/6524227ccbc83165d13ad264/Cloud-Computing-News.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Shutterstock
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) comes first on the list — and the private cloud provider released a slew of announcements in June.
Notably, HPE started the month with a blog stating it was conducting “an orderly exit” from Russia and Belarus. The company’s decision came a couple months after a number of its peers absconded from Russia in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. By late May/early June, HPE said it had “become untenable” for it to keep operating in Russia and Belarus.
That wasn’t HPE’s only big move last month, though. Go to the next slide for more.
HPE continues to transform itself into an “as a service” provider. To that end, the erstwhile computer and infrastructure maker in late June held its annual HPE Discover conference. The event featured a plethora of news for the channel. Perhaps the biggest takeaway, though, was HPE’s launch of its new partner program, HPE Partner Ready Vantage. As Channel Futures’ Allison Francis reported from HPE Discover, Partner Ready Vantage builds on the HPE Partner Ready Program. Expect new partner models that align with the industry-wide shift from transactional to subscription sales.
“We’re focused on finding new ways to put partners first,” said George Hope, worldwide head of partner sales, HPE. “This means providing the choice, flexibility, the opportunity to adapt and grow at the partners’ pace. I think that it’s critical to understand that everyone operates at a different pace. And we want to accommodate the different phases.”
Other partner-centric news from HPE Discover surrounded the HPE Pro Series, Partner Connect and a refresh of the HPE partner portal.
On the next slide, find out what HPE partners had to say about HPE Partner Ready Vantage.
Reaction to HPE Partner Ready Vantage varied, with a good chunk of it coming up positive.
Channel Futures’ Allison Francis spoke with several channel players, including MSP Growth Coalition, Techsperts, JS Group, 3Nines Technologies and SOS Support.
Click here to read the full article but as a preview, consider this insight from Juan Fernandez, co-founder and CEO, MSP Growth Coalition. HPE Partner Ready Vantage, Fernandez said, “is a step in the right direction. The mentorship, workshops, and educational aspects of the program pique my interest as there are so many partners that can take advantage of these services. It’s often forgotten that we are not only in the tech business but also in the employee success business. The more educated we [are], the better suited tech employees are at supporting customers’ needs.”
(Incidentally, HPE also brought on a new head of partner sales to spur GreenLake deals.)
Next, it’s awards season. Find out which partners took top honors at HPE, Google Cloud and more.
Spring and summer generally constitute awards season with the indirect channel. This year is no exception. June featured some important recognition for cloud partners.
Over at HPE, for example, TD Synnex, Infosys and CDW landed top honors. Find out which other distributors and providers took home trophies.
Meanwhile, Google Cloud singled out its best 2021 partners. Those names include Accenture, CDW and VMware. Get the scoop on the whole list here.
Finally, Microsoft rounded out June with its partner awards for 2022 ahead of its Inspire event.
Up next, insight into the cloud computing market amid some sensationalized predictions of a coming slowdown.
As the threat of a recession looms, there’s been more talk of organizations reducing outlay on cloud computing. The conversation ramped up last month when Morgan Stanley analysts issued a memo that discussed technology and software companies potentially cutting back on cloud spending.
“Increased focus on cash preservation among tech companies is likely to impact spend on data centers,” wrote research analysts Meta Marshall and Joe Moore, via Barron’s.
Then came a click-bait article saying customers spent less with the three hyperscalers in April. We took issue with that assessment and delivered our own take on that and on Morgan Stanley’s observation. Dive in here and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Speaking of spending on cloud, cloud marketplaces are showing a lot of adoption promise. We get into that next.
Vendors industry-wide often commission reports from independent research firms with the aim of proving their market standing. Amazon Web Services did just that this year, through Forrester. AWS wanted to explore the value and outcomes provided by AWS Marketplace (which, by the way, is no longer run by Stephen Orban — did you catch that news in mid-June? We’ll tell you more on the next slide).
Turns out, cloud marketplaces in general and AWS Marketplace in particular are growing in importance to the indirect channel, according to Forrester. As a hint, buying through AWS Marketplace garnered end users (often through the channel) a combined $2 million in efficiency savings. That’s just for starters. Read more here.
Turnover among channel leaders is nothing new. In June, though, two major cloud vendors saw key people leave their organizations.
The first personnel change came to light on June 21. That’s when Channel Futures learned that Stephen Orban, who ran AWS Marketplace for one year, has jumped ship. Turns out, Orban left for AWS competitor Google Cloud. He won’t start until later this year (very likely due to non-compete clauses). When he does join Google Cloud, Orban will report to Kevin Ichhpurani, corporate vice president of global ecosystem and channels.
Who was the next notable channel head to leave her company? Click to the next slide.
Two days after learning of Orban’s AWS exit, the cloud sector learned that Sandy Hogan had resigned from VMware. Hogan planned to depart on July 6 after a little more than two years as head of VMware’s channel program.
The timing struck observers as suspiciously close to the announcement that Broadcom will buy VMware for $61 billion. However, a spokesperson told Channel Futures, Hogan’s leaving “is a personal career decision not related to Broadcom.”
For now, Ricky Cooper will take over as lead for VMware’s Worldwide Partner and Commercial Organization. He comes to the role after serving as vice president for global and transformational partners.
Channel Futures has reached out to Hogan for an interview but has yet to hear back. We’ll keep an eye on her LinkedIn to see where she lands.
(And click here to read about VMware’s ongoing shift to subscription models with new versions of vSphere and vSAN.)
June featured a lot of talk around cloud computing statistics and market share. There are, of course, different flavors of cloud, including public cloud, hybrid cloud and multicloud. When it came to public cloud, specifically, all signs point to continued uptake — despite those aforementioned warnings of a slowdown. Synergy Research Group sees quite the opposite after analyzing first-quarter 2022 revenue results from AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Salesforce and others.
“Public cloud-related markets are typically growing at rates ranging from 15%-40% per year, with PaaS and IaaS leading the charge,” said John Dinsdale, a chief analyst at Synergy Research Group. “Looking out over the next five years, the growth rates will inevitably tail off as these markets become ever-more massive, but we are still forecasting annual growth rates that are generally in the 10%-30% range.”
(For more on who leads in public cloud, check out IDC’s assertion that Azure has overtaken AWS.)
When it comes to hybrid cloud, IBM is making big moves. Big Blue aims to help partners cash in on what it says is a $1 trillion opportunity.
Finally, multicloud demand is nothing to ignore. Last month, we gave you an in-depth look at the multicloud opportunity in front of partners. Check it out if you’re looking for ways to profit from multicloud.
Even though Google Cloud remains the third-largest public cloud provider, the company continues to specialize in ways that are bringing it partners and end users.
In June, Google Cloud was all about sustainability as well as the public sector.
The vendor hosted a major summit on the first issue (check out the coverage here). And, separately, it has decided to make its public sector group a whole new and separate division. Find out here what that means, and what partners need to know.
Even though Google Cloud remains the third-largest public cloud provider, the company continues to specialize in ways that are bringing it partners and end users.
In June, Google Cloud was all about sustainability as well as the public sector.
The vendor hosted a major summit on the first issue (check out the coverage here). And, separately, it has decided to make its public sector group a whole new and separate division. Find out here what that means, and what partners need to know.
June is just barely in the rearview mirror, and it’s a month that featured some significant cloud news. Channel partners are so busy (or enjoying much-deserved summer vacation!) that it’s easy to lose track of all the developments.
We’ve taken the liberty of summing it all up for you. We’ve culled some of the biggest news from the last month that you’ll want to make sure you have in your back pocket.
Which companies are involved? Everyone, it seems like. Look for cloud news from HPE, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, VMware and more. We’ve got everything from new partner programs and awards and to channel leader exits and cloud computing statistics.
Give June’s cloud news a look in the slideshow above.
Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email Kelly Teal or connect with her on LinkedIn. |
Read more about:
Channel ResearchAbout the Author(s)
You May Also Like