Talent crucial in cloud-first, mobile-first world

The days of having engineers sell systems to customers because they own the technology are over says Dave Wilson, Cisco client executive. Today's sales require a different conversation – and different offerings.

Collaboration - and mobility - is more than a technical architecture, solution, or product set. It is the experience that integrates people, processes and technology. By working together better, people can achieve extraordinary things.

While we are seeing businesses becoming better connected and more mobile than ever before, the key trends driving this are not specific technologies - it's the way that customers are choosing to consume and use technology. Developments driven by scalable cloud computing mean businesses are now able to easily consume collaboration and mobility technologies within new flexible models.

To understand these changing dynamics, we need look no further than the model deployed by our mobile carriers. In this scenario the business user has no idea how the technology behind their smartphone works, and nor do they care. In return for their monthly payment, they are able to access the voice and data services they need with a scalable contract.

Changing conversations, changing talent In the cloud-first, mobile-first world, the end user is in control and the centralisation of the management systems that drive these solutions will further drive the pace of change. Add to this the recent evolutions in modern carrier networks such as 4G (LTE/VoLTE) mobile networks and the stage is set for an explosion in collaboration and mobility.

Traditionally for on-premise solutions, resellers typically employed engineers to sell systems to IT teams because they owned the technology, the budgets and spoke the right language.

Today it's a completely different conversation because the 'need' or 'business case' for collaboration or mobility solutions is often driven by contact centres, human resources or marketing teams. Today it's about understanding how to sell to these customers.

We're also seeing these changing collaboration dynamics play out in the public sector. Government is now focusing on realising the benefits of cloud solutions for telecommunications and other core services. This is in turn driving service providers, systems integrators and technology partners to invest in and build cloud-based platforms to service this key demand.

Platforms created for government will quickly cross over into the private sector, creating a range of trickle down offerings to address the commercial needs of Kiwi businesses. As this process accelerates, partnering will be vital for some resellers, and we will see others move from reselling technology to selling white-labeled or aggregated cloud solutions.

As cloud and the internet of things play out over the coming years, collaboration will become further embedded in the way people work.

Traditional resellers need to think ahead about the talent they'll need in their business in order to remain relevant in this cloud-first, mobile driven world.