For many Intelisys Sales Partners, public cloud optimization falls by the wayside. Why? Because they see other parts of the Intelisys catalog as more lucrative – and quite possibly an easier sale. They think public cloud spend isn’t worth pursuing.
Of course, prioritizing the biggest deals is savvy business practice. But here’s the thing: Public cloud optimization can bring major revenues!
There’s a massive market for public cloud migration – so this is something most of your clients will want – and the commission structures can be surprisingly favorable. For example, if you move a client’s applications out of AWS, Azure, or GCP and into a Cloud Service Provider (CSP) in the Intelisys portfolio, it could pay 15-20%.
This is both a Professional Services and Managed Services play. In the best-case scenario, a public cloud migration could turn into a steady, long-term revenue stream.
Intrigued? You should be! Read on to learn exactly how public cloud optimization can boost your revenues.
2 Key Approaches: FinOps and Cloud Repatriation
There are several ways to address a client’s cloud spend – and two of the most essential are FinOps and cloud repatriation.
Let’s start by defining terms:
- FinOps (Financial Operations) – The process of maximizing the value of an organization’s cloud investments, usually by optimizing costs and increasing financial accountability.
- Cloud Repatriation – The process of transferring workloads from public clouds to infrastructure located on an organization’s premises.
FinOps and cloud repatriation often complement each other. You can look at an organization’s cloud spend through a FinOps lens, and then determine which aspects of the workload should be moved to on-premises infrastructure.
The result? A streamlined public cloud investment that balances the need to reduce costs and the desire for maximal cloud agility.
Why Is There a Market For Public Cloud Migration?
Public cloud services represent a major expense for businesses – with end-user spending in the area expected to reach $723 billion this year. And generally, businesses aren’t happy with the ROI as the costs spiral out of control.
Over 80% of customers in the Public Cloud say they’re paying more than they should. For Intelisys Sales Partners, that means there’s a real opportunity to assist with migration and cost optimization.
AirBnB provides an excellent example of how businesses can save by optimizing their public cloud infrastructure. After a recent overhaul, the company achieved a 60% spending reduction in their public cloud spending – amounting to almost $63.5 million in savings. That’s the sort of transformation you could offer your clients.
3 Public Cloud Revenue Opportunities
While public cloud spend is an enticing area in general, there are 3 specific opportunities that are especially lucrative in the current climate:
- Professional Services Assessments (FinOps)
- Ongoing Managed Services
- Strategic Workload Placement
We’ll break down each of these categories below.
Professional Services Assessments (FinOps)
Assessments give Sales Partners a great way to offer their clients something of value while also laying the foundation for future deals.
RapidScale is providing fully funded Cloud Application Assessments to help businesses optimize their IT environments, reduce costs, and enhance performance. These assessments evaluate all of a business’s applications to determine the best deployment model – whether in the public cloud, a private cloud adjacent to existing infrastructure, or in a data center colocation (colo).
Each RapidScale assessment includes:
- An initial discovery call to understand business and technical goals.
- A deep-dive technical evaluation of existing infrastructure, applications, and workloads.
- A comprehensive roadmap, and recommendations tailored to cost savings, performance improvements, and long-term cloud strategy.
Through these assessments, Sales Partners can initiate conversations with their clients about cloud migration, cost savings, performance optimization, and modernization strategies. And the end-users will appreciate the valuable insights that the assessments provide, which can include:
- Migration Readiness & Cloud Strategy – Identify which workloads are best suited for cloud migration while minimizing risks and costs.
- Performance Optimization – Address inefficiencies in existing cloud or on-prem applications to enhance speed, reliability, and scalability.
- VMware Cost Savings & Alternative Strategies – Navigate recent VMware pricing changes and identify cost-avoidance strategies with AWS and other cloud alternatives.
- Database Modernization – Assess legacy databases and provide a roadmap for modern, cloud-native database solutions with improved performance and cost efficiency.
*Note – Another way to look at these services is workload placement – determining which cloud fits each application best for cost, performance, and optimization. (More on that below.)
These are usually Professional Services deals, making them a “one-time” hit. All the same, they represent a great way to take advantage of the current climate, in which businesses are eager to decrease their public cloud spending.
Ongoing managed services
One way to earn recurring revenue in the public cloud space is by offering your clients Managed Service Providers (MSPs), which give you the ability to manage public cloud infrastructure.
These services are in high demand. Why? Because many businesses face a public cloud talent crisis, lacking the internal skill set to adequately manage AWS, Azure, or GCP while trying to recruit outside talent. A Public Cloud MSP solves this problem at scale, and in an efficient, cost-effective way.
Sure, the Fortune 1000 companies are using the Big 5 consulting firms to manage their public cloud infrastructure. But for SMBs and mid-market companies, our Public Cloud MSPs are usually the best option.
Strategic Workload Placement
Given the public cloud talent crisis, it’s no surprise that businesses struggle when optimizing their workload placement.
What are the best choices for workload placement? These are generally the 3 options:
- The public cloud
- A private cloud
- Colocation (colo)
A professional services assessment (like those funded by RapidScale, described above) can help companies determine where to place their applications. But you can go a step further by offering strategic workload repatriation. And if you can bring the client’s applications to partner-hosted solutions, you’re looking at commissions of 15-20%.
See why public cloud solutions might be worth the trouble after all?
Revenue – Plus an Entry Point for Future Deals
Why should Intelisys Sales Partners take advantage of public cloud optimization? Here are 3 reasons:
- It’s easy. Our cloud engineers can make public cloud migrations a simple, streamlined process for your clients.
- It pays. The margins here are surprisingly decent, with many deals offering 15-20% in commissions.
- It frees up the customer’s budget. When you help your clients reduce their public cloud spend, the money they’ve saved is likely to re-enter their IT budget. They’ll then focus on other tech priorities – and you’ll be there to help them find the solutions they need.
Try not to see public cloud as a low-margin distraction. Not only can these deals bring serious revenue themselves, but they also provide an entry point for larger discussions about higher-value services and strategic workload placement.
Our cloud engineers are the best in the business, and they’re here to help with cloud optimization deals. Reach out to them today!
And to learn more about tapping public cloud revenues, join our next SE webinar: “Cloud FinOps.”
