Hostway's Cloud Services Survey At Microsoft WPC Shows Strong Channel Demand

HOUSTON /PRNewswire/ -- The demand for cloud services remains incredibly strong, with more than 70% of event attendees surveyed reporting that they offer cloud services to meet customer demand, according to a recent survey by Hostway, a leading provider of cloud, managed and hybrid hosting services. Hostway today announced the results of a survey the company conducted at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in July. The survey was designed to gauge current Hostway partner and potential partner perceptions about reselling cloud services. The results indicate strong customer demand for cloud services and a positive outlook for resellers.

Hostway surveyed WPC participants between July 7-11, 2013 on their attitudes toward reselling cloud services, asking three questions. The first query explored whether or not participants currently sell, resell or provide client referrals to meet their customers' cloud service needs. The results showed that 73% of Microsoft partners surveyed sell, resell or refer cloud services, with survey respondents distributed fairly evenly across those three roles.  

The second question asked survey participants which cloud solutions they are currently selling or considering adding to their solution portfolio, including Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud-based email solutions. The survey revealed that 64% are currently selling SaaS, and 86% of respondents are either now selling or considering selling SaaS services of some type. These results are not surprising given the venue and high use of applications like SharePoint and Exchange among participants.

This second question also highlighted a shift in the way the technical community views and works with managed hosting and cloud hosting companies. Hosting has generally been considered a competitor to traditional VARs, Integrators and even ISVs; however, this survey showed that over 55% currently are or plan to resell managed or cloud hosting solutions. Hostway, along with several other large hosting companies, has launched reseller and referral programs to help meet the demand generated by this new reseller ecosystem as it evolves.

The last question queried participants on how offering cloud services might positively affect their revenue, profits or ability to meet client needs. An overwhelming 93% responded that offering cloud-based services would have positive effects on revenue, profits or their ability to meet customer demand. Most notably, 70% felt that offering cloud solutions allowed them to meet the current needs of their customers – needs that may be filled currently by other providers if they do not have a strategy or solution for cloud services delivery.

"Our survey of WPC participants shows that the overwhelming majority of technical organizations recognize the importance of offering cloud services to meet customer demand," said Aaron Hollobaugh, Hostway's Vice President of Marketing. "The survey underscores the large collaborative effort across the entire technical community to provide cloud services and value to the end user. Through our tailored reseller and referral programs, Hostway is playing a key role in the complex, interconnected cloud services delivery model."

A Bronze sponsor at the WPC event and finalist for Microsoft Partner of the Year in 2012, Hostway provides scalable, custom hosting solutions and services for growing SMBs. Find out more at http://www.hostway.com/.

About Hostway Corporation
Hostway Corporation is a leader in Cloud, Managed, and Hybrid Hosting. Hostway delivers reliable, secure, and scalable Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solutions to over 600,000 customers worldwide. Hostway services its clients from more than 250,000 square feet of state-of-the-art data center space, spanning four continents and 12 countries. Hostway has emerged as one of the largest cloud hosting and Infrastructure-as-a-Service providers in the world due to the company's expertise in developing secure, multi-tenant hosting environments and is committed to providing SMB's and large enterprises with cost effective business solutions. Hostway's core products include Managed Hosting, Cloud Hosting, and Email and Applications.