In 2019, Microsoft Azure channel partners are expecting significant growth and customer acquisition.
According to a recent survey by RBC Capital Markets, the certified Azure partners said that their Azure-related business grew by around 55% on a weighted average basis, in 2018. These partners are further expecting a growth of around 50% in 2019.
RBC Capital Markets surveyed around 10% of the certified Microsoft Azure partners. The respondents were either Gold or Silver partners. According to Ross MacMillan, Analyst at RBC Capital Markets, the partners are confident about growth because of Microsoft’s leadership in the public cloud market.
“The rate of deceleration is relatively modest, which we find encouraging in the context of our assumptions around the durability of growth and sustainability of growth from Azure,” MacMillan told CRN.
In the global public cloud market, Microsoft Azure is second to only Amazon Web Services (AWS). Partners are seeing Azure as a share gainer versus competitors, as per the report. Partners indicated that Azure is not losing a market share, while many said that it is gaining market shares against its competitors, especially AWS.
“Microsoft’s hybrid strategy is resonating,” MacMillan wrote in his report.
“Nearly 50 percent of partners report an increase in customers using Azure Hybrid Benefit — conversion or re-use of on-premise licenses — for Windows/ SQL Server workloads. We think Azure can scale to multiples of its current size as workloads grow on hyperscale cloud platforms, and Microsoft maintains a strong second position to leader AWS in Western economies.”
iV4, a Gold Level Microsoft cloud partner, reported a growth of 80% in Azure subscription licensing in last one year.
“Microsoft’s hybrid services integration is a powerful financial driver that our clients immediately see benefits from. We expect to see more of the same in 2019,” said Michael Spoont, CEO of iV4.
Also read: 95% of Microsoft’s commercial revenue flows through partner ecosystem
Further, the respondents said that premium services like Azure AI/machine learning, Azure Site Recovery, and Azure DevOps are the fastest growing services.
