Channeling the future: New Sage study puts upskilled workforce as the number one investment priority for channel
08 Juni 2022 - 07:00PM
A study by Sage (FTSE: SGE), the leader in accounting, financial,
HR, and payroll technology for small and medium-sized businesses
(SMBs), shows the channel ecosystem is increasingly prioritizing
technical expertise in both hiring and investment.
The new study shows that challenges in finding and keeping
talent are hitting the channel sector, with US resellers mostly
feeling the pinch. Half of all US respondents currently in the
process of recruiting noted difficulty finding both skilled
management level staff, while 49% also cited difficulty attracting
skilled entry level talent. Competition was only slightly tapered
within the UK, with 46% and 40% also struggling to source these
levels.
Over half of all US resellers cited cloud computing (53%) and
data engineering (52%) as required skillsets, while just under half
listed cyber security skills (48%), coding (45%) and AI/ML
development (44%) as desired skills.
By contrast in the UK, just under two fifths of resellers placed
cloud computing (39%) and cyber security skills (39%) as desired
traits for new talent, while 35% are looking for coding skills.
Interestingly, the current external business climate may have
forced UK reselling companies to focus more on the running of their
business, with 36% actively recruiting for essential business
roles.
“Customers are looking to their channel partners to help make
digitalization a reality as they embrace new revenue streams and
invest with an eye on the future. They are being asked to provide
expertise in the most complex technological areas – from protection
against the latest cyber threats to the enablement of AI and ML,”
said Aziz Benmalek, President, Sage North America, and EVP Global
Partner Organization. “This requires the channel workforce to shift
– at Sage we are prioritizing providing our channel partners with
the tools and technology tools needed to thrive.”
Upskilling the workforce
Over the past 18 months alone, 39% of the 1,000 channel
resellers surveyed have invested resources to technically upskill
their workforce, while 36% adopted greater eCommerce functionality
during the same period.
This investment in technology is unlikely to slow. Resellers
surveyed predicted that by 2024, services requiring more specific
technical expertise such as cybersecurity service provision (40%),
SaaS application management (38%) and public cloud consumption
(33%) will be among those most demanded by clients. Almost
one-third (30%) also believe that customers will be looking to
specifically increase the efficiency, intelligence and automation
of their business processes or operations (BPO).
When predicting areas of investment for their customers over the
coming months, almost half (49%) believe customers will look to
grow their data center management revenue, while 40% have a sharp
focus on generating revenues from data analytics and AI software
enablement.
This research was shared with partners at the
annual Sage Partner Summit event designed exclusively for
Sage’s worldwide partner community, taking place in Dallas,
Texas, from June 7-10, 2022.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Methodology‘The Channel Landscape – Partnering
for Success’ report by Sage included 1,000 responses from
decision-makers in the tech industry whose company resells tech and
IT supplies/ services, 500 within the UK, 500 within the US. Survey
respondents were provided by Onepoll. Field dates:
20 April - 3 May 2022.
About SageSage is the global market leader for
technology that provides small and medium businesses with the
visibility, flexibility and efficiency to manage finances,
operations and people. With our partners, Sage is trusted by
millions of customers worldwide to deliver the best cloud
technology and support. Our years of experience mean that our
colleagues and partners understand how to serve our customers and
communities through the good, and more challenging times. We are
here to help, with practical advice, solutions, expertise, and
insight. Learn more at www.sage.com/en-us/ and
www.sageintacct.com.
About Sage Partner Summit Sage Partner
Summit is the signature annual partner event from Sage. This global
event is a pivotal moment in the event calendar for Sage and its
partners to connect, driving mutual success with our ecosystem.
Sage Partner Summit 2022 is a 4-day, in-person event taking place
in Dallas, Texas, from 7-10 June. Sage partners are attending to
gain insight into Sage's channel strategy and opportunities to
build, connect and deliver, together with Sage.
Media contact:Peter
Olsonpeter.olson@sage.com408-878-0951
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