Lack of technical skills hindering cloud capabilities, reveals Westcon-Comstor research

“Our research shows that the channel is poised to grasp the huge growth opportunities presented by the cloud market, but is facing certain gaps around skills, capabilities and expertise,” said David Grant, CEO at Westcon-Comstor.

The lack of technical skills to meet customer needs continue to hinder cloud capabilities, according to research by Westcon-Comstor. The research which includes response from 900 partners across eight countries globally also found that 85% see developing cloud practice as a priority.

The Mastering the Maze report by the global technology provider and specialist distributor involved respondents from Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the UK.

Acknowledging the opportunities in the growing cloud market, most partners are eager to capitalize on enabling customers to enhance their cloud capabilities. However, the challenge is that the partners themselves are now lacking the technical skills needed to meet customer needs.

In Southeast Asia, 68% of Singapore-based partners and 65% of Indonesia-based partners said their customers are looking for specialized cloud skills. However, only 59% in Singapore and 55% in Indonesia are confident in fulfilling this demand – with the remaining 41% and 45% respectively describing skill shortages as a challenge.

The regional figures mirror that of the total study whereby more than two thirds of partners are also looking for specialized cloud skills and with only 57% confident in fulfilling this demand.

Apart from the lack of technical skills, there is also concerns associated with a lack of FinOps expertise as well as challenges in hiring and talent as key obstacles for partners.

58% of those in Indonesia pointed to issues around understanding cloud pricing models, with the often-complex nature of these models making it hard to give customers certainty over costs. 40% of Indonesian partners are also feeling the pressure to outperform rivals by delivering better, faster solutions.

Looking at the findings from all the countries surveyed, partners stated that half of their customers are choosing hybrid cloud solutions, with 27% pursuing full migration amid a cautious approach to migrations overall.

Nearly half of the partners highlighted training and enablement when asked how distributors can support the development their cloud capabilities. Meanwhile, 75% of partners also see cloud hyperscaler marketplaces as an opportunity rather than a threat and are actively using them.

“Our research shows that the channel is poised to grasp the huge growth opportunities presented by the cloud market, but is facing certain gaps around skills, capabilities and expertise,” said David Grant, CEO at Westcon-Comstor.

Grant also stated that partners around the world are at different stages of their cloud journey, but there is a common thread in their desire to expand their cloud capabilities and meet their customers’ needs. As such, he believes it is incumbent on distributors to support, enable and empower partners in pursuit of these aims by harnessing and deploying their own cloud expertise.

Interestingly, the technology distributor is also looking to double down on its cloud strategy this year. Westcon-Comstor became an authorized AWS distributor for Europe in late 2024, adding to its existing distribution agreement in the APAC region. The growth in Europe follows its acquisition of AWS consultancy Rebura and the launch of the distributor’s AWS Marketplace program, which is designed to accelerate AWS Marketplace growth for partners and vendors.

Aaron Rees, founder and CEO at Rebura, a Westcon-Comstor company also commented that embracing the cloud is a springboard for innovation, growth and productivity gains for partners and their customers.

“The channel, however, still has some way to go on its journey to mastering the cloud, with many partners still developing their own skills as they work to satisfy customer expectations,” said Rees.

Meanwhile Jacquie Young, Managing Director, Cloud, APAC at Westcon-Comstor stated that the findings suggest that partners know where they need to develop their cloud capabilities.

“The challenge is finding the right support to help plug those gaps,” commented Young.