3. Data Center Firms Will Accelerate Their Shift Away From On-Premises Hardware

Arrow Electronics has remade its core data center business in recent years, with software surpassing hardware as the largest component of the Centennial, Colo.-based distributor's technology business and Internet of Things expected to contribute as much as half of Arrow's revenue within the next half-decade.

Other data center players have needed to resort to inorganic action to break out on the spiral of declining sales and diminishing margins for traditional server and storage products.

Avnet sold its $9.65 billion Technology Solutions business to Tech Data, with CEO Bill Amelio saying that without an acquisition, Avnet would have needed to make a massive investment in software skills in order to thrive in a cloud-centric world.

Meanwhile, Datalink enjoyed robust technical and architectural capabilities around the public cloud, but the storage pioneer lacked e-commerce and digital marketing capabilities, as well as relationships with public cloud players. The company will gain access to a broader set of skills through its $258 million sale to Insight Enterprises, which is expected to close in early 2017.