Where Do Things Stand?

The rate of transition of channel business from straight hardware reseller to multifaceted provider of services and solutions has slowed over the past year, according to CompTIA.

Firms undertaking a high degree of business transformation (such as becoming a managed service or cloud provider) has sunk from 24 percent in 2012 to 22 percent in 2014, CompTIA found, while firms with a moderate degree of transformation (such as adding a services component alongside a product-based revenue stream) has fallen from 59 percent two years ago to 55 percent today.

Meanwhile, firms with a low degree of business transformation (often because the owner is nearing retirement age) has risen from 17 percent to 24 percent.