5. Leading Solution Providers Double Down on Cloud Acquisitions

Solution provider behemoths upped their commitment to supporting cutting-edge cloud service vendors, acquiring boutique firms oriented around Salesforce, Workday, Oracle and Microsoft.

IBM Global Services, No. 1 on the CRN SP 500, got in with Salesforce by purchasing one of the vendors longest-standing partners in Bluewolf, No. 240 on the CRN SP 500, for a reported $200 million in March. And business process services giant Wipro spent $500 million in October to purchase cloud services powerhouse Appirio and improve its market share around Salesforce and Workday.

Meanwhile, Accenture, No. 2 on the CRN SP 500, grew its Workday practice by 50 percent by purchasing 400-person partner DayNine in September. Cognizant, No. 7 on the CRN SP 500, obtained one of the industry's largest bases of Oracle cloud application customers by acquiring KBACE in January.

And Dimension Data, No. 11 on the CRN SP 500, strengthened its Microsoft public cloud offerings for end users with hybrid workloads by purchasing Ceryx in April.