EDITOR ’ S COMMENT
KEY TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE THE IT CHANNEL INDUSTRY IN 2022
ALAA BAWAB , GENERAL MANAGER , MEA , LENOVO INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS GROUP
With business confidence steadily improving , the IT channel is looking at the encouraging signs that point upward and onward as 2022 has started full of promise . Alaa Bawab , General Manager , Middle East and Africa ( MEA ), Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group ( ISG ), highlights some key trends that will shape the year ahead and what channel partners should expect in 2022 .
We are expecting 2022 to be a big year for the Middle East and Africa ( MEA ) channel partners , especially as we are rolling out our new Lenovo 360 channel framework . For the first time ever , we have created a global framework that gives our channel partners easy access to all our products , solutions , and people in one place . Lenovo 360 combines all our business groups and offerings into one platform that will enable our partners more flexibility when delivering end-to-end solutions to their customers through expanded access to people , programmes , and tools .
The framework comes at a time as many small businesses and large enterprises alike are increasingly moving toward the ‘ everything-as-a-service ’ model . Deloitte predicts that global business spending with managed service providers ( MSPs ) will reach US $ 355 billion by 2026 and 78 % of SMBs worldwide either plan to use or are already using an MSP , according to CompTIA . Lenovo 360 seizes the opportunity to equip channel partners with a portfolio that reflects the full spectrum of customer needs from device to infrastructure , to services , and beyond .
Additionally , post-pandemic , customers are facing many common challenges – the Lenovo 360 framework is designed to produce solutions with these challenges in mind and aimed at delivering four business outcomes for partners , including : enabling greater workforce productivity and collaboration , providing infrastructure flexibility , sustainability improvements , and tailored , industry-specific solutions .
Given the disruption to business over the last two years , it ’ s important that organisations put all employees at the centre of the data ecosystem . User experience should be high on the list of priorities – the tools and processes should be intuitive and accessible , and the interfaces should remove the complexities that would deter less experienced data users as much as possible .
While tempting to get drawn into the micro detail of specific tasks and operations , it ’ s important for channel partners to take a holistic viewpoint and consider the end-to-end user journey , from need through to completion of the task . How can this be structured to deliver a smooth , simple and well-integrated experience ? In this context , data needs to be seen as an ecosystem play – ensuring all data sources and projects are integrated through IT so that different teams can be working on separate , yet mutuallysupportive projects . By enabling tools and data sets to be shared , teams can save valuable time , get to their desired result faster and more accurately and contribute to a shared pool of knowledge that will compound with time .
Over the last two years , remote working and security concerns dominated the enterprise IT narrative . This is an area where channel partners can help their customers to overcome these challenges in 2022 .
Last year Lenovo predicted the work-from-home phenomenon would accelerate . We have been focused on mobility , user , and customer experience over the last few years , as we expected the momentum around distributed workforces to continue to build , but in the future , we will become smarter and more flexible about it . We see remote work becoming hybrid and work-from-home becoming workfrom-anywhere as people and companies continue to think beyond
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