Still trying to figure out how to monetize Amazon Web Services? Better get moving. Because the big IT consulting firms are diving in -- head first. The latest example: Capgemini is training 1,000 IT consultants to become Amazon Web Services experts.
Why? Because customers need partners to help keep up with Amazon's pace of innovation -- which typically involves two new features and/or service updates per day, according to Nico Steenkamp, global partner director for Cloud Platforms at Capgemini.
"This is great news for the end user, but presents the CIO and other IT leaders with somewhat of a challenge," Steenkamp wrote in a blog. "How do they keep up with the rapid pace of innovation? How do they ensure the different components of their AWS Cloud solution reflect the true needs of the business?"
AWS Cloud and Managed Services
That's where Capgemini Cloud Choice with Amazon Web Services enters the picture. "We’ve invested in a migration factory dedicated to AWS Cloud that will support the migration of enterprise applications to the AWS Cloud," he adds.
Ongoing Capgemini training will empower up to 1,000 AWS-focused professionals, including 400 specialists in the migration factory. Those efforts will frequently include managed services such as:
- Insurance Connect;
- Digital Industrial Asset Lifecycle Management (DiALM) for asset intensive industries; and
- SAP OnePath pre-configured to different industries.
Growing Competition
Capgemini faces growing competition in the cloud consulting sector. Among the key milestones to note:
- Rackspace now offers managed services to 100 AWS customers.
- Accenture has been focusing mainly on SaaS applications -- pushing all the way down into SMB cloud opportunities.
- And MSPs have been buying up AWS consulting firms. Examples include Bulletproof buying Cloud House, and Claranet acquiring Bashton.
The danger here? Thousands of MSPs and VARs grew up supporting on-premises Microsoft Windows Server infrastructure. As those workloads float off to the cloud, some partners are only starting to explore platforms like Microsoft Azure and AWS. The smart money says channel partners have to move even faster -- shifting beyond basic SaaS like Office 365 to really understand how to monitor and manage cloud workloads.
That's why MSPs like Aldridge are making acquisitions and launching dedicated cloud practices along the way.
Still, there's plenty of room in the fast-growing AWS consulting marketplace. By training 1,000 consultants on the Amazon cloud platform, Capgemini intends to slant the field in its favor.
