As huge volumes of data continue to be generated on a daily basis, the greatest challenge for channel partners like you will be to find the most effective ways for business customers to collect, store, manage and analyze their structured and unstructured data. This includes delivering strategic insights and critical data points to key decision-makers in a time-sensitive manner.  

But it’s easier said than done—especially with IDC reporting that 64.2 zettabytes of data was generated or replicated last year alone. By 2025, the market intelligence firm expects the entire global datasphere to surpass 175 zettabytes. To put this volume into context for you, keep in mind that one zettabyte of digital information equals a stunning 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes. Wrap your brain around that number.

“Business and IT decision-makers are keenly aware that big data represents tremendous value if they are able to capitalize on it.”

—John Foley, The Cloud Database Report

One of the major reasons cloud databases are becoming more prevalent among businesses of all sizes is the growing availability of public cloud database solutions. With traditional Structured Query Language (SQL) and NoSQL (which stands for “not only SQL”) databases, the application owners manage the databases. However, with public cloud databases, that responsibility falls to the cloud vendor.

It’s more complex than that, but when you consider everything database management includes—such as replication, sharding, backup, restoration and scaling—it’s a big deal. This point is particularly important as more organizations look to cloud for the solutions they need to become a data-driven business.

As a result of more businesses moving their data to the cloud, databases are fast becoming “the central nervous system for the digital economy.” And it’s this foundational shift that’s creating the potential for partners like you to achieve extraordinary success.

Seizing the cloud database opportunity

Gartner predicts that 75% of all existing databases will be deployed or migrated to a cloud platform by 2022. And with the global database management system (DBMS) market valued at nearly $58.4 billion last year, it’s projected to hit $126.9 billion by 2026, according to Expert Market Research. When you factor in the increasing use of IoT technologies and how IoT is contributing to the ongoing explosion of data, it’s not surprising the cloud database market is evolving so rapidly.

Currently, the market is led by incumbents like Oracle, along with the top three cloud service providers: Microsoft, AWS and Google. But let’s not forget disruptive startups like Snowflake, Databricks and Cockroach Labs, which are out to make their mark in this highly competitive segment.

Just look at the sheer number of innovations that new and established vendors have been introducing in the last six months. These advances include “a serverless vector database, a fully managed graph database and Oracle’s latest converged database.” I believe there’s plenty of market share to go around—and that means more revenue-generating opportunities for you.

Navigating your options in the channel

At the end of the day, it’s not about whether a cloud database is ranked #1, #10 or even #100. What really matters is that the solution you sell to your customers aligns with their current situation while being flexible enough to meet their future needs.

With the multitude of cloud database options available, you’ll likely want to separate the winners from the losers early in the selection process. What’s going to work well for your customer—and what’s not? Will the options you’re considering meet their most pressing goals and requirements? When choosing a cloud database solution, it’s a good idea to start by measuring it against these four criteria:

• Enterprise capabilities: Does the vendor offer the services and support business customers may want or need, including fully managed services?
• Platform adaptability: Does the platform provide the tools, services and APIs to streamline data integration and migration and application compatibility?
• Innovation: Does the vendor deliver a steady stream of new, differentiating capabilities that set them apart in the marketplace?
• Demonstrated business value: Does the vendor offer compelling proof points and case studies to share with your customers?

In addition to supporting infrastructure as a service (IaaS), many cloud providers provide the data fabric to integrate on-premises, private cloud and multi-cloud data stores. And when combined with analytics capabilities, these solutions can deliver even more value.

By keeping the needs of your customers top of mind and staying plugged into relevant market developments, you can set up your customers for cloud database success—all while creating a massive profit opportunity for your business.

The more you know, the more you sell

As the battle to become the top cloud database provider rages on among cloud vendors, make sure you’re well-positioned to win big, regardless of which vendor comes out ahead. By helping your customers gain more insight and drive more innovation using their data, they’ll win big, too.

To tap into our extensive partner resources and support, visit Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace. From there, you can link to our Go-to-Market Hub, Partner Portal and vendor-sponsored partner programs to access even more ways to unlock success in selling cloud database and other solutions.