Remote working and cloud trends to drive broadband channel boom

Channel players are confident remote working and cloud trends will spur fixed broadband growth over the next six months.

A survey conducted by O2 Wholesale showed that there is an expectation among the UK channel that business customers are looking to invest in broadband capabilities, with IT industry trends boosting sales.

70 percent of the 100 companies asked said that they were expecting increased uptake of fixed broadband, with 73 percent claiming that remote working would be a major contributor. The move towards cloud services was cited by 58 percent, while 32 percent highlighted the adoption of BYOD schemes in the workplace a driver for increased sales.

Only 38 percent were expecting increased demand in PC hardware however, though 88 percent said that, in general, they were optimistic for business prospects over the next six months.

The survey also showed that there is plenty of opportunity for resellers to get out and make sales.  Less than half thought that their customers were aware of the increased burden that implementing schemes such as BYOD or remote working would place on their broadband capabilities, meaning that there is potential for them to inform customers of the need to upgrade services.

“The results clearly show that quality fixed broadband is a major potential growth opportunity for resellers, driven by technology trends such as cloud and BYOD,” said Dan Cunliffe, head of strategy and partners at O2 Wholesale.

“With nearly two thirds of those surveyed having customers considering moving to the cloud, the time is right for partners to make the most of this opportunity.”