The very concept of the cloud is daunting for many businesses. The tech buzzword is seemingly ubiquitous, but understanding the options available, and separating hype from reality are Herculean tasks that most IT admins simply don’t have time for. The need for cloud services to reach customers, and for customers to be able to find the cloud options available has given rise to a new breed of business: cloud brokers.
In a nutshell, the cloud services broker is really more of a consolidated cloud app store, or cloud services clearinghouse than a broker. Services like AppDirect and AppTix aggregate cloud services from the vendors they work with, and provide a one-stop-shopping experience that makes it easier for businesses to search for, and find the cloud services they need.
These services, however, are not all-inclusive. Think of it like Netflix. Netflix is a great service, and offers one-stop-shopping access to a vast selection of movies and TV shows. But, there are still plenty of movies and TV shows that you won’t find on Netflix, because Netflix is only a clearinghouse for the movies and TV shows it has negotiated arrangements to share.
That said, there are additional benefits to using a cloud service broker aside from collecting the various cloud services options in one place. For customers, a cloud services broker also provides a simplified management portal, and consolidated accounting. There is one place to manage the cloud services, and one payment to pay for them, which is preferable for most companies to administering apps through multiple interfaces, or managing billing for a bunch of separate cloud services.
For IT service providers, cloud service brokers offer an opportunity to provide additional value for customers. For example, both AppDirect and Apptix offer white-label plans for managed service providers that allow them to customize their own branded cloud app marketplace for customers…
Read the full article at TechRepublic: Cloud brokers play middleman to help you navigate cloud services.