Gartner defines public cloud IT transformation services (PCITS) as services designed to deliver transformational outcomes via the utilization of cloud-native professional and managed services. It includes migration, modernization and the building of new transformational solutions on public hyperscale cloud infrastructure and platform services. Organizations seeking to use public clouds such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and similar platforms engage with providers in this market to realize the greatest transformational benefits. PCITS transforms client applications, workloads and data to the public cloud to achieve their clients’ business outcomes. It makes primary use of cloud-native tools and manages IT operations in the public cloud. It encapsulates cloud management, optimization and modernization to continuously manage reliability, scalability, interoperability and more.
Gartner defines software asset management (SAM) managed services as services expert providers deliver to manage the software, SaaS and cloud assets of end-user organizations. They include skills, processes, technologies and governance to transform and run the SAM discipline on behalf of the client. SAM managed services employ the providers’ proprietary skills and methodologies to transform and run the SAM discipline on behalf of the client, augmenting the client’s resources. Delivered by skilled resources and leveraging the provider’s expertise, intellectual property (IP), rigor and best practices, SAM managed services address the gap in available SAM skills, enable scalability and enhance SAM maturity. At the same time, they deliver day-to-day SAM activities and oversee the full SAM life cycle. SAM managed services are delivered directly to end-user customers, on either a continuous or a scheduled basis, employing required discipline to meet software and cloud cost optimization and governance objectives.
Gartner defines software resellers as enablers of software and cloud solutions acquisition. Software resellers engage in responsible supply, operating as intermediaries between end-user organizations and an extensive array of over 1,000 software and cloud vendors. The mix of vendors will vary for each reseller but must incorporate Microsoft’s Licensing Solution Partner status. The primary competence is provision of licensing expertise by specialist resources navigating licensing options, nuances and changes to inform acquisition and preparation for renewals. Core software reseller functions and revenue are typically augmented by tail spend management, commercial consulting, software asset management, FinOps, and adoption services. Software resellers are enablers of software and cloud solutions acquisition, engaging in responsible supply by operating as intermediaries between end-user organizations and a broad array of software and cloud vendors typically extending beyond 1,000 vendor partnerships. Accordingly, the majority of software resellers are large organizations capable of addressing a broad range of requirements from their clients, while also satisfying the partnership requirements of an extensive set of software and cloud vendors. At their core, software resellers address nuances of licensing complexity across the software and cloud portfolio, enabling the ongoing cycle of evaluating licensing options, alternative solutions and prices. Licensing expertise is the primary software reseller competence, enabling core functions of informed acquisition and ongoing preparation for renewals by navigating licensing options, nuances and changes. Crucially, resellers with deep licensing expertise can provide relevant and timely licensing guidance that enables navigation of complex use rights and metrics for an array of licensing scenarios. Use of software resellers to merely fulfill software requests will fail to realize maximum potential value.