The robotic process automation (RPA) market is booming and hyperautomation is rapidly becoming the new buzzword in the market.
But the traditional IT reseller channel is not well-positioned to take advantage of these rapidly-growing disciplines
These new technology disciplines often fall outside the ambit of the traditional reseller channel.
“The reseller channel has developed around the supply of certain products and services,” explains Brian Little, chief operating officer of Saucecode. “Until quite recently, the reseller would buy ready-made ‘packaged’ products like hardware, software and communications which they would implement into the customer’s business to cater for a specific need.”
But now resellers face a new challenge as the traditional channel business starts to converge with software development, which has always been a completely separate discipline and typically not the reseller’s area of expertise.
“Bespoke development has pretty much always been done by development houses rather that the channel as we know it,” Little explains. “It’s typically addressed a different set of requirements and required different skills and perspectives on creating a solution – as well as a different billing model.
“As far as the business is concerned, there have always been two parallel worlds in IT: the IT channel selling products and services; and the people developing bespoke software needed to achieve specific tailor-made outcomes in the business environment.”
Although delivered via different channels, these two areas of endeavour are complementary, with bespoke software often adding to the features or deliverables of the tools and applications delivered by the traditional channel; or connecting disparate systems to allow for the broader use of the IT infrastructure for purposes of data gathering and intelligence.
Now resellers can be an integral part of their customer’s automation journey, with Saucecode offering a number of different engagement models for its Roboteur and StarBridge offerings.
The reseller can use Saucecode’s low-code platform Z-One to develop and maintain its customer’s automation solutions; or it can outsource this to Saucecode’s professional services team. The company will also do the technical work on behalf of resellers while they skill up, then hand over to them when they are proficient.
The company has also recently launched a software as a service (SaaS) offering.
The SaaS model works well for service providers who supply their own specialty solutions or services. “Within these solutions there are many opportunities for automation, where they can create bots for processes that are usually done manually, but are standard functions,” Little explains.
The company has also pioneered the concept of swarming – or running several bots in parallel. When an organisation experiences a spike in demand, they can employ more bots on that process so they can pass more transactions through the system.
Saucecode will show resellers how they can be part of the automation success story at the AI Expo being held at the Sandton Convention Centre. Visit Stand A1 on 19 and 20 September to find out more.
For more information, visit www.spacepencil.co.uk or mail Brian Little on brian@saucecode.tech