The UK channel is witnessing a significant shift in client requirements, and it’s reached a pivotal moment, reshaping how partners deliver and differentiate their cloud offerings.
For over a decade, the channel has invested heavily in public cloud. AWS and Microsoft together command more than 70% of the infrastructure services market, enabling partners to meet clients’ immediate needs, but often at the expense of flexibility and control
However, the market is starting to change and we are seeing client requirements evolve to manage that shifting landscape. Businesses are demanding more than public, hyperscale cloud can offer: sovereign, compliant alternatives better suited to AI workloads, that deliver them greater control over their infrastructure. And they are willing to invest to get it. Channel partners can either evolve to map to those evolving client needs or risk watching them find alternative providers who will.
According to Broadcom’s Private Cloud Outlook 2025, 73% of UK businesses are reconsidering their use of public cloud, and 57% say deploying new workloads in private cloud is their top priority over the next three years. This marks a decisive shift that the channel cannot afford to ignore.
For those whose current offerings are built primarily on public cloud, these figures should raise a critical question: are you ready to meet your customers where they’re heading, or are you still optimised for where they’ve been?
This migration presents a clear opportunity. Channel partners who realign with client preferences can protect existing revenue, reduce cloud expenditure, and forecast costs more accurately. With the right infrastructure partner, they can deliver tailored, high-value services that protect revenue, control costs, and better meet evolving client demands.
When compliance and resilience are built into the foundations from the beginning, partners can have more confident conversations around security, performance, and value. In a market where trust drives buying decisions, that confidence matters.
There’s a practical advantage too. Lower latency, more predictable costs, and the ability to move quickly; these aren’t technical nice-to-haves, they’re the ingredients that help partners win business. Working with the right infrastructure partner makes it easier to build proofs of concept without worrying about spiralling operational costs or complex billing surprises.
Those channel partners who realign their infrastructure choices to the demands of the client base will be able to offer more compelling, more competitive, and ultimately more successful products and services.
The market is undoubtedly shifting. And shifting fast. The question isn’t whether to respond, but how quickly the channel can position itself to capitalise on what represents one of the most significant opportunities we have seen in years. The alternative is to risk drifting out of step with client expectations. Those channel partners who realign their infrastructure choices to the demands of the client base will be best placed to thrive in this evolving market.
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This article was produced in association with Pulsant and is classified as Partner Content. What is Partner Content? See more here.
Wendy Shearer
Wendy Shearer is Director of Partnerships and Ecosystems at Pulsant
