Think about it—no more datacenter refresh, no more hardware to service, no more on-prem workloads whatsoever. A seven-year relationship, gone in an instant. They’re moving to the cloud…and it’s been in the works internally for years.

The reality is, these types of conversations are happening. The VAR model of hardware 24/7 had its day, but cloud is becoming the norm. And it’s accelerating, as we learned from this year’s Microsoft World Partner Conference.

In the end of Zide’s story, the sobbing VAR is told he can prevail by adopting an MSP model. The solution is “…a cloud practice containing over 200+ cloud partners and various consulting, professional & managed services.” The moral of the story, and the reality of the IT services industry, is this: Transitioning from hardware supporter to trusted cloud advisor is a matter of survival.

Check out the full article by Shane Zide. Make some popcorn and grab some tissues. It’s a kick. Then join us back here for a group hug. We had some great years together, VARs, but now we need some time to focus on ourselves. We’re sure you’ll make a lucky vendor happy someday.