According to AMI Partners, about 200,00 to 250,000 people will lose their jobs in the small business channel over the next decade as cloud computing takes hold.
Skeptical? Read on…
AMI attributes the job loss to the reduction in resources required to run IT for a small business. The job loss will magnify with the advent of managed services for IT and other aspects of the business.
AMI says that the situation is compounded by large companies that are now offering the services that traditional small businesses have provided. This will have an additional impact.
The research group point to the telecom service providers like AT&T and Verizon, retailers like Best Buy and Staples and vendors like Dell. It’s AMi’s contention that these large companies will offer various services directly to small business, cutting directly into the business of SMB providers. Historically, small businesses have supplied the small business sector.
We’re skeptical about the study as a new economy is opening. Losses are inevitable with the cloud but the economic impacts of entirely new channels will be apparent. For instance, it’s clear that APis are fueling commerce. Small businesses will increasingly leverage APIs to broaden their own distribution channels.
Companies realize the benefits of the cloud and its impacts will be significant. There will be losses but what that will be depends on what new channels emerge in the years ahead.
