Resellers with the ability to simplify end user IT infrastructures and provision connectivity solutions stand to make significant gains next year.
That's according to a channel survey undertaken by Brocade which found that the biggest challenges faced by customers are complexity (46%) and bandwidth provisioning (46%).
The study also identified three trends that are front of mind - virtualisation (72%), BYOD and Software Defined Networking (30%).
Over half of Brocade's EMEA channel partners and systems integrators believe that SDN and Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) will be significant trends within the next two years.
Of those surveyed in EMEA 18% are already deploying SDN and NFV technologies, with 62% either currently evaluating SDN and NFV solutions or planning to do so within the next year.
Marcus Jewell, Vice President, EMEA, Brocade, said: "Our channel partners are looking to the future and focusing on building technology solutions that their customers will need in the years to come, in particular SDN and NFV.
"With customers prioritising virtualisation and BYOD, it's only natural that complexity and bandwidth are their top challenges."