Cloud service brokers must differentiate as cloud market matures

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Cloud service brokers must be a trusted partner to the customer while maintaining strong ties with cloud providers, said Glenn Weinstein, chief technology officer of Appirio, a cloud service broker that offers its 300 enterprise customers cloud services and platforms from public cloud providers Google, Amazon, Salesforce and Workday.

Appirio works with its public cloud partners via consulting or technology partnerships. "We are recommending their services based on the customer's needs," Weinstein said, noting that their cloud provider partners recommend Appirio to prospective customers looking for a partner to do complex implementations.

"When [cloud providers and cloud service brokers] are working with large enterprises, there typically is a great deal of implantation work," he said.

Cloud service brokers should focus on cloud federation, said Weinstein, as some customers are usually shopping for more than one public cloud solution or application.