Partners looking to expand should double down on cloud, analytics and security and shift resources away from areas where they don't have a competitive advantage.

IBM has derived all of its growth from cloud, analytics, mobile, social and security, Michele Stern, vice president of North America business partners for Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM, said Tuesday during a vendor and distribution panel at the Best of Breed conference, hosted by CRN parent The Channel Company.

"Analytics for the channel is a huge growth opportunity," said Stern at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, Fla, noting that IBM offers a tremendous portfolio of software solutions to assist with analytics. 

IBM's channel business has experienced more than 60 percent growth in analytics, Stern said, with two-thirds of solution sales in the channel tied to analytics.

Ittai Bareket, CEO of San Jose, Calif.-based Netformx, has also seen analytics come more into play recently and encouraged solution providers to leverage analytics to gain better insight into their own businesses and profitability.

Specifically, Bareket encouraged partners to use analytics to examine their return on investment on certifications and programming as well as customer rebates and promotions. Benchmarking can also be a useful way of assessing whether partners are getting more, less or the same out of an investment as compared with the solution provider community at large, Bareket said.

Avnet's growth has stemmed mostly from technology areas tied to the Internet of Things (IoT), with a particular emphasis on security, according to Dee Dee Lear, senior vice president of emerging channels. 

The Phoenix-based distributor has focused on security everywhere from the data center to the device side, focusing on the impact for both commercial and government enterprises as well as individuals.

Cloud, meanwhile, is seeing the most success across all of IBM, Stern said, notching growth rates of between 20 and 25 percent. IBM's mobility practice has experienced 15 percent growth, Stern said, while Big Blue's social and security practices are enjoying growth in the high single-digits.

Although transitioning to cloud and as-a-service delivery models can sometimes have a negative effect on the top line, Lear said it's a necessary evil for getting to where companies should want to be three to five years from now.