5. Security Becomes Front And Center In Channel's Go-To-Market Strategy

Providing network connectivity and ongoing services may no longer be on top of mind for the C-level executives who are making the decisions on where to spend their IT dollars. Cybersecurity is now front and center, which is why most of the major networking vendors in the market – such as Cisco, Juniper and Extreme Networks – have been investing heavily in extending and revamping their security portfolio.

Research firm Gartner estimated that worldwide sales of information security products and services reached $81 billion in 2016 and predicted that the market will maintain a 5 percent to 10 percent annual growth rate over the next four years. Networking vendors have been shifting their R&D investments over the past few years to integrate security technology for partners to sell.

In 2017, security will increasingly become a top priority and go-to-market sales strategy for networking-minded solution providers.