Cloud brokerage services may just be the biggest cloud computing trend that no one’s talking about, yet.

To be fair, some people are talking about it. CIOs, information technology specialists, and cloud computing consultants have been ahead of the curve on this one. But outside the world of cloud computing, the cloud brokerage services model hasn’t gained much widespread attention.

But as of October 2015, that’s starting to change. That’s when computing giant IBM purchased a cloud services brokerage software company. IBM has a history of trend spotting, and tech analysts have been forecasting that the company would get into the sector soon.


But rather than building its own division of cloud services brokers, the tech company opted to \”buy it rather than build it,\” purchasing a software company that helps IT directors compare cloud service providers online.

Many tech watchdogs thought that was an extremely odd move. By turning the brokerage model into a software service, isn’t IBM defeating the entire purpose of hiring a cloud broker in the first place? Will people really pay for software that will help them… pay for software? As in most brokerage models, cloud brokerage services help businesses, non-profits, government agencies, and even police departments negotiate and purchase services from the big cloud providers, like Verizon, Google, and Amazon Web Services. They act as both account managers, consultants, and cloud migration specialists.

What’s more, the most successful cloud brokerage services aren’t creating brokerage software, but rather acting as a guide throughout the entire cloud migration process (and afterwards). As more and more enterprises adopt the hybrid cloud model, cloud service brokerage firms are stepping in to fill a gap.

Increasingly, organizations need an array of cloud services, including space on public and private clouds, SaaS (software as a service), and increasingly, cloud security services. At the same time, government agencies, education institutions, and healthcare providers have strict compliance and security requirements, meaning they often want to maintain some of their existing infrastructure.

If this seems like a tangled web, that’s because it is. Cloud brokerage services can help an organization negotiate better contracts with a variety of providers, while still leveraging their existing IT technology. Plus, by offering single-source billing and customer support, cloud services brokers can act as a go-between for companies, especially small to medium-sized enterprises without the influence of a Fortune 500 firm.

In either case, with IBM and major security players moving into cloud brokerage services in 2015, you can expect the CSB sector to start dominating conversations about cloud computing in 2016.