Oracle’s quarterly revenues did not quite please the financial markets today. Concerns carried into trading with tech stocks getting hit.

The news reflects a new reality for systems integrators. Oracle has battled for mindshare with a premise that its big boxes have the power and the speed to change IT. But a contrasting viewpoint we see emerging puts this premise out of whack with the reality that most IT shops see its customers using a fabric of services from across the Web. Tying into big iron makes less sense for them. The greater need: a distributed network that can manage this mesh in a manner consistent with its IT policies.

The shift means that systems integrators need to adapt as well. The answer  comes in seeing the problems that surface when services proliferate. It makes no sense to do point to point integrations.  Ravi Kalakota points out in a post on Enterprise Cloud Strategies that IT needs a more automated method that hooks up users, systems, databases, applications and Web services.

Enter cloud brokerage services (CSB) which provide a middle services layer between the enterprise and the customer’s cloud providers. CSB have gained such influence that they now have their own category in the systems integration market. Companies like Appirio, Jamcracker and Zuora are now followed by major analyst firms such as Gartner Research.

Systems integrators that adapt to the new services model should have an advantage with customers.  Connecting technologies is what they do. The problem: all too many systems integrators still seek the on-premise business that has earned fantastic returns over the past many years. These companies face obscurity if they do not adapt to the new cloud services market.

Look for significant growth in cloud brokerage services next year. We’ll see it with horizontal providers that work with multiple cloud services and those that specialize with specific companies such as Salesforce.com and Workday.

For the first time in many years, Oracle is not a safe bet. Its model is predicated on cloud in  a box solutions that cost millions to integrate. Those days are coming to an end. The systems integrators aligned with Oracle’s thinking face their own challenges. The future is as a services provider in the cloud.