CA: Looking for Cloud Opportunities? Look to the SMB Space
When it comes to finding new opportunities, MSPs are pretty adept at rooting out trends and complementary technologies. But for a number of MSPs, discovering opportunities within the cloud can be as difficult as driving through a heavy fog. “The cloud brings a very specific and very large opportunity to MSPs,” said Christopher Goodman, senio
November 4, 2011
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When it comes to finding new opportunities, MSPs are pretty adept at rooting out trends and complementary technologies. But for a number of MSPs, discovering opportunities within the cloud can be as difficult as driving through a heavy fog.
“The cloud brings a very specific and very large opportunity to MSPs,” said Christopher Goodman, senior director of sales at CA Technologies. “What cloud delivers to the MSP is the opportunity to deliver a very high-quality service at a price point to their customer that is very attractive but at the same time at a cost point to the MSP that makes it very viable for them to bring to market quickly and effectively.”
Goodman offered deeper insights in this MSPmentor FastChat Video:
Finding their place in the cloud oftentimes can be the greatest challenge for MSPs, but CA believes MSPs really don’t need to look any further than the SMB space for untapped opportunities.
“The expectations of the small-to-medium-business consumer have changed. Once upon a time if you were a small-to-medium-business owner you expected that you would have to sacrifice on the technology services that you purchased and consumed. Well, that has changed,” he said. “Today small-to-medium businesses believe that they can have access to the highest level of quality technology services just like the large enterprises have access to. And those are being delivered by the MSPs.”
So, he said, it stands to reason that MSPs that deliver high-quality service at a reasonable price point will be able to generate significant opportunities for themselves that can grow very rapidly.
The cloud fundamentally is not unlike any other managed service — it takes a certain amount of expertise in sales and marketing as well as the ability to map the service to other managed offerings to show not just the value but also the value-add.
In offering cloud services, “I think the biggest challenge an MSP has is the fact that they’re going to be going after a new type of customer most likely in a new market,” Goodman said. “The MSPs that have had success in the past probably did so through a network or through relationships that they’ve had for some time. If they’re going to go after a new type of customer or a new segment — the small-to-medium businesses — they’re going to have to do so without a large sales organization, without a large marketing budget or without a well-known reputation in that marketplace. The key is going to be for them to partner with the right technology partner and the right vendor.”
Goodman noted CA is excited about the cloud opportunities for MSPs, and he said the company has the expertise to help MSPs capitalize on the market.
“If we enable an MSP to attack that market by helping them with their go-to-market preparation in sales and marketing enablement as well as the technology that we provide, there’s a really strong partnership there and a great opportunity for mutual success,” he said.
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