https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501 Application
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501 Application
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Digital Service Providers
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • CHANNEL PARTNERS ONLINE
 Channel Futures

From the Industry


The Road Ahead

Future Proofing Your Business: Five Essential Actions for Partners

  • Written by Shawn Toldo VMware
  • November 10, 2017
Vendors with a solid history of staying ahead of industry change and who offer their partners expertise and enablement will likely excel in this dynamic digital transformation economy.

The days of pushing boxes for solution providers are long gone. Solution Providers with a full suite of advisory, professional and managed services who can serve as trusted business advisors have significant opportunities before them in today’s market. But they also have plenty of challenges, including changing customer buying habits, shifting business models and encroaching technological disruption.

It’s a stated imperative among the most successful solution providers and industry analysts that solution providers must evolve from transactions and products to technology services and business advice. This trusted advisor status has become even more important as line of business decision makers (defined as technology buyers outside of the IT organization) now make approximately 50 percent of technology buying decisions, according to research from the CompTIA trade association. These business decision makers don’t care about technology for technology sake; they care about their business outcomes and organizational productivity, instead. As such, these buyers often demand an ROI on their investments in as little as three-to-six-months. 

Vendors with a solid history of staying ahead of industry change and who offer their partners expertise and enablement will likely excel in this dynamic digital transformation economy. This includes, I believe, VMware. But for everything to align as hoped, partners must “future proof” their businesses to stay relevant. Here are five things you can do to help achieve this goal:

Diversify your business models
One of VMware’s capabilities includes project services. To us, it’s no longer relevant to talk solely about partners who conduct transactions for VMware. Instead, we zero in on a partners’ overall value to customers. Partners with deep industry and vertical capabilities who capitalize on industry trends are more quickly able to build new client offerings and solve customer challenges, we find. These partners are also more profitable. In many instances, they earn margins of 30-50 percent on  project services. Not only are they more profitable than peers with monolithic business models, they enjoy deeper customer relationships. Solution Providers of the future are thinking about a broad set of services that increase their profits and customer value, not just the deal of the moment.  

Develop recurring revenue streams
Recurring revenue, in many instances, is fast becoming 20 percent or more of most solution providers’ businesses. This doesn’t mean break/fix maintenance revenue earned over time. It means hybrid-cloud revenue that is generated by customer consumption and other measures. The stickiness of this revenue is powerful; it’s the gift that keeps on giving. In addition, a dollar of recurring revenue is worth anywhere from 2-10 times more than a dollar of resale business, which matters greatly to a solution provider’s valuation.

Package your intellectual property
Progressive partners from large global companies to small digital service providers now routinely “package” their intellectual property. These entrepreneurs demonstrate their innovative spirit by building customized deliverables that are proven and repeatable solutions for clients. This includes Sovereign Systems, which recently spun out a development company from its core business to focus on custom software applications. Similarly, Light River, a transport system integrator, just completed an acquisition of a software development firm to get into the customized application market. Intellectual property with standard and customized applications, custom processes and services integrated into a unified offering gives a company a higher valuation than an organization that offers only standard or commoditized offerings.

Offer business advisory services to IT
A partner who has gone into their clients’ IT organization and helped it become more valuable to the rest of their company has an edge in today’s world. It enjoys greater customer loyalty and often yields improved customer satisfaction. It’s the solution providers who advise, educate, coach and mentor IT organizations who stand out. In today’s market, that counts for plenty. 

Increase the profile and skills of your technical staff
In today’s competitive labor market, employees have an upper hand. Thus solution providers must provide a career path for their technical staffers. This includes doing more than defraying the cost of vendor certifications. Today, engineers and technicians value ‘hands-on’ expertise and multi-vendor training. Value today rests in broad technology learning and deep customer experiences, not outmoded certifications and repetitive administrative tasks. Technical employees want employers to help them develop better business, collaboration and people skills. They understand that they no longer operate in installations and IT data centers solely. Instead, they want to help move the needle when it comes to deepening the overall value a digital service provider brings to its clients. They want to become better professionals, in other words, and they want you to help them achieve their aims. 

What lies ahead, no one knows. But if you focus on one or more of the above, you’ll be better prepared for whatever comes your way.

Shawn Toldo, VP, WW Solution Providers

 Shawn Toldo serves as our Vice President, WW Solution Partners for VMware, helping our partners unlock revenue opportunities across all solutions. He is also a member of The Channel Futures Think Tank.

Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs From the Industry

Related


  • XDR
    5 Ways XDR Can Improve Operational Efficiency for MSPs
    XDR collects and automatically correlates data across multiple security layers, which means threats are detected faster.
  • Multi-Cloud VMware
    Multi-Cloud: Strategy or Inevitable Outcome? (or both?)
    VMware’s approach to multi-cloud can help at any stage--wherever your business is at any given moment.
  • Backup vulnerability
    Backup Vulnerability: 4 Targets Hackers Might Utilize to Infiltrate Your Backup Solution
    Organizations should follow several best practices to address backup vulnerability.
  • Roaring 20s
    The “Roaring 20s” Are Coming
    2020 was a significant challenge, but the roaring 20s will come—thanks, in no small part, to partners.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • The Smart Money’s on a Staged Approach to Security Services Provision
  • Disaster Recovery Planning Includes Ensuring That Data Can Be Recovered
  • Tactical Threat Intelligence Has a Critical Place in a Layered Cybersecurity Strategy
  • How the SASE Model Helps Secure Remote Workers, Branch Offices

Galleries

View all

International Women’s Day & Tech: Move Beyond the Conversation

March 8, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

What is FirstNet–and What Are the Benefits for Channel Partners?

March 8, 2021

5 Ways XDR Can Improve Operational Efficiency for MSPs

March 4, 2021

Multi-Cloud: Strategy or Inevitable Outcome? (or both?)

March 3, 2021

Webinars

View all

A Partner’s Perspective on Channel Success in 2021

March 23, 2021

XDR and Why it Matters to MSPs

March 24, 2021

Top Security Trends Impacting Technology Security Providers In 2021

March 25, 2021
  • 1

White Papers

View all

Why Fortinet for my MSSP?

March 2, 2021

Small and Mid-Size Business Security: 4 Steps to Success

March 2, 2021

How SMBs Can Secure Endpoints and Remote Workers for the Long Haul

March 2, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

FASTCHAT: How SOAR Eliminates Security Challenges and Elevates Service Provider Revenues

January 6, 2021

Happy Holidays from Channel Partners & Channel Futures!

December 21, 2020

FASTCHAT: How Old, Unpatched Technologies Are Creating New Security Threats for MSPs and Their Customers

December 3, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

We celebrate #InternationalWomensDay by highlighting the important conversations and key statistics. @channelsmart… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

A UK-based MSP got a lesson in grace when a post intended as a joke was mistaken for online bullying.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 9, 2021
ChannelFutures

Learn more about #FirstNet and partnering with @GetWirelessLLC. #LTE #firstresponders #connectivity #IoT… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 8, 2021
ChannelFutures

Have you heard? @McAfee is selling its enterprise security business. And 75-year-old founder #JohnMcAfee faces deca… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 8, 2021
ChannelFutures

Today we celebrate the achievements of women worldwide, and we are proud to give the rockstar women in the channel… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 8, 2021
ChannelFutures

The list of #Accellion FTA breach victims keeps growing. Another bank joined the list over the weekend.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 8, 2021
ChannelFutures

Happy #InternationalWomensDay! The Channel Futures / @Channel_Online team is proud to support @AllianceofCW and… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 8, 2021
ChannelFutures

#MSPs can help businesses deal with #cloudcomputing and #cybersecurity pain points, says @Dreamix_Ltd.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 8, 2021

MSSP Insider

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Channel Partners Online

Want more? Find more channel news and analysis on our sister site, Channel Partners.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Online
  • Channel Partners Events
  • MSP 501
  • MSSP Insider
  • IoT World Today
  • Webhostingtalk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X