How to Sell Customers on the Cloud’s Business Advantages
The surest way for solution providers to sell cloud computing to SMB customers is to talk about the technology’s business advantages throughout the sale cycle. It’s not just a starting point for the conversation. If presented correctly, these benefits combined with your services will be what ultimately seals the deal.
As the architect for translating cloud computing into business advantages for customers, MSPs and solution providers are in the unique position of operating as the fractional CIO for many of their SMB clients. Part of that job is showing these organizations how to use cloud computing and other technology solutions to their fullest benefit.
After all, from a business perspective, what we’re really talking about with the cloud is how the technology can improve a customer’s business, drive down costs and increase productivity and network performance. There aren’t too many SMBs around that won’t buy off on that value proposition.
Of course, it’s not enough just to talk about the business advantages of the cloud, you must also reassure your customers that the cloud services you provide are secure and supported by a reliable enterprise-level infrastructure from partners such as Ingram Micro Seismic, Amazon, Microsoft’s Windows Azure and others.
Once all your cards are on the table, again you must reiterate how cloud computing technology translates into real business advantages. Discuss how benefits such as faster deployment, more flexibility, lower cost of doing business and, perhaps most importantly, access to applications and data from anywhere at any time—not only make life easier, but also give your clients a leg up over the competition.
It’s this ability to successfully articulate the benefits of the cloud computing that will accelerate adoption and bring the technology mainstream.
Remember, the value that MSPs and VARs command is not the technology the technology you sell, but the services and expertise you apply to that technology to meet the needs of your customers and drive meaningful business results.
To hear more about the business benefits and applications of cloud computing, be sure to check out our inaugural Cloud Summit June 7 in Dallas, Texas, which will be immediately followed by our annual Ingram Micro Seismic Partner Conference June 8-9.
Justin Crotty is Vice President Services North America at Ingram Micro, Inc. He oversees Ingram Micro Seismic. Monthly guest blog entries such as this one are part of MSPmentor’s annual Platinum sponsorship. Find all of Crotty’s blog entries here.
Hi Justin—-good post. It’s critical to their business model that solution providers are able to position and market their cloud offerings properly.
Though reliability is key, I don’t agree that a bigger SaaS company is always better. Remember that both Google Apps and Amazon have had outages. I would recommend that any MSP do their due diligence and research the reliability and reputation of a company—-no matter its size-—before partnering.
Sam: Your point is well taken. During a conversation with Kaseya’s CEO this week, he mentioned to me that Kaseya is switching it’s SaaS platform from Amazon Web Services to Rackspace (Surely smaller than Amazon) because of some SLA issues.
In terms of outages it seems like nobody is immune to going dark right now. Small but strategic email security and Exchange hosting providers have had outages in recent weeks; and we all know about the Amazon and Microsoft SaaS outages over the past year or so.
Seems to me we’re all still learning who to deal with. In my own experience, we moved off of a small service provider to Rackspace’s cloud in November and December 2009. So far, so good.
-jp
Hi Sam – I totally agree. I am not suggesting there are not other providers with high quality service and solid SLA’s. Due diligence is the only course for any company looking at potential providers, regarldess of the size of the potential provider.
Justin