Generation User – The Next Evolution of Managed Services
A close friend of mine postulated today that the most important part of any business is maintaining focus on the customers. It seems like absolute common sense to me, but what exactly does that mean? What about the customer is important to focus on? Wining and dining them? Providing excellent service and good advice? Reasonable prices? It’s all important, and some of it is more important. What do I think is more important than all of that? Simple – understand what your customer needs you to solve for them.
For as long as I can remember, MSPs have been saying to their customers and prospects alike, “I will take care of your network, so you can take care of your business”. It makes sense. It solved for a need that was both frustrating and confusing. It drove the managed service message and created a steady revenue stream for many smart and successful MSPs. Unfortunately, everybody says it now. The hotdog vendor on the corner can be heard to say, “I will take care of your low cost lunch, you take care of your business”. Let’s face it, if everyone else is doing it, it is hard to distinguish yourself by doing the same thing. Is it a problem? Yes. Is there some good news? Would I be writing this blog if the answer was no?
Here is the good news. The way people work has fundamentally changed. The way business works is different. The subsequent opportunity is massive and when you think about it, it’s right in front of your face. So let’s focus on what is different, and what it means going forward for your business.
Today’s Road Warrior
When I get up on Monday and head to the airport (such is my life), I pack a notebook, a tablet, and a smartphone. Three devices, all of which have overlapping functionality that I use interchangeably throughout the day. All of them need to work all the time or I feel like I’ve lost a limb. I have no idea how some people go through life with their battery constantly in the red, but whatever. Twenty years ago it was one device at a time, ten years ago it was one or two for different tasks, and today it is three devices that I can use to do most of what I need to do during the day. Why is that important?
As my provider of IT-related services, if you cannot help me successfully leverage all of these devices every day, wherever and whenever I happen to be using them to access whatever I want to work with, you are not really all that valuable to me. I don’t live on the network anymore. If you take care of the network, and I take care of business, there is a huge gap between the two where your smart and hungry competitors can wedge themselves in, get comfortable, and eventually take your place. Don’t let that happen.
The focus in the IT world is all around enabling the technology USER, while at the same time protecting company assets. BYOD is not a problem, BYOA is not a problem, and remote workers are not a problem. Securely enabling them to be more productive is a huge opportunity. Shepherding them towards solutions that allow them to work the way they want to when they want to will drive productivity, morale, and collaboration.
We have the tools and the best practices to help you move your business from “we will take care of the network…” to “We will drive productivity and collaboration amongst your employees, so you can focus on driving revenue”.
If any of this sounds remotely interesting, strike up a conversation with one of us, we are all in IT together, and we would love to play a role in your ongoing success.
Ted Roller is VP of Channel Development at LogMeIn.
