As I’ve said in previous posts on this site, I’ve been confused as to why an MSP would want to partner with Dell to provide managed services.  Dell has clearly never been a supporter of the channel, but is now making some strategic shifts that may make it a channel-friendly vendor.  I stress may, because obviously many people are unclear as to if this is true, or if Dell is a sheep in wolf’s clothing.  Given this, I’ve never understood why I should jump into bed with them.

That’s what I’m trying to figure out by watching this presentation.  Here is what I learned:

1. Deal registration – you don’t have to worry about competing with Dell
2. Get to use Dell/Silverback technologies and processes, including the “Business Builder” services in which Dell helps you get your managed services practice off the ground if you are not yet a developed MSP
3. Sales and marketing materials and training
4. Sales and marketing campaign assistance/lead generation
5. Dell has a “warchest” of capital that people believe is going to give them and their partners a competitive edge in the marketplace

I think the presentation left me with as many questions as it answered, which doesn’t surprise me too much as you can only go into so much detail in a webinar.  If I have the time, I suppose that I will have to contact Dell directly to find out the real details of their offering.

I for one will definitely plan on sitting on the sidelines and watching how everything shakes out, but it seems that Dell’s partners featured in this presentation are happy with their relationship (of course).  As Peter Klanian from Dell pointed out in the presentation, Dell’s behavior and track record over time will determine how much the channel trusts them.

I think I will really start giving Dell some real credit is when I’m at a managed services conference and someone runs up to me and says “I’m working with Dell and I’m making so much money – it’s the best!”.  Will it happen?  We’ll see!

MRC

Today, Everon’s executive team had the privilege of having Paul Dippell from Service Leadership in our office for a day of discussion about best practices, opportunities, and risks.

We had a very interesting conversation about the changes that are happening in our marketplace and what that means to Everon.  Our team members are big believers in the idea that cloud computing/virtualized infrastructure are going to experience massive adoption in the next 24 months.

This is exciting stuff, but with the change comes some questions about margins, competition, etc. Business models in our industry are going to go through serious changes (again), and we’ll all have to be on our toes to make sure that we are able to find and take advantage of opportunities.

Managed service providers will no longer look like managed service providers.  In fact, I’m not sure if we’ll call ourselves managed service providers anymore.  It will take a pretty significant investment to make the jump to whatever new model prevails, and I think everyone in our industry will have to do a serious gut check to determine if they want to stomach the risks of making that investment.

MSPMentor mentioned in a recent post that a lot of providers are interested in selling out right now.  Maybe this is part of the reason why; maybe people are nervous about the changes in the marketplace.

MRC

A story to illustrate:

One of my best friends just switched from T-Mobile to ATT to get the iPhone.  After waiting in line for six hours (This is an adult with three very young children mind you.  Better things to do with his time?!) he proceeded to watch the sales reps go through SEVEN iPhones before they were able to get him up and running.  SEVEN!  And it took him another six hours.

They ended up giving him the phone for free.

MSPMentor just posted on the fact that Kaseya is now officially supporting iPhones, and several other MSPs are making plays to include iPhone services in their portfolio.  I agree that it’s a good move, I would just encourage most MSPs to charge for it on a time and materials basis for the next X months so you don’t get beat up!

This is a very important lesson for anyone providing IT services on a flat-fee basis like Everon.  Your customers will try to bait you into supporting EVERYTHING for the original flat fee you sold them on.  We have a very important word that we use at Everon to combat this phenomenon:

NEW.

Simple, right?  If something is new to the marketplace, new to your network, or just new to Everon – we reserve the right to evaluate it and determine if we should charge more as part of the support plan we have with you.  It puts you in the position to protect yourself, and it’s something everyone should have in their contract.

MRC

Jamcracker’s MSP LaunchPad: Ready for Liftoff?

Dell’s Next Move: A Master MSP Strategy

At Everon, we’ve always worked with partners (that would normally be our competitors) in local markets to provide IT services in the field; we deliver them field work and they help us provide great service.  It’s not a very big leap for us to turn this into some sort of Master MSP model where we integrate all of our services for the good of both parties.

It makes me curious as to how this compares with the models that are currently out there.  I’ve yet to talk to anyone that is actually working with a Master MSP, so I’m hoping someone out there can give me some insight into their experiences.

MRC

http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/05/19/mspmentor-podcast-may-19-2008/

Text from the msp mentor site:

• Episode #: 006 (May 19, 2008)
• Featured Guest: Mike Cooch, CEO, Everon Technology Services LLC, a regional solution provider that has transformed itself into a national MSP.
• Topics Covered: Key themes and trends Cooch expects to hear at the MSPAlliance’s Managed Services Summit near Boston; how to transform from a local break-fix VAR into a national MSP that has regional support partners; melding software as a service and hosting services with your MSP solutions; the economy.

Let us know if there is anything from the interview that would be valuable to dig into in more detail and we will do our best in future posts.

JC

It’s a very important issue, as managed service providers need to look for every edge possible to be successful in competitive sales situations, and they don’t typically have the funds or time to go for every certification available.

So what really matters to clients? I’m sure the responses will vary based on all kinds of factors, but I’ve found that the following are the key variables that clients really focus on when determining which MSP to work with:

1. Perceived understanding of and ability to manage the specific needs of the client
2. Reputation in general and with reference clients
3. SLA’s/proof of service performance
4. Contract terms
5. Price
6. Business background – size of team, years in business, where it is located

The order above isn’t necessarily from most important to least important; that changes for each client.

So does a certification make sense? Does it have an impact? The only situations that I see it potentially having an impact on sales are the following:

• You are an infrastructure-based service provider (hosting, SaaS, etc.) and the clients you are selling to are looking for enterprise-level commitments in terms of uptime, redundancy, etc. A certification about how you have built your infrastructure and how you manage it could provide a feeling of safety for the client.
• You are focused on selling a specific brand and/or product; a certification would demonstrate your expertise.
• You are a small managed service provider that is just getting started; having a certification could reduce some of the sense of risk the client may have about working with a rookie in the marketplace.

Otherwise, I don’t imagine certifications are all that valuable.

That doesn’t mean that training isn’t important. Josh and I have actually considered putting together a training program to serve those looking to succeed as MSPs – we really believe in the value of continuing education. But does getting a certification at the end of the course make a difference in your sales volume? I guess time will tell.

MRC

The point of the article is the key to success for managed service providers in a tough economy. What is it?

Confidence.

The only potential crisis facing the American economy today is a crisis of confidence. There is a ton of money out there, so we don’t have a liquidity problem. Interest rates are dropping through the floor, so the cost of capital isn’t the issue. The issue is that a bunch of bankers are afraid of getting burned so they aren’t lending money anymore. It’s a confidence problem.

The good news is that this is the best time to take some ground from your competition. Why?

Because most businesses are going to pull back now. They are going to hunker down and ride out the storm. They are going to play it safe and cut back on optional things like marketing and advertising budgets. It’s the wrong thing to do.

Use this time to reinvest in your business, as Joe suggests. It will be much more expensive to take market share when the economy is good and everyone is spending their money loosely again!

MRC

So if the economy won’t do it, what’s the one thing that will limit their growth?

I believe it’s a shortage of good people.  This has been the limiting factor in just about any industry that has grown rapidly, and based on the sound of the article at MSPMentor, it sounds like it’s already the case for many companies in our space.

I can say from experience that it is hard damn work trying to find, hire, and train really good people once you get to the point where you are looking for several at a time.  I honestly have no idea how the big companies with huge turnover do it each year.  Everon has been incredibly fortunate in that we’ve had low turnover historically, but it is getting more and more difficult to find the right people to provide great IT support services.

I would suggest that it will be a competitive differentiator for those who are able to treat HR like a strategic function versus an afterthought.  Something to keep in mind as you develop your business.

MRC