"The major value we give clients is the ability to approach a situation in three different ways and help them on that path. We don’t realise how much we know." - Michael van Zoggel, ComputerCorp
NC: How you do show customers they’ve made the right choice?
SA: You have to explain to your customers that the reason they don’t have any problems, is because you’re doing such a good job keeping it all running smoothly.
GM: We use the insurance analogy: If you’re not interested in managed services, why are you paying for insurance? You are selling an intangible, and it is difficult to demonstrate value pfront, but the proposition is very strong for someone who gets it.
FF: We also sell that way. Some customers get it, some don’t. And for some of them, something has to go wrong before they’ll buy into it.
DW: The other side of the coin is using technology to report well. Part of a managed service is telling the customers about upgrading firmware, and giving them a report every month to get visibility into what’s happening on the network every month, the gateway, and what employees are doing.
RS: We contact the client, and regularly speak to them. We do client service meetings as often as possible. Nine times out of 10, you work out with more work, or more billable work. And normally those meetings are with business owners or C-level, so you can fi nd out where that business is going. You can become the trusted business advisor and understand more about their company than even they do.
MVZ: What we don’t realise is that we see, as professionals, so many other businesses. The major value we give clients is the ability to approach a situation in three different ways and help them on that path. We don’t realise how much we know.
NC: What’s your advice to the break/fix guys?
JS: They have to choose vendors correctly, and be aware of what’s possible. It’s no longer okay to pay a lot of money to get an ordinary outcome. If you take the time upfront to plan it out and solve these problems, you’re taking a proactive approach to managing. We’re about building a highly scaleable, bigger business that’s not just limited by selling labour. The onus is on us – if we do it any other way, then we will lose money.
CH: It is a fundamental change in business thinking. As a break/fix operator, your product is time onsite. Our product is that an organisation’s IT stays up. The fact that I can do that with less and less cost on my side, is a good thing for me.
SA: The ability to do managed services has also changed.
TD: With the economic downturn, what we’ve seen is that IT service providers are looking for smarter ways to do business. Two years ago, everyone was making money – they didn’t have the time to go to managed services and it was all good, so why change? Now, the phone has stopped ringing and with break/fix there’s no contract or guarantee. People are looking more seriously at our product and managed services now.
JS: The IT manager of today is different to what it was before. He used to be in a small offi ce, buried in PCs and literally is carrying a screwdriver. The IT manager of new is someone who adds value to the business and is seen as a business person, rather than a technical person. They develop relationships, invest in software and other means to help the business commercially. MVZ: Organisations are employing IT managers who are not only business people, but also manage contracts really well. They are the people deciding on what can make and break a business.
