Marching Orders 2014: Taking the Pulse of IT Services Executives

As part of our 2014 "Marching Orders" feature, RCP asked channel experts to share their best partner tips for the new year. Here are some insights from Mike Harvath, President and CEO, Revenue Rocket Consulting Group.

We conducted a brief, informal survey among IT services firms. It's very much in keeping with what we hear every day: 

• IT Industry in 2014: Two-thirds of executives are optimistic going into the year, while 29 percent are looking to an average year.
  
  
• Company Growth Rate: Fifty-three percent are anticipating a healthy growth rate (15-25 percent), 29 percent are looking to be OK (5-15 percent) and 12 percent are expecting a bountiful year with growth over 25 percent.
  
  
• Company Net Profit: Forty-four percent are looking for 10-15 percent net profit, 29 percent are anticipating 5-10 percent net profit, and 21 percent are looking for net profit of more than 15 percent.
  
  
• Challenges: Respondents ranked their companies' challenges from most to least important: 1) revenue/profit, 2) talent, 3) new customers, 4) competition and 5) vendor relationships.
  
  
• Key Growth Strategies: Respondents ranked their companies' key growth strategies from most to least important: 1) organic growth, 2) entering new verticals, 3) M&A, 4) new software partners and 5) entering new geographies.
  
  
• Company Rating: Respondents rated their companies in different categories on a scale of 1 (excellent) to 5 (troubling): 2.2 for talent, 2.3 for market position, 2.4 for delivery prowess, 2.7 for financial position and 3.3 for sales and marketing prowess.
  
  
• Vendor Impact: When assessing vendor impact, 59 percent of respondents don't expect any impact negatively or positively, while 35 percent expect positive impact.
  
  
• Cloud Impact: When assessing how they feel the move to the cloud will affect their businesses, 53 percent expect a positive impact, while 41 percent expect a negative impact.
  
  
• Talent Impact: When assessing the technical talent shortage, 50 percent say it's a big problem, 26 percent say it won't have an impact and 24 percent see it as an opportunity.

So from these firms' perspectives, most of the marching orders for 2014 are people-oriented. The most important challenge, as always, is generating incremental revenue and profit. Partners need to get new customers organically, improve the sales and marketing apparatus, and pursue and upgrade technical talent.

Posted on December 30, 2013 at 8:50 AM0 comments

Marching Orders 2014: Focus on the Business, Not the Technology Flavor of the Day

As part of our 2014 "Marching Orders" feature, RCP asked channel experts to share their best partner tips for the new year. Here are some insights from Keith Lubner, managing partner of Channel Consulting Corp.

"Who cares what's next?" should be your mantra. In 2014, those companies who prepare their business to succeed will be successful regardless of the technology flavor of the day.

The old saying, "If you have a solid foundation, you can build anything," was never as true as it will be in 2014. There are three things we see that every solution provider should focus on in order to be well positioned next year, and the year after that:  

Turn your sales people into consultants. We preached this last year and actually implemented a tool called Business Guidance which helps accomplish this goal. It's important that sales folks make this change because it will let you focus on quality in your pipeline instead of quantity. Who wouldn't want more quality opportunities? Invest in a program that will help you change your sales culture.

Think of unique ways to partner in order to expand your portfolio in 2014. Here's an example: If you need mobility expertise, there's a risky way to go about it. You can invest in hiring talent (which is tough these days) and invest in the time to spin up a mobility practice. On the other hand, you can partner with custom mobility development firms who are establishing unique channels of their own. I'd recommend the latter, because you can immediately offer mobility specialization to your customers without incurring the tremendous uncertainty in doing it yourself. Partner to buy yourself some time and immediately offer a valuable service to customers.

Reinforce. I can't tell you how many times I hear the line, "We tried that, it didn't work." Well, often the reason a program or initiative or training didn't work was because it wasn't reinforced. That is, there weren't mechanisms put in place to ensure that what is taught is retained. It's just like school. Invest in training but reinforce it in 2014. Your organization will thank you.

A solid business foundation can accommodate any technology trend in 2014 and beyond.

Posted on December 30, 2013 at 8:50 AM0 comments

Marching Orders 2014: Bake a 'Business Pizza'

As part of RCP's 2014 "Marching Orders" feature, Ken Thoreson, principal at Acumen Management Group, gives his advice for how partners can succeed in the new year.

Focus on talent. Proper human ingredients will make all the difference in your business. It's also the hardest part. Hiring sales, marketing and delivery talent must be your No. 1 focus in 2014. To elevate your performance, you must have quality. Make it a goal to upgrade your talent level. It may take you four months to find the right salesperson who can professionally consult with your prospects by bringing the right mix of business expertise, savvy and a commanding presence. 

Test your message. I've spent an enormous amount of time this past year with clients on learning to separate themselves from their competition by developing their marketing messaging and offerings. From thought leadership marketing ideas to vertical knowledge to new value propositions, Microsoft partners must be service-focused and offer levels of expertise that competitors can't match. Keep it grounded, though. Whatever messaging you create, you must be in a position to prove it during the sales process.

Posted on December 27, 2013 at 8:50 AM0 comments

Marching Orders 2014: A Trick To Being All Things to All People

As part of RCP's 2014 "Marching Orders" feature, we asked channel insiders for their best tips for what partners can do to get ahead in the new year. Here are some insights from Howard M. Cohen, senior resultant for The TechChannel Partners' Results Group and an RCP columnist.

The core message of the MPN is to focus, specialize, make big bets and invest in the competencies that really drive your business. Of course, the next question is, "But what about all the other services?"

This is when people bring out the familiar line, "You can't be all things to all people." But you can provide all things to all customers...if you partner. 

It's true that you'll stretch yourself too thin if you try to be the best at everything, but you can absolutely provide the best of everything if you take the time to find the right partners. The best way to do that is to join and participate enthusiastically in partner communities. There are several great ones out there:

The International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP) is committed to helping members get the most value out of their Microsoft relationships and learn how to best partner with other members to make more money.

SMBNation has unified the many partners who serve small businesses with one voice and great guidance.

CompTIA is the industry association, the voice of the computer technology channel.

There are others, as well. The most important thing I can tell you is that my own participation in these communities has always helped build the success of my business, and that's the most important thing of all.

Posted on December 27, 2013 at 8:50 AM0 comments

Marching Orders 2014: Point Customers to the Right Devices

As part of RCP's 2014 "Marching Orders" feature, Jenni Flinders, vice president of Microsoft's U.S. Partner Group, gave some advice to partners regarding the "Devices" part of Microsoft's new "Devices + Services" strategy:

The experience of combining Windows 8.1 and the many amazing devices shipping from our original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) is positioning the U.S. channel for great success. Partners must listen to the needs of their customers and find the right devices and services that will work best for their businesses. I encourage all partners to become familiar with all the devices available to offer a customized experience. 

When the right devices are paired with how businesses want to work, partners have more opportunities to deliver a complete mobile experience by developing mobile applications. This is an area I believe our partner organizations are poised to lead. It's time to help businesses tackle the mobile adoption curve and help integrate mobility into traditional application-business models.

Resources available to support our partners with this include our MPN disclosure guide, which is a comprehensive look at upcoming changes to programs to support our partners to integrate more closely with us.

We've also developed learning paths aligned to new tracks and updated requirements for the MPN competencies.

Posted on December 26, 2013 at 8:50 AM0 comments

Marching Orders 2014: Three Keys for SMB

As part of RCP's 2014 "Marching Orders" feature, we asked channel insiders to give advice to partners getting ready for the new year. Here are some tips for SMB partners from Cindy Bates, Microsoft's vice president of U.S. Small and Medium-Sized Businesses & Distribution.

Help SMBs move to modern technology. The end of support for Windows XP and Office 2003 is only a few months away. The April 2014 deadline gives SMB partners a great opportunity to drive meaningful conversations with SMB customers about the benefits of modernizing their technology and the risks of not doing so. By helping customers move to modern devices and embracing a services mindset, partners can capitalize on the ubiquity of devices, the accessibility and transformative nature of cloud and the rise of affordable virtualization. 

Take the next step in building your cloud business. Cloud is absolutely critical to growth and longevity in our industry. We've made it fundamental to many of our core SMB partner programs by merging the VAR Champions, Cloud Champions and Top VAR into one SMB Champions Club, offering even more robust and flexible benefits to members. This year, we also replaced the Big Easy and Cloud Easy Offers to create the more flexible SMB Advantage offer. Microsoft is committed to helping SMB partners take the next step toward ensuring your growth and success with cloud services. Our Cloud 1-2-3 framework helps SMB partners navigate the world of cloud resources across MPN so you can start, build and grow your cloud business regardless of whether you've just closed your 50th cloud deal or have yet to sell cloud services at all.

Develop your marketing muscle. Our most successful partners have one thing in common: They all invest in marketing. We continue to invest in bringing partners world-class readiness, enablement and marketing resources that make it easy for partners to connect with customers for maximum impact. The Ready-to-Go Marketing portal brings all available resources to one place. From the product- and solution-specific campaigns, to the local customer event programs driven by Microsoft Community Connections, or the outbound and inbound marketing services we've hand-selected for partners to help boost their business, make it your New Year's resolution to step up your marketing game in 2014.

To access all trainings, marketing resources, offers and incentives for SMB partners in one place, visit the new SMB Partner Center on the MPN Web site.

Posted on December 26, 2013 at 8:50 AM0 comments

Marching Orders 2014: The Time for Cloud Is Now

As part of RCP's 2014 "Marching Orders" feature, we asked channel experts to share their insights on what partners can expect in the new year, and what they should do to get ready for 2014. Here are some tips for Microsoft partners from Phil Sorgen, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Group.

With recently released data now quantifying profitability opportunities for partners in the cloud, there's no reason to wait. According to IDC, partners who generate more than 50 percent of their revenue from the cloud grow at double the rate, accrue new customers two times faster and generate double the revenue per employee compared to non-cloud-oriented partners. 

However, partners don't necessarily need to abandon their traditionally successful on-premises solutions. The key to cloud sales in 2014 lies in hybrid solutions, which will offer partners the best competitive advantage.

We're ready to support partners in their transition to the cloud. At the 2013 Worldwide Partner Conference, we announced some updates we'll be making to the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) to better align to how you're selling. This will help you better take advantage of the cloud profitability opportunity. Familiarize yourself with these upcoming changes by reviewing our Disclosure Guide to fully take advantage of opportunities in the coming year. Together, we'll make 2014 the year of cloud opportunity and profitability.

Posted on December 23, 2013 at 8:50 AM0 comments

Marching Orders 2014: Service Providers Should Go Hybrid

Marco Limena, vice president of Hosting Service Providers at Microsoft, recently shared his insights on what partners should do to better position themselves in the new year as part of RCP's annual "Marching Orders" feature.

In looking at this data, there's no denying we're entering the era of hybrid cloud. Now is the time for service providers to begin building and deploying hybrid clouds that meet customer demands and allow them to move between on-premises solutions, the public cloud and service provider clouds. 

Microsoft is focused on providing the resources and support to enable hosters to take advantage of this new era. We've built out a portfolio of products to support this effort, including infrastructure solutions such as Windows Server, Systems Center, SQL Server and Windows Azure, as well as applications such as Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, Office and Office 365.

All of the pieces are in place. I'm looking forward to seeing how our community of hosting partners will capitalize on this opportunity.

Posted on December 23, 2013 at 8:50 AM0 comments

Four Pillars for Building a Company

This RCP Guest Blog was written by Peter Bauer, CEO and co-founder of Mimecast.

The characteristics of an effective leader have been covered extensively -- the bottom line usually being that the elements of leadership are notoriously difficult to define or measure.

However, many leaders often share a similar conviction that keeps each of them moving forward. Leadership with conviction empowers leaders to fully invest in an idea, convince others to follow them and entice others to want the product or service.

As expected, a leader's conviction is tested often by team members, customers and partners. While successful leaders hold on to their conviction and carry others with them on their journey, during the good and the bad, even better leaders manifest their conviction in core values that guide their businesses.

While every leader and founder has his or her own unique journey and perspective to add to the conversation, below are a few pillars of leadership that have worked for me:

1. Hire Friends
People are at the heart of every business, and investing in those who believe in what they work on is key to success. By hiring friends -- and their friends and their friends (in more formal words, hiring by referral) -- leaders bring on those who share similar conviction. When a business brings on those who share the faith, these same team members will fly the flag and persevere when the going gets tough. When this culture is built from the beginning, not only will team members treat each other like friends, but also extend this same level of care to the business' customers and partners.

2. Beware of Agendas
Any entrepreneur will tell you that it is very hard to innovate when you are living in constant fear of missing payroll and running out of cash. While there are several avenues to acquire this capital and the temptation is strong, consider the long-term commitments attached to some financial partnerships and try to stay true to the needs of your team as well as your vision. If you are convinced your business is capable of truly solving a problem, keep to your own agenda and only partner with those who see growth in the same way.

3. Build Partnerships
These days, it's fashionable to have reseller partnering options as a cloud company. But just a few years back, the SaaS startups were projecting that this was the end of the channel. Others, seeing that there was a broad future for how computing and applications would be delivered, took a risk. Leaders, such as those who believed in partnerships and developed a channel ecosystem for their SaaS businesses, understand the challenges of going against the grain and invest in building new models. 

4. Create Your Own Architecture
Every industry has an existing market with a giant potential to be rewritten and rebuilt in a particular way. For example, we believed the computing model was shifting from a LAN-based, client-server, single-tenant architecture to a cloud-based, grid-oriented, multi-tenant arrangement. Being able to build a platform to fit this new model was always going to be expensive and very hard. However, the investment and the time dedicated to seeing this vision through and remaining committed to developing services for our customers and partners resulted in us being a step ahead of competition who are now living in denial, and operating as application hosters or are racing to re-architect to ensure they have a future in the cloud.

To other leaders and entrepreneurs within our community, remain dedicated to your conviction and pass your vision on to others around you. There are points along the journey when any individual can have their conviction tested, but even in those times, your conviction in the target market will propel your business forward. Conviction is what is needed on the long road to turn an exciting vision into reality.

Posted on August 06, 2013 at 8:50 AM0 comments

Marching Orders 2013: Strike 'Cloud' from Your Vocabulary

As part of Redmond Channel Partner's annual "Marching Orders" feature, we asked several channel luminaries to give their best advice to help Microsoft partners succeed in the coming year. Here are some tips from Howard M. Cohen, channel consultant and RCP columnist.

Over the past few years, some enterprising technologists realized they could create some of the services we used to install at customer sites and produce them more effectively in their own datacenter. Not only that, but by selling these services to a large number of customers they could achieve an economy of scale that would deliver better service at a lower price, and they would still make money doing so.

So now integrators combine hardware, software and these services delivered from remote datacenters into superior customer solutions, and save our customers money in the process.

We call these services cloud services.

If there's one thing I'd like to see channel partners do this year it would be to strike the word "cloud" from their vocabulary -- or at least stop buying into the idea that there's something mystical or magical going on here. Leverage the cloud hype if you must, but don't buy into it. They're just remotely delivered services that can be delivered more cost-effectively that way. That's all.

That is, of course, unless they fall under the new Microsoft redefinition of "private cloud" services, which we'll probably spend the next two years being confused about. Simply stated, Microsoft has chosen to use the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) definition of cloud computing to differentiate "cloud" servers from plain-old servers by adding things like pooled resources, self-service portals, elasticity and a "layer of abstraction" between the user and the underlying technology. I thought we always wanted those things.

This year, let's return to talking like adults about our customers' networks and just leave the word "cloud" out of it. Then watch their FUD go thud.

Posted on February 06, 2013 at 8:50 AM0 comments

Marching Orders 2013: Focus on Business Consultations

As part of Redmond Channel Partner's annual "Marching Orders" feature, we asked several channel luminaries to give their best advice to help Microsoft partners succeed in the coming year. Here are some insights from Tom Chew, national general manager of Slalom Consulting.

That's important because the explosion in adoption of cloud technologies from Microsoft -- such as Windows Azure and Office 365 -- means partners have even more tools to create a strong breadth of offerings for their clients. Many of the Microsoft tools work with cloud solutions from companies such as Amazon.com Inc. as well, expanding the opportunities. But gaining long-term business value is often a real challenge.

If you're not already, consider your client interactions as business consultations -- not just technology implementations. Slalom focuses on offering unique solutions and truly becoming a client's business partner. We also believe that strong relationships with cloud providers, anticipating change, and adapting business models to provide customized offerings are crucial.

The reality is that clients can choose from many partners to help them move to the cloud. By effectively communicating both the immediate benefits and long-term business value to your clients and guiding them through the transition process, partners can achieve great success through their cloud offerings.

Posted on February 06, 2013 at 8:50 AM0 comments

Marching Orders 2013: Be Ready for a Big Year

As part of Redmond Channel Partner's annual "Marching Orders" feature, we asked several channel luminaries to give their best advice to help Microsoft partners succeed in the coming year. Here are some tips from Harry Brelsford, President, SMB Nation.

While the slowly improving economic data inspires optimism in me and others, a common current refrain is that we've never worked so hard for so little. True -- the past few years have made us all more focused and efficient. But you're not alone if you're getting tired of this recession too!

Our predictions at SMB Nation are:

• Positive hardware growth. While major research entities and some hardware manufacturers are predicting flat PC/laptop/server sales at best (some forecasts even predict a slight decline), we believe there will be net-net positive growth for hardware for several reasons:
  
  
  • The U.S. elections are completed, leading to certainty in the business community.
  • Expectations that fundamental growth is sound in the economy.
  • The Windows 8 launch should yield growth benefits in the second half of 2013 (even though we're not seeing an order backlog today).
    
    
• Deferred refresh cycle. Many SMBs have extended the useful life of their IT assets and must now refresh. They have the fiscal confidence to refresh. This will exceed expectations.
  
  
• Innovation excitement. There's a natural excitement with new technologies and with the mainstream acceptance of cloud computing (finally) in 2013 that will create both budgeted and impulse buys in the SMB community.

Check out the full Marching Orders 2013 feature here.

Posted on January 30, 2013 at 8:50 AM0 comments