As part of our 2014 "Marching Orders" feature, Michael Fraser, CEO and founder of VDI Space Inc., gives his take on what partners need to do to succeed in the new year.
We're in a new era of technology with the cloud. The only way to succeed going into 2014 and beyond is to become a business expert using cloud to solve business issues.
With everything in technology morphing into an "as-a-service" model, partners need a high level of business expertise to ensure customers are getting the right solutions for their business needs. The only way to gain expertise is a balance between learning and experience. This means you must be diligent to keep up with what's going on, as well as leverage experts, be they cloud providers, consultants or peers.
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Posted on January 03, 20140 comments
As part of RCP's annual 2014 "Marching Orders" feature, we asked channel insiders to share their insights into what partners need to do to get ready for the new year. Mark Seeley, president and senior partner at Intellinet Corp., shares his tips.
Microsoft systems integrators (SIs) have done extremely well in providing excellent technology know-how for the Microsoft product stack. However, as more platforms migrate to the cloud, SIs will need to adapt their business model to the new paradigm.
Delivering with innovation will be key to standing out in a crowded marketplace.
Proactive consultancies will reshape and reimage service offerings in a way that provides true business solutions versus platform solutions. At Intellinet, we shifted our business three years ago to provide end-to-end solutions to clients. From strategy to solutions to support services, we've found the full lifecycle helps us stay connected to customers and deliver greater impact to both the firm's and client's bottom line.
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Posted on January 02, 20140 comments
As part of RCP's annual 2014 "Marching Orders" feature, we asked channel insiders to share their insights into what partners need to do to get ready for the new year. Harry Brelsford, CEO of SMB Nation, shares his tips.
Here's the good news: I predict that Microsoft won't extend the
April 8, 2014 deadline for extended support for Windows XP, all of the Microsoft 2003 server products (including Small Business Server) and Office 2003. Why is that good news? We're dealing with humans. Most customers won't be motivated to migrate until the April 8 deadline arrives and passes.
Much of the evangelical outreach we're conducting in the fourth quarter of 2013 to properly plan for an orderly migration before the deadline is great air cover. The real ground war will start in the second quarter of 2014. And that's good news for partners over the next year. Starting now, you can stake out a leadership position on this migration work. It's good work and, if you buy into my thinking, it's essentially mandated by Microsoft as a "must do."
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Posted on January 02, 20140 comments
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.
For the 2014 Marching Orders, I wanted to hear directly from IT services executives about their outlook for the year. I wanted to know where they felt they were well positioned for growth and where they weren't.
We conducted a brief, informal survey among IT services firms. It's very much in keeping with what we hear every day:
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Posted on December 30, 20130 comments
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.
Mobility is here. Cloud has been here. What's next?
"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:
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Posted on December 30, 20130 comments
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.
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Posted on December 27, 20130 comments
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.
As I write this, many of my clients are working through their business-planning process for 2014. Done right, it expands past the one-page business plan and an Excel spreadsheet to a quarterly planning process by department with specific quarterly revenue goals. It also includes specific tactical plans for each partner's various sectors: sales, marketing, delivery and administration. I like to suggest this is their "Business Pizza" -- lots of ingredients broken in to digestible slices.
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.
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Posted on December 27, 20130 comments
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.
As we move into 2014, SMB partners have a tremendous opportunity to build excitement and urgency with SMB customers around how technology can modernize and transform their businesses. Here are three things I believe can deliver great impact for SMB partners this year:
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.
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Posted on December 26, 20130 comments
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:
In the New Year, computing will continue to be everywhere and vastly more integrated. Not only will our devices talk to one another, the range of "devices" will expand greatly to include cars, buildings, roads, cities and homes. Our interactions with technology will be more natural and intuitive. Modern devices that enable productivity on-the-go and connect to all the important information you need is one of the key demands from your customers.
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.
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Posted on December 26, 20130 comments
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.
Over the past two years, Microsoft partners have seen the cloud gain significant traction in terms of customer demand. The time is now for partners to join the thousands who have already built a cloud practice to start reaping the benefits.
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.
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Posted on December 23, 20130 comments
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.
Earlier this year at our Hosting Summit, I shared research that revealed a shift in customer demand when it comes to cloud infrastructures. According to the 451 Group, in the next two years, 68 percent of customers plan to adopt hybrid cloud models. That's an increase of nearly 20 percent from today. This shift is driven by an increased customer demand for cloud solutions that will help them grow their business or realign their organizations.
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.
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Posted on December 23, 20130 comments
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.
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Posted on August 06, 20130 comments