Do the MSP Math
Technology advancement aside, business has always been about numbers.
After the abacus came the ledger and after that the spreadsheet, which gave way to the calculator and then the ascendance of good business literally began to add up with the computer. Now with the information revolution, enterprise success regardless of statistics can sometimes be a zero-sum game.
A few companies large and small recognized larger evolution and changed with the times to help clients with not only improving their bottom lines but with giving them ways to, well, multiply sales and profits.
Olsen Thielen Technologies Inc. of St. Paul, Minnesota is a good example of a company that made the logical progression from accounting firm to information technology and enterprise services as a vital complement to many a business. The company also exemplifies the resonating importance of both -- when it comes to enterprise operations -- risk and efficiency.
"We're a little unique from the perspective that the company was around generations before the PC," said Theresa Putzier, IT practice manager for Olsen Thielen. "Our parent company is an 88-year-old CPA firm and 23 years ago we very logically got into supporting software accounting solutions."
As managed services became a focus for the IT practice, Olsen Thielen looked for managed service partners to sell to clients.
Even though Olsen Thielen has a storied history, Putzier operates from the perspective that enterprise infrastructure consulting is a dime a dozen. One-stop-shop offerings through managed services will be key.
"Managed Services will be mainstream as a whole and is definitely a profit center for us now," said Putzier. "Our goal is to help clients leverage technology. You'll see it with smaller clients outsourcing the whole function and larger businesses that actually have IT staffs will start to leverage managed services so the in-house staff can focus on in-house projects and not operational concerns that take away from core business goals."
Posted by Jabulani Leffall on August 09, 2010