Whether it's HP or Apple, Microsoft or Toshiba, tablet computing is both noteworthy and a technological advancement. Even better, tablet support represents a unique opportunity for small IT service shops. Companies like HTG Peer Groups thinks tablet support, while not an immediate earth-shaking panacea, is not exactly the worse service line to add to an existing service level agreement SLA framework.
In a recent e-newsletter HTG stated: "We're excited that Apple is working with us as a strategic partner and that we will be training our members to support iPads attaching to corporate networks. Exciting days are ahead as we become mobility specialists in our local markets."
A skeptic may point to recent Gartner research warning of a lukewarm to dismal economic outlook showing that PC sales are slowing down, with tablets and mobile devices replacing those sales. But an IT pro with a glass-half-full vision might see that growth in mobile devices and tablets also can turn into more work for IT pros and MSPs.
Some MSPs are going to get in on the ground floor and write expansion off as an operational rather than a capital expense. The opportunity for tablet support isn't exactly written in stone, but if sales predictions are any indication, tablet support could in the very near future be a rock solid proposition, especially for more nimble IT service shops.
Posted by Jabulani Leffall on September 12, 20110 comments
As proven by the closure of typewriter company Smith Corona in the late 1990s and the closure of many a buggy whip company in the 1890s due to railroads, sometimes businesses have to let go of old ideas as well as control. It isn't always easy, but in many cases not ceding control of certain aspects of a business when one is overextended or outmatched by competitors or market shifts can mean the end.
The main benefit that MSPs provide to SMB clients is that if the SMB client sells vintage typewriters or horse-drawn carriages for downtown excursions, they can concentrate on those key strategies and put their horses in play -- they can leave it up to someone else to solve their computer problems.
The same can be true for MSPs who might be geniuses in the IT space and might be dynamos at implementations but may be overextended with client service maintenance as well as keeping up with third-party vendors and partners and watching their own bottom line. As this MSPtv video points out, MSPs can close the gap by relinquishing control of the more automated and tedious and recurring functions, such as back-office processing.
By either bringing in a partner to handle payroll processing or back-office accounting or off-site data storage, an IT firm specializing in, say, website development for typewriting horse vacation packages can focus on that very serious niche.
The bottom line is that by letting go of your control or your apprehensiveness you can regain control later or learn to know the difference between your strengths and operational weaknesses.
Posted by Jabulani Leffall on September 12, 20110 comments