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22
IT SERVICES
Managed IT services:
the opportunity for office
equipment dealers
The technology needs of small and
medium sized businesses (SMBs)
are evolving. The inception of
cloud computing, unprecedented
access to web-based solutions and
software, and an increasing reliance
on outsourcing of core services, are
all changing the way SMBs conduct
business today.
This creates lucrative opportunities for
IT services providers, who can leverage
their understanding of modern solutions to
transcend traditional vendor relationships
and act as strategic advisors. Providers
today are thriving by not only identifying
and deploying the best available solutions
for particular business needs, but by also
providing proactive support, maintenance
and troubleshooting for these offerings –
eliminating the need for small businesses
to invest in internal IT departments.
Throughout this change, at least
Michael Amiri, Senior Director of Dealer Services at Continuum, shares
his thoughts on what office equipment dealers need to consider when
venturing into managed IT services, and why this lucrative market should
be approached with careful enthusiasm
some constants remain – the power of
relationships, the need for effective sales
strategies and the value of one-stop
shopping for SMBs. Business owners value
mutually-beneficial relationships, solution
expertise and quality service. It’s in these
areas that one specific vertical is extremely
well-suited for entry into the managed
IT and network services market – office
equipment dealerships.
Dealers are uniquely positioned to
step into this booming space, they’re
sales experts, they have well-established
customer relationships and, they’ve
already got a foot in the door. The key to
successfully integrating these new services
into an existing portfolio lies in forming
the right partnerships, getting buy-in from
the top down and shifting certain aspects
of the business to support a managed IT
services model.
Customer service and relationships
Managed IT services are all about
providing customers with peace of
mind and insurance for critical systems
and data, and as system failure and
unplanned downtime becomes increasingly
intolerable, the importance of trust in these
deals cannot be understated.
The channel understands customer
service and is adept at forging and building
great relationships. Those dealers that
already have happy customers purchasing
print hardware, software, supplies and
other office equipment solutions, are a step
ahead of an outside competitor who has
no established reputation or rapport with
those businesses.
Customers also already understand
the value of outsourcing and leveraging
outside experts for technical support,
maintenance, sales and other services. It’s
not cost-effective for the average SMB to
hire in-house service engineers for printers
and MFPs, and the same is true for IT.
It’s a matter of convenience as well;
why pay multiple vendors at the end
of every month when one provider can
handle it all? Business owners, particularly
SMBs, value one-stop-shopping and
simplicity, and the ability to purchase office
equipment alongside technology hardware
Michael Amiri
Senior Director of Dealer Services
Continuum
