Find Out How Managed IT Services Differs from
Managed Computer Consulting Services...and Why Most of Your Small Business IT Clients Need Both Services
Although the idea of managed services is not unique to IT, the appeal of managed IT services has captivated, almost seduced, a great many individuals in the small business IT space.
Regardless of whether you own or manage a computer consulting business, VAR, network integrator, IT solution provider, MSP, system builder, or computer repair business, the basic premise of providing a specific amount of IT services to clients for a specific amount of money each month, formalized into a minimum 12-month contract, does deliver recurring service revenue.
However, for many small business technology providers that serve as their clients’ outsourced virtual IT departments, managed IT services many times aren't encompassing enough.
Let Your Managed IT Services Co-Exist,
Side-by-Side, with Your Outsourced Virtual IT Services
The problem arises when small business technology providers take on responsibility for supporting anything and everything having to do with their clients' IT needs. It can be extraordinarily difficult for even the most seasoned virtual IT managers, or virtual CIOs if you will, to forecast what specifically defines "anything and everything" over a 12-month time horizon.
Remember, if most of your small business clients are not IT professionals, but rather are small business owners and managers with rather modest levels of IT knowledge, you may be expecting too much if you think your average client can clearly and consistently figure out which services are covered under your managed IT services program and which IT support services are not covered.
And if only a portion of your small business clients' IT support needs are covered by the managed IT services that you sell them, it can be anywhere from difficult to relationship-jeopardizing-impossible to sidestep accusations of nickle-and-diming.
So what's the answer?
Differentiate Your Firm By Offering Managed Computer Consulting
Managed computer consulting, if you can excuse the Miley Cyrus cliché for a moment, gives your firm the
best of both worlds.
By offering managed computer consulting services, and presenting their value proposition throughout your entire sales cycle, you plant some pretty compelling seeds with prospects, customers, and clients:
- Best of Breed: Your approach with managed computer consulting is different and superior to that of your local competitors, who are either computer consulting firms or managed services providers.
- Managed IT Services: Your firm taps commodity-style managed IT services to drive down costs and improve system availability.
- Managed Computer Consulting Services: Your firm's true value is solving measurable business and IT problems with return on investment (ROI)-focused IT projects and solutions.