How Is the World of IT Maintenance Changing?

The IT maintenance world doesn’t stand still. Constant technical developments mean that it’s shortsighted to stick to traditional means of providing support and still expect to gain the same amount of revenue.

This article discusses three ways in which the IT maintenance world is changing, and presents ways to stay up to speed and continue earning solid money.

1. Small businesses are moving to the cloud. Like it or not, cloud services are gaining significant momentum in the SME marketplace, and this can mean a drop in traditional consultancy and support work. After all, customers can now go directly to their cloud providers for some of their support requirements. The solution is to BE the cloud provider, or at least as far as possible. Resell cloud solutions for commission, or consider your own hosted infrastructure for things like backup and disaster recovery. If you don’t earn the monthly fees, someone else will.
   
    

2. Tablets are everywhere. The popularity of tablets like the iPad means that laptop sales are dropping off, and tablets don’t tend to need the same level of support and attention. Respond to this by thinking about tablet-related issues—things like Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies and mobile device management. Replace one income stream with another.

3. Break / Fix is unfashionable. In a world where people are becoming used to subscribing to services, IT support on a “per hour” or “per day” basis is less popular. Study the Managed Service Provider (MSP) model, and consider offering fixed-fee, all-in services.

What changes in IT maintenance have you noticed in recent years? Share your views in the Comments box below. 

And to follow-through on the tips introduced in this short article, be sure to download your free copy of the special report on IT Service Contract Secrets for Getting More Repeat Clients and Recurring Service Revenue.

Creative Commons Image Source: flickr erin leigh mcconnell