Live from Interop: Managed Services 2.0
When it comes to IT, managed services can be a lucrative business—enriching product margins and creating recurring revenue streams. But, as I discovered yesterday during my Managed Services 2.0 Panel at Interop, many solution providers are still considering the best way to enter and navigate the managed services space. CRN designed the panel moderated by Editor Heather Clancy to explore options for solutions providers in a more intimate setting, and we talked about everything from staffing to contact and service level concerns to technology segments. Here are my key takeaways…
Understand your customers. As agreed by all it begins by developing an understanding of the customer's processes. That's when things gets interesting. That's when you start looking at ways to improve their efficiencies, improve their productivity, lower their costs. So what does it take? It takes a commitment from a resources perspective. You need knowledgeable people, and lots of them, to be able to work with and consult with customers. Does it make more sense for them to have Xerox run their high-end printing equipment in their copy center, or not? Would they save more money by having Xerox run their mailroom so they can devote those resources to core functions?
Remember it’s transitional. And it's transitional because of technology advances and market shifts. For example, it's not uncommon for Xerox to counsel a customer to actually *reduce* the number of printing devices it has. That's because, often we find that not only do companies sometimes have more printing devices than they actually need, but that they could save more money and actually be more productive with fewer, yet more advanced/sophisticated devices. That's a big transition for companies like Xerox. But it's the right thing to do for the customer. The proliferation of printer centric MFP's such as the new 8560 allow you to consolidate less efficient single function network mono printers and capture the annuity through Xerox's Page Pack cost per print supplies renewal program .
Keep it seamless. In a perfect world, the managed service is seamless to the customer. Transparent. We have lots of customers who think the Xerox people on their floor are actually their own employees. And that's the way it should be. Uninterrupted and seamlessly doing their work and leaving the customer to its core competency.
Software is at your service. From management to workflow, software is enabling our managed services people to offer greater flexibility and service to customers. Our Xerox Office Services suite of device management software, for example, can not only prevent printer downtime by troubleshooting and resolving problems before they happen, but can also tell customers which devices are getting used more than others. With that insight, machines in slow traffic areas can be moved to busier departments, or taken offline. This is what we call asset management, and it's done thru software that can be managed by the customer or by Xerox services people on-site or remotely.
For those of you still unsure, Larry Walsh has a great post from April 11 outlining “Three Paths to Managed Services.” Feel free to share your own thoughts on the benefits and challenges of MS. I’ll be back with more thoughts from Interop after a tour of the show floor and the CRN Hall of Fame Channel Industry Event.
Gary Gillam
Vice President, North American Channel Operations
Xerox