VAR to MSP – The Game Changer!

Lightning fast changes and volatility are hallmarks of the modern IT market.

Business Executives have tospot opportunities which add value and differentiate their offerings, for their company’s survival and success in the future. The MSP model (Managed Service Provider) has not only emerged as an attractive business model but has facilitated organisational success in the current challenging landscape.

To quote Barack Obama “Change is never easy but always possible.” For those Value-Added Resellers (VAR’s) out there who want to make the transition to an MSP model should check out our 3 steps to get you in the game.

3 Steps to Get You in the Game…

Step 1 - Optimise Your Offering

Doing whatever a customer asks of you, no matter how long it takes, is not a sustainable business model and simply won’t work in the MSP context. The two key things to remember when applying this step are simplicity and specificity.

You need to identify your core offering, related services and differentiators, all while keeping it simple and specific. Take Nestlé and Coca-Cola, both produce drinks however, Nestlé tends to keep away from fizzy drinks which are the mainstay of Coca-Cola’s offering preferring hot beverages, like coffee and Nesquik.

You must be clear and have a sense of clarity about what exactly you offer to the market and remember the words of Albert Einstein – “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.”

Step 2 - Centre on Customers

Long-term relationships with customers is the goal and trust is the key ingredient to achieving this. In the VAR set-up, customers would call you in to fix a problem or deal with certain projects. In comparison MSP model will be more closely involved with customers and you need to be ready to build these relationships by being consistent over time. You are no longer the break-fix guys, you need to offer insights and be a force for positive business change on behalf of your customers. You will be relied upon by your customers, so you need to provide a great service.

Nurture your customer relationships, by improving your communication style and utlise your systems to keep customers updated. Clients demands are pushing further into collaboration tools, so you need to communicate on the platforms customers expect such as WhatsApp, Slack, Skype for business etc and striking the balance between being annoying and leaving them vulnerable to a competitor. Never be afraid to do something which helps to actively build a strong customer relationship.

Step 3 - Polish Your People and Perfect Your Processes

Once your simple and specific offering is ready, you need to prepare your people and processes for the change. Firstly, prepare your people. You may have had lone wolf engineers who billed by the hour, they need to adapt and in some cases mentor others. Consider bringing in new people with relevant experience to support your new MSP model.

Once your people are primed, you’re ready to look at your processes. Ask the questions, is there anything stopping you from delivering? Is there anything which is taking up too much time? Is there anything which is causing tension? Systematically considering all the key processes in your organisation with the assistance of your team should help to prepare you for MSP success.

To Sum Up…

You need to identify and optimise your core offering, related services and differentiators whilst keeping simplicity and specificity in mind. Once that it is done you are ready to polish your people and perfect your processes, so that they are ready to centre on customers and build long-term relationships with them.

Renaissance offer a range of solutions that support VAR’s on their journey to MSP.

Michael