On The Record With Robert Cohen & Autotask's Bob Godgart
Solving the business dilemma for That Computer Guy
On The Record With Robert Cohen & Ingram Micro's Justin Crotty
The seven second advantage
Men on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Sales and marketing are critical
July 8, 2009
Uncertainty restricts VARs ability to plan
June 24, 2009
TBA launches channel certification program
June 11, 2009
Sell your value
May 28, 2009
VARs need to learn from other VARs
May 21, 2009
On-The-Record with Xerox's Gary Gillam and Synnex's Jim Estill
May 15, 2009
Relating To Your Clients
May 7, 2009
Tweet! Tweet! Stop the madness
April 24, 2009
We are disruptive change agents
April 15, 2009
Vendor-Neutral Education
April 7, 2009
Twittering for Success
April 2, 2009
Creating partnerships one at a time
March 24, 2009
SMBs are not smaller enterprises
March 18, 2009
Channel key to unlocking SMBs
March 11, 2009
Finding 'The Great Computer Guy'
March 4, 2009
Are You 'The Computer Guy'?
February 25, 2009
Premiere Issue
February 18, 2009
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 | On The Record With Robert Cohen and Level Platform's CEO Peter Sandiford
11 June, 2009
By Robert M. Cohen |
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Name: Peter Sandiford
Company: Level Platforms
Title: CEO
BIO: Peter Sandiford is CEO of Level Platforms (www.levelplatforms.com), the developer of Managed Workplace, a leading remote monitoring and management software platform chosen by over 3000 solution providers in 30 countries to provide managed services to their SMB customers.
Contact: psandiford@levelplatforms.com
Member:
- ChannelLine Advisory Council
- Trusted Business Advisor
Personal Favorites:
I enjoy almost everything and everyone. But I particularly enjoy discovering new things, places and people so the idea of "favorites" is for me a bit of a conflict of terms. My favorites are always just around the corner waiting to be discovered.
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Several years ago, Peter Sandiford called me to discuss this amazing new world of managed services in which LPI was going to play. I was mesmerized by the concept, but was very skeptical about the forecasted revenues Peter was quoting. As we all know, Peter was right and managed services has experienced rapid growth and fabulous revenue and profit for most of the companies involved.
Thus, when Peter called me this time to discuss where the channel is going next, I immediately set-up an On The Record interview to hear Peter's opinions. In his always-original and never-dull way, the interview with Level Platforms' CEO came through with some great insights into the industry's future and what channel members have to do to survive and thrive.
Robert: Peter, what do you see as the major issues/obstacles currently facing the channel?
Peter: Obstacles and opportunities are generally different views of the same thing. Over the next few years we are going to see a complete evolution of the technology from the end user's perspective. The industry will move from client/server computing, focused on applications and technology behind the firewall, to network-based computing, representing technology operating outside the firewall. This will give end users many more options and will open up all kinds of new opportunities for the forward-looking VARs.
Robert: So what do forward-looking VARs have to be looking at?
Peter: Remote monitoring and management (RMM) and collaboration are two of the basic new building blocks. VARs have to become Trusted Business Advisors and focus on providing end user customers with business solutions. Remote management allows the solution provider complete and immediate understanding of the health and performance of all the assets of their customer - table stakes for all solution providers today. Collaboration and supporting tools will become essential as solution providers deliver and support a far wider range of technologies than can be supported by their core technical employees.
Peter: Virtually all services can now be done remotely. Today, vendors do not have the capability to see, touch or communicate directly with the end user. This will change. Remote services will allow the Dells and the CDWs to be able to offer direct services that compete with VARs. With detailed knowledge of every end customer asset, vendors will clearly have an advantage to sell more of their own products based on this extraordinary resource. On the other hand, many channel-friendly vendors will see this as an opportunity to build competitive advantage for their channel partners.
Robert: What will the new VAR look like?
Peter: There will be a huge shift in terms of how the channel will operate five years from now. The successful VAR of the future will start redefining him/herself now. I see three basic models evolving.
- The traditional VAR shifting to become more client-centric with a generalist's knowledge and deep collaborative relationships to help them deliver and manage a wider range of technologies.
- VARs that shift to a vertical market focus, leveraging remote monitoring and management to expand their footprint from local to regional and national, or even international vertical markets.
- VARs that become technical specialists offering their services to support the other two groups.
The first group evolving to the Trusted Business Advisor role will have a general knowledge of a wide range of technologies and a good understanding of business. They need to be able to integrate and manage that technology to meet the end users' business requirements. This will require creating alliances with other service providers and experts that can help them with the understanding of the technologies and understanding specific business requirements. They will have to manage these relationships though P2P collaboration tools.
VARs who are not effectively using RMM and collaboration tools to strengthen their relevance to the customer's adoption and management of new technology, will lose their customers to those that do & and they will likely be to a new class of competitor than has been seen in the past.
Robert: Would you say that the VAR of tomorrow will be more like a consultant, with great relationships with the end user customer; a strong understanding of the customers' business requirements; the capability of bringing together the required experts; an ability to relieve the customers of the fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD Factor); and a track record of providing customers with amazing service and support?
Peter: To use your terminology, they have to become a Trusted Business Advisor to their SMB customers acting like the CIO. They have to understand customers' needs, and be able to give them innovative solutions in a timely and cost-effective way.
Robert: So what is different about this compared to what the VAR of today is offering?
Peter: Today, VARs are largely managing PCs, servers and local network devices. In the future, VARs will have to provide business solutions incorporating local as well as Cloud technologies.
The entire technology scene is changing and the focus will be more on data integration, security and management of a much more complex integrated network-based computing environment. Troubleshooting will become more complicated and VARs will need the RMM and collaboration tools to keep their customer environments up and running.
Robert: How will the Cloud and SaaS computer solutions affect the VAR?
Peter: Many VARs see the Cloud as a threat to their current business, replacing managed on-premise technology and potentially introducing new ongoing direct vendor relationships with their customers. As such, the adoption rate of Cloud and SaaS computing solutions with the small business space has been limited. This will change as VARs begin to view these as essential components of integrated business solutions for their end customers, and as Cloud and SaaS vendors realize that they need the channel to sell and support their technologies.
Robert: What are some of the advantages for VARs?
Peter: There is a great deal more money for VARs in selling recurring software than in hardware. More importantly, service revenues actually increase with the adoption of Cloud application. When Cloud vendors realize that managed services-based customers actually reduce or eliminate costly first level support costs, they will be able to even further increase margins. VARs managing the Cloud as well as the PCs, servers and network devices can see the whole network and proactively identify and remediate problems across this expanded computing environment of the future. These comprehensive managed services will enhance the VARs 'trusted advisor' role, while generating much higher profits than possible in the commoditized PC and server management markets of today.
Robert: When will this all start taking place?
Peter: It is starting already. The platform providers need to supply the critical tools to manage this new future. But that's not enough. The vendors of SaaS and Cloud services need to recognize that the most effective route to the SMB market will be through VARs offering managed services and open up their applications to allow them to be effectively managed. Some hosted Exchange providers, including Microsoft itself who clearly understands the channel better than most Cloud services providers, are moving quickly to fill the gap. Others will soon follow as this expanded model emerges over the next few years.
Robert: Are you still a staunch channel advocate?
Peter: Yes! Definitely yes! The future of the channel is very positive if they [VARs] embrace the future, including the local infrastructure (computers, servers and network devices) and network-centric computing (the Cloud, virtualization, mobility, UC, etc.) & the stuff inside and outside the firewall.
Small VARs that do not collaborate will have a hard time competing. VARs will need to work together as no VAR can support the wide skill sets required. Tomorrow's VARs will be problem solvers that will know what they can provide internally and what they need to get from others. This is not limited to P2P but includes collaboration with vendors, NOCs, and the entire ecosystem of solutions that can help their customers succeed. The tools they use need to support this model of the VAR as manager of multiple services, allowing them to see and manage everything from a central console.
Robert: How will Level Platforms fit into the new VAR (Trusted Business Advisor) scenario?
Peter: LPI is investing in making MSPs successful now and in the future. Right now we are rolling out the next generation of detailed business planning and marketing materials, combined with consulting that can virtually guarantee profitability in 90 days for any VAR that follows the program. Everything we are doing is focused on MSP success.
In the longer term, we are building out our current RMM product focused strongly on emerging technologies, as evidenced by our recent launch of Cloud Services monitoring. At the same time we are extending our suite of collaboration capabilities beyond flexible check-box assignment of remote management to other organizations. For example, we not only have advanced two-way integration with all the major PSA products, but also allow for full synchronization of cases among multiple service providers using different PSA and help-desk solutions.
Robert: Any last words of advice for our readers?
Peter: VARs have to become the organization that manages all IT solutions for their customers. They have to become the head of the collaboration chain of service providers and experts. They have to become that Trusted Business Advisor. To accomplish this they need a broad and current understanding of all the new technologies and how they interact.
To become this essential partner to the SMBs, collaboration becomes an absolute must. Only through collaboration will a VAR be able to provide effective and cost-efficient solutions. VARs have to look at this and make sure they will be able to monitor and manage everything outside of the local infrastructure, as well as the stuff within the local infrastructure.
To reach this plateau, VARs will need to be educated. They must learn the new technologies and services. They have to realize that SaaS and the Cloud are not threats to their future, but the single greatest opportunity for their future.
VARs have to understand their customers' needs for innovative IT-centric business solutions leveraging new technologies. Their customers are hearing the sales pitches for these alternative solutions. If they don't have the answers, VARs will lose relevance in the customer's eyes. They need to be able to help customers understand how the technology can help solve their business problems. Then, they need to help customers shift to the new technologies that will help them grow their bottom line. This will allow them to become the objective manager of these technologies.
This will make them the CIO for their SMB customer. And once this happens, no one & not Dell, CDW, Vendors, VARs... no one can take their customers away from them.
Robert Cohen, a passionate and enthusiastic channel advocate, is the founder of the ChannelLine Advisory Council as well as president and business editor of Integrated mar.com, publishers of Channel Advisor, eChannelLine and ConnectIT. Since 1980 he has worked with 350 IT vendors, distributors and resellers in developing and implementing strategic go-to-market programs, using a variety of direct, channel and hybrid models. Integrated mar.com, in conjunction with Robert has created the Trusted Business Advisor program.
Robert can be reached at 1-800-465-2059 or by email at rcohen@integratedmar.com.
Previous Trusted Business Advisor articles by this author:
08/27/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen & Autotask's Bob Godgart
08/27/09 Solving the business dilemma for That Computer Guy
08/27/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen & Ingram Micro's Justin Crotty
08/14/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen & Cisco's Dave O'Callaghan
08/14/09 Keeping the IT industry in touch via social marketing
08/14/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen & Westcon's Anthony Daley
07/30/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen & N-Able Technologies'Gavin Garbutt
07/30/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen & Dell's Greg Davis
07/23/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen & McAfee's New VP of Channel Operations Fernando Quintero
07/23/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen & D&H's Co-President, Dan Schwab
07/08/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen & Tech Data's Joseph Quaglia
07/08/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen & CSG Openline's CEO Jay Leon
06/25/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen & Synnex' Bob Stegner
06/25/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen & Hewlett Packard's Tom LaRocca
06/10/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen and Level Platform's CEO Peter Sandiford
05/21/09 On The Record With Robert Cohen & CompTIA's New Head: Todd Thibodeaux
05/21/09 Grassroots marketing for those 'Computer Guys' - Part 6
05/21/09 On-The-Record with Robert Cohen & Keith Bradley, President Ingram Micro North America
05/15/09 On-The-Record With Robert Cohen & Gary Gillam, Xerox's VP, North American Resellers, Channel Operations
05/15/09 On-The-Record: Robert Cohen with Synnex Canada CEO Jim Estill
04/24/09 Twitterdee, Twitterdo, Part 1 of 2
04/15/09 On-The-Record with Arlin Sorensen
03/25/09 How vendors should partner with Those Computer Guys - Part V
03/25/09 The Trusted Business Advisor/Trusted Business Partner Code of Ethics
03/18/09 8 reasons why you need "That Guy" to penetrate the SMB -Part IV
03/11/09 Part III: Vendors Wanting To Penetrate The SMB market Need That "TBA Computer Guy".
03/04/09 That "Computer Guy" is what we call a Trusted Business Advisor (Part II)
02/25/09 Reaching SMBs through their 'Computer Guy' (Part I)
02/18/09 TBA: The program built with you & for you!!!
02/18/09 Without a code of ethics, a professional industry isn't 'professional'
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