Managed services providers (MSPs) have always played a prominent role in the information technology (IT) industry. They have managed and taken responsibility for offering a defined set of services to clients, either proactively or as they see it. However, innovations in big data, social media, and mobile applications have led private cloud use to rise […]
Managed services providers (MSPs) have always played a prominent role in the information technology (IT) industry. They have managed and taken responsibility for offering a defined set of services to clients, either proactively or as they see it. However, innovations in big data, social media, and mobile applications have led private cloud use to rise from 63 percent to 72 percent, while hybrid cloud use increased from 58 percent to 67 percent. This has driven MSPs to transform into managed application and cloud services.
As various components of their clients’ IT infrastructure migrate to the cloud, they have had no choice but to provide their own cloud services, resell cloud capabilities, and manage hybrid cloud environments. The sale of cloud-based IT solutions continues to be a major challenge for various MSPs, and this has become a cause for concern, as the very idea of replacing sizeable projects with a few hundred dollars a month in MS Office 365 subscription revenue makes no sense. But it is possible for an MSP to increase their Office 365 sales revenue; all that’s required is a change in perspective and the three tips mentioned below.
Most companies are used to running all their collaborations and workflow in an on-premise arrangement. However, because of the changing IT industry, companies realize they could scale quicker and more efficiently if they moved to the cloud with MS Office 365. They found they had neglected major IT upgrades as long as they stuck to the old infrastructure and were now trying to catch up. So, after shifting to cloud, they require someone capable of undertaking a mid-scale, challenging migration with no disruption in business activities. They need an IT services company that can handle every aspect from planning to training, implementation to support.
Hybrid migration is the best option in this case, providing users with a unified, seamless appearance whether operating on-premise or in the cloud. IT needs to adapt on the go with close to zero disruption to the business. Users must be moved carefully to Office 365 in the cloud. One of the major benefits of moving to Office 365 is financial savings. Not only does moving to the cloud eliminate storage, along with the associated maintenance and administrative costs, it also means the company can avoid expensive upgrades to its storage architecture to keep pace with the growth.
Microsoft Office 365 ensures companies no longer must worry about any future migrations or spend money on the most advanced software. Then, updates are implemented automatically and seamlessly. An Office 365 license enables BYOD (bring your own device) users to install the program on many computers, smartphones, and tablets – a major benefit to users.
Migrating to the cloud offered each user of the company access to Office 365 apps and documents. Due to the Office 365 interface being relatively consistent, irrespective of the device being used, employees required no training for various devices. This helped save money on training. Apart from cloud-powered email, spreadsheet applications, and word processing, the MS Office 365 suite comprises collaboration, online storage, video conferencing, instant message, and collaboration. What’s great about Office 365 is it is always improving. Usually, companies must pay for all upgrades, but thanks to Microsoft, updates occur automatically.
Before a managed services provider can sell MS Office 365, it must determine which Microsoft program must be employed. Numerous value-added distributors and master cloud service providers advise channel partners on using the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program. The main benefits of this program over other partner licensing models include customer relationship ownership retention and higher commissions.
Unlike the other Office 365 programs that need partners to turn over the sale to Microsoft, such as support and billing, the MS CSP program allows channel partners to hold on to the ownership of their customer relationships. This means it’s a lot simpler to bundle with professional services, like helpdesk support.
As per the present Microsoft Advisor program, channel partners can earn only 3 percent margins on Office 365 subscriptions. The CSP program offers partners with margins 11 percent or higher. Master cloud service providers and distributors sometimes add economic incentives to lure channel partners to sign up with them, which raises the first year CSP subscription commission to over 16 percent.
While moving to the cloud, data associated with MS Word, Excel, Outlook, SharePoint, PowerPoint, and Skype are all synced in Microsoft’s cloud. However, this does not mean you can do away with a proper BDR strategy for your Office 365 data and apps. When value-added services are put in place around Office 365, it automatically increases revenue, while adding an extra layer of protection and security. This keeps customers’ data and apps safe during the move to the cloud. But Microsoft’s backup and recovery services might not always align with the company’s customer service level agreements (SLAs), data protection and security requirements, or business needs.
The best way to prevent cloud offerings from cutting into the company’s BDR margins is to avoid considering BDR as a task-based IT function. Rather, it should be viewed as a strategic business process. When customers are told about higher-level business ideas, like business continuity, RTO (recovery time objective), and RPO (recovery point objective), it will take care of many objections that could arise while backing up cloud services. Broadening the discussion from backup to superior solutions, business strategies, and services makes it easier to influence higher-level decision markers for better margins.
Microsoft Office 365 cannot be considered a passing fad; not only are they rising in importance, but they are slowly becoming the new standard for businesses. Most businesses now have a part of their IT on-premise and a portion in the cloud, and they require the two environments to work as one platform. A lot of skill and complexity are needed to achieve this outcome, which indicates the channel is going nowhere for a long time.
Author: Rahul Sharma
Sources:
http://mspmentor.net/blog/2-ways-boost-your-office-365-sales-revenue
http://affiliatedtechno.com/keep-up-with-growth-by-moving-to-the-cloud-with-microsoft-office-365/
MCSP – The Future of Managed Service Providers (MSP)?
