Creating and driving a Cloud and IoT digital business entails building a solid subscription-based monthly recurring revenue friendly business model, while running and growing your legacy business. It’s not an either or situation, you must do both… This requires pig-headed determination and commitment. Every time the word commitment is mentioned within ear shot, I always think of one of my favorite fables. The Tale The business parable of “The Chicken and the Pig” is all abo

Too many IT Channel Partners find themselves on the tracks! The biggest reason is that getting on the train requires a serious commitment of time, energy and resources to begin the journey to the subscription-based economy. Oh yeah, this is the first time we’ve required a major business model change in this industry in my lifetime and I’ve been around this business for over three (3) decades. In short change is hard, and nobody ever wants to change without a serious catalyst

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Barb Levisay (@blevisay), owner of Marketing for Partners to discuss the value of building an Internet of Things (IoT) practice and the value it would bring to MSP’. Initially the article was posted on the Redmond Channel Partner website several months ago. Although some time has passed since the original post, I believe the information to be extremely valuable, actionable and timeless. Please take the time to read Barb’ article below…

Every day I have conversations with the leaders of value added resellers (VAR’) and solution providers and the dialog goes something like this - “I know we need to get serious about Cloud, but business has never been better and I don’t see any signs of the Cloud threatening my business…” Oh boy, I'm old enough to remember Ken Olsen, the founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, telling the world that "there was 'no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home'?

Perhaps it’s your business model! Many times when we review the findings of our automated software-as-a-service platform’ readiness results we see a very familiar picture – the business leaders are not prepared or are unaware that a change is required in their business model to begin moving the needle. We see it time after time, all the money, energy and effort focused on sales and engineering enablement activities can’t overcome their legacy business model. It’s tough to m

It’s the hard truth that most value added resellers (VAR’s) and Solution Providers fail to acknowledge and then ultimately take too long to address… Once you commit to creating or growing a cloud services business – you’ve got to alter your sales model to ensure it maps to a recurring revenue based business model. There are four (4) major truths that need to be confronted, acknowledged and addressed – and if they are, will free you from the tyranny of missed expectations and

Damn it – react! The increasing demand for cloud services is forcing value-added-resellers (VAR’) and Solution Providers to assess their current business models and the services they provide to their clientele. Many times that leads to talk of becoming a new age VAR or a “Hybrid VAR” 1. Note 1: Although folk’s these days prefer Solution Provider verses VAR, I’ve never seen the downside of value added in any name or phrase and use the descriptor VAR proudly – ergo, I’ll util

I’ve been doing a great deal of work lately guiding Solution Providers and VAR’ into to the cloud and as you can imagine it’s a difficult and tedious process that can be gut wrenching for many organizations. In addition, my eyes were just opened a little wider when I attended Channel Partners (@Chanel_Online) recent Channel Partners Expo (@CloudPartners) in Boston. I’ve been in the channel for over twenty-five (25) years and had never attended an event that was primarily fo

While performing automated Cloud Readiness Assessments for value added resellers (VAR’) and Solution Providers utilizing an innovative Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) decision support platform we’ve uncovered some solid trends that I believe every business leader should know prior to creating a strategic cloud services business within their existing business. It is important to understand the intent of our activities are to clearly know the actual readiness and ability of the VA

KloudReadiness' businesstrakker SaaS platform is designed to help Vendors and Distributors determine their Partners current cloud posture and business readiness to ensure you know which Partners can successfully drive cloud services sales and produce results today. We capture all the major elements and decision points that need to be weighed and vetted prior to a decision to invest are known so that your sales, marketing and engineering enablement activities create the desire

It’s true - we are all being disrupted, and we think it’s the Cloud or the Internet of Things (IoT), but in reality it’s our customers and prospects who are disrupting our businesses. The cold hard truth is that they prefer to consume IT Services these days by the glass - our culture is just plain getting used to paying for things monthly and it’s affecting all of us. I know that most of us are not seeing a cataclysmic shift just yet, however, be assured the shift is happeni

The next wave of technology is upon us – the Internet of Things (IoT) is coming fast and furious and all of the talk is turning to action. Wow, you’ve just barely started to figure out what you’re going to do in the Cloud and now this! What’s a technology service provider to do? Well, first and foremost it’s to ensure you’re going to be a player in the Cloud Service arena. Without a play in Cloud you’ll be hard pressed to take advantage of the IoT explosion based on the sp

It’s not quite as dramatic or as clearly evident as the Great Land Rush of 1893, however the Great Cloud Land Grab is well underway. What you ask is The Great Cloud Land Grab – I define it as the great rush that’s underway to capture the hearts and minds of VAR’ and IT Solution Providers (ITSP) by the legacy vendors and distributors who rely heavily on their channel partners to produce an inordinate amount of their sales. The funny thing is that not many of the participants

It’s true – you’ll need to alter your sales model to make a dent in the recurring revenue and cloud services space to exploit the enormous opportunity unfolding in front of us. Unfortunately, many organizations have experienced many fits and starts as they wade towards the right model. In the words of the late great Yogi Berra, it’s déjà vu all over again! Think of how many times we try and then re-try the same old approach, from the same old playbook. Tell me this does no

In a recurring revenue world… There are two (2) reasons I feel comfortable making that statement. Reason #1 – you’ve most likely taken your tried and true transactional based sales plan, dusted it off and perhaps altered it slightly - that’s a Bozo No-No (look up the video, hilarious)… Reason #2 is the plan no matter how good the mechanics and intentions are, it will not incent your sales professionals to alter their modus operandi. Think about it - would you give up the

Now let me start by saying that revenue, profit and cash flow are the ultimate measurements that validate how you are truly doing as a business – the ultimate scorecard, if you will. In this brief I want to highlight and explore some supporting metrics that tend to get either overlooked or are not part of an organizations day-to-day dialog. Business Valuation and Worth Now if you’re not considering building out your monthly recurring revenue (MRR) capabilities to enhance you

The right sales plan plays a vital role in achieving sustainable and growing revenue for any business. As an organization transitions to a recurring revenue approach, the right sales compensation program becomes even more crucial. The information and views outlined here are the result of two years of analyzing hundreds of sales plans, identifying the underlying issues that, if avoided, can lead to a functional recurring services sales plan that works. Implementing a recurring

It is traumatic to lose what once was… Whether that be a loved one, a cherished pet or that great pair of blue jeans – it’s an undesired change and in some cases truly life changing. Many VAR’, IT Solution Providers (ITSP’) and Managed Service Providers (MSP’) are grappling with how to deal with the grief associated with having to cope with a dying business model. It seemed like the endless streams of capital expenditures (CAPEX) would never end. It’s hard to believe that

It’s a Twelve (12) Month Journey to become a solid Cloud Service Provider… With Pubic Cloud spend accelerating to $216B by 2020 and the urgency level rising for value added resellers (VAR’), IT Solution Providers (ITSP’) and managed service providers (MSP’) to truly add sustainable monthly recurring revenue (MRR) to their overall business mix. It’s critical to make the move to address the market shift that’s well underway and heading up and to the right. But in order to expl

A Prescription for a Good Night’s Sleep Whether you are a Channel Sales Leader or on the Leadership Team of a VAR, ITSP or MSP-like business the prescriptive approach briefly outlined below is both relevant and practical. Many of the remedies will go over like a fart in church because change does not taste good, however, I bet Digital Equipment, Blockbuster Video and Kodak would have taken large gulps of the transformation “castor oil” had they realized that their world was