Are you getting business value out of your Managed Services Provider? With more small and medium businesses (SMBs) adopting digital-first tools to modernise and adapt to the current climate, it’s more important than ever to choose the right IT partner.
As businesses quickly deploy new technology into the workplace in response to COVID19, simply implementing a new technology solution is only one part of a successful long-term digital transformation journey.
It’s not enough to just be able to provide these new tools for your staff. Getting the most out of every feature and realising their many proven long-term benefits requires:
- Alignment between your business objectives and your new digital solution
- Education across the organisation on how the solution works and why it’s important
- Optimisation of the solution for long-term cost-effectiveness and value realisation
SMB IT providers play a significant role in helping meet this criteria, and are increasingly called upon to guide their digital initiatives towards success. As SMBs rarely have the in-house expertise or experience necessary, external IT providers must step in to ensure business value is achieved.
The problem is that many traditional IT providers don’t recognise their new role in the digital age, and fail to help SMBs in their transformation journey, leading to loss of perception of value.
In ANZ’s 2019 insight report ‘The Digital Economy: Transforming Australian Businesses’, approximately 56% of SMBs were found to be dismissive or tentative about using digital technologies to assist their business, with most not putting any value in digital tools. This is despite the report finding that they offer major revenue and time savings benefits.
In addition, only 10% of SMBs have been relatively successful in adopting digital tools, but the report notes the majority are not realising their full potential.
But why?
Because their IT partner isn’t up to scratch.
In the new era of digital, the traditional reactive IT model is obsolete. SMBs need – and deserve – a new breed of Managed Services Provider who not only proactively supports them with their day-to-day, but plays an active role in leading the SMB’s digital strategy – a next-gen IT partner that helps them adopt the new solution across the business with a defined plan, and ultimately steer them towards the value they’re seeking.
So, what’s the difference between ‘traditional IT’ and ‘next-gen’ IT?
- Traditional reactive IT: A reactive IT model is when IT only helps your business when you reach out with a problem and require a solution, with no hands-on involvement in the ongoing planning, adoption, execution and optimisation of your digital strategy. This is the traditional type of IT provider that SMBs who have not yet embarked are used to, but which are proving to be no longer enough when it comes to helping lead and guide your digital strategy.
- Traditional proactive IT: A proactive IT model is when IT takes a preventive approach to your needs, employing ongoing monitoring and optimisation to prevent downtime, close support tickets, and keep systems secure. However, traditional proactive IT are still rarely involved in SMB’s adoption of digital-first technologies, or in the planning and execution of your digital strategy, and more about optimising support.
- Next-gen IT: A next-gen IT model is when hands-on providers like MODEX help your organisation understand where you are from a technology standpoint today, how specific digital platforms and solutions like Microsoft 365 Business help further your organisational goals, and how to align your business objectives with the right solution – by creating, implementing and leading your digital strategy so you and your teams get the most out of your new tools.
A next-gen IT partner like MODEX goes beyond just keeping the lights on and closing support tickets. We’re about the next big thing – helping you get the most out of your new technology solutions, and furthering your journey towards the digital-first, modern workplace, to help you stay competitive in today’s digital world.
Sean Beaumont from Microsoft recently asked our Solutions Director, “How do you ensure your customers get the most out of Teams?”
When rolling out modern cloud tools to our small business customers, it really comes down to one thing. >>
Moving to a next-gen IT partner
MODEX is a next-gen IT partner and Managed Services Provider entirely focused on helping SMBs get more out of their digital solutions and ensuring your technology adoption always aligns with your goals.
Learn how we provide a modern experience to our SMB customers – speak to a next-gen MSP today.