Times Have Changed…
The I.T. field has changed. I wish I could say that it has been to your benefit, the partner; but I can’t. The recession of 2007 hurt many many businesses. Some of you felt the effect immediately, while others felt it 18 months later. Unfortunately, some of you are still experiencing it. But is that what is really hurting your I.T. business? In my opinion the answer is “No”!
I think this is because the I.T. business is evolving into “monkey proof” solutions. What I mean by that is larger companies such as Microsoft, Google, Dell, etc. are making it easier for your clients to run their technology. They no longer need to purchase I.T. solutions from you. Even security companies are making software and hardware based solutions easier to implement, maintain, and protect their resources.
“Oh, but “I offer monitoring?” So does X Company.
“I have backup solutions?” Yep, X Company does that too: Onsite and offsite.
“My clients are special… They need blah, blah, blah that only I offer!” Whatever.
So where does this leave you and your humble I.T. business: Unemployed and out of business—respectfully speaking. Am I saying you need to close up shop and find another trade offered at your local community college? Not at all… What I am saying is that you need to make implementing, maintaining, and repairing technology a secondary offering. The majority of your time needs to be dedicated in showing your clients HOW to use technology to make their work easier and their business run more smoothly. This process requires you to start asking more business questions and less technology questions.
Ask yourself: “Does this company have a proper business workflow process that is efficient and effective?”—and yes, there is a difference between the two. They are not synonyms.
Now comes the commercial portion of this post. I would be remiss in my training from Vlad Mazek if you expected anything less. We spent a lot of time, a lot of energy, and a lot of money redesigning Shockey Monkey v.3 to greatly assist you in creating and working in a solid business workflow process. We have added modules that address Human Resource needs, Marketing needs, and Sales needs. And this is just the beginning. As we wrap up development for Shockey Monkey v.3, we are already looking into the future to make future updates and releases even more robust but without all the clutter that tends to be associated with growing a business platform. If you haven’t done so already, visit us at Shockey Monkey and see what you are missing. Try it out today, it’s FREE!
Michael D. Alligood
Partner Sales & Support, ExchangeDefender & Shockey Monkey
michael@ownwebnow.com
(877) 546-0316 x707