3 Pieces of EVERY Profitable as-a-Service Offering

Building a Hardware-as-a-Service, Unified-Communications-as-a-Service, Software-as-a-Service, or WHATEVER other as-a-Service offering you’re piecing together can be confusing. What do I include? How do I make sure it’s competitive? How do I make sure it will meet the needs of my customers? Today we’re going to break that down into three simple parts. If you’re offering includes these three core components, you’re setting yourself up with an offering that will not only satisfy your customers, but your balance sheet as well.

Core Product

This is the base product that you are going to wrap your service around. If it’s a phone system, work stations, network equipment, or a software package, you need to be an expert on this product. Pick one manufacturer or partner and standardize this as the core product of your as-a-Service solution. You need to be confident that this product is going to work and that you can make it do what you need it to for the customer. Ideally, you should be able to do all programming and maintenance on this product yourself.

This core product is really just your ticket in the door. It is the tool that allows you to meet your customer’s needs, which is why it is crucial that you’re an expert and have the resources, knowledge, and network to make it function EXACTLY as it should.

Service Menu You’re Confident You Can Execute On

This is where the real value of your solution comes to the customer. Any reseller working out of the trunk of his car can sell the core product. You differentiate yourself by providing services around that product and executing on them. The execution is a critical part, as including all these services in your offering and either not performing them or not being able to perform them to a high standard will give you a poor offering all around.

This can include remote monitoring and management, maintenance and upgrades to the core product, helpdesk and NOC services, and even quarterly business reviews. These services hold two purposes; 1. To take care of and manage the core product and keep it working for your customer. 2. To keep you in consistent contact with your customer. The more you’re in front of them, the more you know their needs, the more you can be proactive about addressing technology refreshes, contract renewals, and doing proactive maintenance on their solution.

Finance Partner You Can Trust

This is often overlooked, but having a solid finance partner is crucial to the profitability of your solution. If you choose to self-finance your as-a-Service offering (either with your cash or your bank line) you will tying up your cash rather than investing it in areas of your business that could produce a much higher, faster return. You will also be taking on unnecessary debt and risk that will have a major effect on your balance sheet. Additionally, you’ll have issues scaling the solution as your cash and/or credit lines will eventually top out.

Find a finance partner that will keep your customer experience intact but bring you profitability day one by paying you upfront for your upfront costs such as hardware, software, labor, and professional services. Certain companies will allow you to bill everything on a single invoice as a single, bundled monthly payment to your customer. Because the financing is written directly with your customer (often as a rental contract), scaling the solution is no longer an issue.

So how do I make this thing work?

Now that you’ve got the formula, consider your options for these three core areas. What products, services, and finance partners will allow you to give your customers the experience you want, at the price point you’d like, and make it easy for your team to execute? Find the right ones, standardize your offering, and get to selling!

I’ll include a link to a video in the comments which shares some insight on this exact topic.