Should you keep all of your eggs in one basket?

You must have heard the saying “Don’t keep all of your eggs in one basket”, but have you ever thought about what it actually means and furthermore, do you agree with the message it gives?

When it comes to IT & Communication products and services, should you use the same supplier for everything?

Before setting up Cirrus IT Services (UK) Limited in 2015, I was an IT Manager in the three previous companies I worked for, stretching back over the last 7 years.  As a decision maker on the procurement of IT & Communication Services and Products used by our businesses, here’s my opinion based on my perspective and experience;

There are a number of factors that would have a bearing on my selection during the decision making process, which amongst others and in no particular order, included;

1. Is the supplier and the product reliable?
2. Is the supplier offering best value? *
3. Is the product or solution the right fit for the job? (I often see businesses selling solutions much bigger than what’s required to increase margin)
4. Is the supplier responsive?
5. Have we used this supplier before?
   1. Have they let me down before?
   2. Did they do a good job last time?
6. Do I have confidence that if there are any problems they will take ownership of them and resolve them?
7. Do we have other products and services with this supplier?

* Best Value is very different to lowest price, by best value I mean the best overall solution, and this is rarely the cheapest option.

In relation to points 6 & 7, Have you ever rung up your IT Company to report a problem only to be launched into an involuntary game of telephone tennis, going backwards and forwards between them and another supplier such as your internet services supplier? 

This usually goes something like this example “I’m afraid that’s a problem with your internet connection, you’ll have to contact your ISP”.  Then your ISP says “I’m sorry but that sounds like a problem with your router configuration, you’ll have to contact your IT Company”.

As an IT Manager I wouldn’t really care whose problem it was, I would just want it fixed to stop my internal customers shouting at me!

This is why after setting up our company in May 2015, we didn’t actively approach any new or potential customers until the end of the year as we had a very clear vision of what we wanted to have in place before we did, so that we could supply the kind of service I wanted to use when I was on the other side of the table. 

I have nearly 20 years’ experience working in IT and many of these years were spent dealing with suppliers so I know who I can and can’t rely upon and I slowly set about making the connections I needed and putting things in place so that we could keep up a required consistent standard of service in a scalable and maintainable manor for when the business grows.  We had a helpdesk system in from day one with a customer portal and knowledgebase and could offer Excellent Value Telephone Lines and Broadband for example!

At Cirrus IT Services (UK) we aim to provide everything a growing business needs, whether this is a single telephone, a mobile phone contract, an antivirus license or a complete virtualised infrastructure solution for a multi-site business with dedicated MPLS lines linking the networks together.  We offer a single point of contact for all of our services from the connection into your business to your Telephone System, Calls, Lines, Mobile Phones, Computers and Servers.

We do not have a one-size fits all philosophy and we do not shoe-horn customers into ready-made solutions, so we don’t only remain loyal to one supplier, we have products and services that are fit for different sizes of businesses and different budgets and this is why every customer we have is a happy customer and we are proud to say that every customer has been back for something else as they know that we are entirely customer service focused and we get our sales through our exceptional service, not through pushy salesman.

In summary, and in answer to the question “Should you keep all of your eggs in one basket?” my answer, is “If it’s a really good quality, reliable basket, then YES, it makes life easier when you have something you can trust!”.

I have had exceptional service from companies myself and as a busy manager it made sense to me to keep with the same trusted supplier to reduce my risk so I would approach our preferred supplier and ask them “Can you do this as well?”. 

I’m pleased to say that this is the position we are in now and our customers often approach us asking if we can add a new product or service to our portfolio so they can use us even more, we draw the line at supplying washing machines, it needs to be relevant to what we already do and we have to believe we can support it and maintain it to the same standard that we set ourselves and only then will we consider it.  Many companies shy away from some products because margins are so small but we are focused more on the overall customer experience so we have added products that don’t make us any money because customers have asked us to provide a one-stop-shop for everything IT & Communications related.

This only confirms my belief that we are doing things the right way and our philosophy matches what people want.

So When it comes to IT & Communication products and services, should you use the same supplier for everything?

Our answer is: Ask our customers, they seem to believe so and we can even put you in touch with a few of them to confirm this for yourself if you like?

If you would like to find out more about any of our products or services, please drop us a line or give us a call.

Thanks for reading

Scott