Why and how IT companies should transform?

This week I had presentation to partner network in Slovenia to point out why close collaboration with Microsoft is important for partners to reach their KPIs (revenue, profit, market share).

Transformation from selling the products towards project services, managed services and IP in terms of partner offering is on-going process but the devil is in details and partners do not know how to start and to succesfully evolve.

Partners that are transforming and evolving their cloud practice are in different stages/phases of development.

From Microsoft point of view, there are 4 evolvement stages of your cloud practice:

• Recruit
• Develop
• Launch
• Grow

For those of you who haven’t started yet, you need to reconsider your business model and market approach and think about your transformation for long term stability/growth. For those of you who has started - look at the best practices from successfull global partners and see what they have learned and what can help your company to achieve your goals faster.

Think about 3 crucial activities when you set your development path:

• Verticalization
• Building IP
• Modernisation of sales and marketing

All three factors will have substantial impact and need to be addressed when transforming.

With verticalization you will get recognition as a trusted advisor for specific business vertical.

With understanding the business requirements of chosen industry vertical you will be able to understand global and local challenges that the companies from the vertical have and use the tools improve processes and inspire people to help your clients. Cloud and modern platforms like Azure will help you achive your client's goals.

Servicing customers from only one business vertical can help you understand their processes and you’ll be able to improve their usage of the tools that you are providing to them (selling, installing, updateing).

On the way you'll learn, optimize and automate some of the services and this will lead you towards your own IP. 

Once you’ll get more insights and more customers you’ll be able to better understand your client’s business and leverage it to create marketing assets that will help you to stand out.

To be recognised as an industry expert.

This will help you to gain more and better leads (those who are genuinely interested in your products/services), help you with your profitability (less competition and less requests for price reduction) and lower churn of your customer. Not to mention that the cost of sales will be drastically reduced.

Do you feel comfortable to invest into marketing? You have skills and resources?

B2B companies are investing 7% of yearly turnover into marketing (on average). How much do you invest into marketing?

I know start is tough. I know you have been considering it lately. But how to do it?

I would suggest you use the following receipt:

1. Look at you existing customer portfolio (and choose business vertical where you have most of your customers). You have a vertical – and what now?
2. Look at the skills you have internally (sales, technical, marketing) and which products/services do you offer most frequently to your customers. Look at the gaps and reserve resources and set learning paths. Get some fresh blood if needed.
3. Pick Cloud Practice Development Playbook that we have created jointly with the most successful Microsoft partner just for partners like you to help them to achieve their goals faster with less wrong decision.

I’m positive that you have capability, skills and resources to successfully transform and that you can do it.

The question is whether you really want to move from the comfort zone?

Hint: Comfort zone is great, but nothing grows there.