For those of you who do not think that there is a lot at stake in the world of managed services I hope this blog changes your mind. Every once in a while I come across someone who tests my faith in this industry. I had a couple of conversations like that this week. For those of you who know me you know that I believe in the managed services profession. I believe that managed services has a very important role to play in our global economy. It is because of this belief that I get concerned when I see certain behavior in the channel. My concern comes from my hope that these individuals do not implement policy or represent the majority view of MSP's today.
There are two types of companies in the IT channel today. First, there are technicians who happen to run fairly straightforward technical talent for hire operations. What I mean is they take an hourly fee and multiply it by the number of hours they bill a client. Pretty simple. I would also mention that this first group generally does not possess the qualifications to advise clients on business matters that happen to involve technology. The second group are businesses that happen to be engaged it the delivery of IT goods and services. Making matters slightly more confusing is the fact that group 2 has some owners who are technicians, but they also have a strong business sense.
The confusion that results occurs when end-users encounter both groups who claim to be part of the same industry, claiming to do the same things, but they end up with different results. I hear so many MSP's tell me that they are tired of going into a client after another IT provider has a messed up the network. At a time when managed services is becoming a part of the mainstream, quality control and high levels of customer satisfaction are very important.
The next time you find yourself going into a client who has had a bad experience with an "IT solution provider" do yourself and your colleagues a favor and tell them the difference between technicians and IT professionals. Your profession will thank you for it.
