IT teams are essential to business operations. Their expertise helps organizations identify, deploy, and maintain hardware and software solutions.
These tasks are vital to business success in the modern work landscape. That’s why filling the IT talent gap is a priority for organizations. According to a Gartner survey, 64% of executives believe the ongoing talent shortage is the most significant barrier to adopting new technologies.
This is where channel professionals have a chance to do what they do best: Serve customers’ needs. Whether through IT solutions, services, or talent support, MSPs can ensure technology deployments are not only useful but impactful across operations.
Listen, Learn, Adapt
Businesses similar in size, industry, or location each possess unique goals and challenges. But most of these challenges are technological.
The first step is to listen. By engaging with business leaders, partners can better understand organizations’ current technological infrastructure and future goals. This allows them to offer tailored hardware, solutions, and services to meet these needs.
Victoria Vince
Next up is learning. There should be ongoing dialogue between partners and customers. Channel partners should assess and reassess a business’ needs as they evolve and shift. Customers, in turn, should keep an open line of communication with partners so they can have the latest insights into their business. This continuous learning benefits the channel in the long term. It shows customers that partners are committed to their success and are always seeking new avenues to support them.
Of course, these steps are only productive when followed by action. Cross-industry feedback from various councils shows that it’s not enough to just provide the greatest hardware or easily integrated solutions. Partners must offer additional services to support IT teams where they need it most.
Standout Service Offerings
Partners using this listen-learn-adapt mindset are more likely to notice the gaps in each stage of the technology deployment process. Here are some things to look out for:
Before: A common challenge before technology integration is finding the right solution that meets business needs over the duration of a deployment. For businesses, that often means 5-7 years versus the shorter 2- to 3-year consumer cycles. So, MSPs should look for durable and reliable technology deployments. With limited IT staff, repairs can cause significant downtime and take staff away from other valuable projects. However, choosing hardware and software that is meant to last will keep deployments in rotation longer. This will help partners build trusted relationships by offering the best solutions for each customer’s long-term success.
During: An easily overlooked yet crucial step of technology deployment is the last mile. Businesses may not be able to complete the final steps of device deployment without bringing in staff from other departments or additional training. Partners should provide a service with a single point of contact who can support the last few steps of deployment. For example, an MSP could offer an expert in device recycling to help dispose of old devices while the organization’s IT team focuses on setting up the new hardware.
After: The service opportunity doesn’t end with deployment. Long-term support with services like battery and mobile device management helps devices achieve optimal performance. These services can reduce downtime and predict maintenance needs ahead of time, offering modular solutions to business problems. Another unique service during technology deployment is staff augmentation. This provides clients with a unique and flexible way to fill short- or long-term talent gaps with certified technology professionals.
Time to Excel
Understanding the continuing trends and challenges, adapting to customer needs, and offering value-added services with high-quality customer support will set channel partners and IT teams up for success. IT service leaders, it’s time to excel.
Victoria Vince is director of professional services – Mobility for Panasonic Connect North America.
Image: iStock
