3RDPEDAL insight...
As experts in the field we believe that we are in a unique position to share insight on what's really happening in the Technology Services Provider landscape.
Here's the way we see it.
1.
It's time to get off the product reseller wheel.
The Technology Services Provider landscape is evolving faster than ever; most services providers stagnate, most struggle to scale, and far too many rely on "product reseller" margin to survive. Product reseller margins will continue to shrink.
2.
There are 2 kinds of Services Providers - "Traditional" and "Modern".
Services-focused organizations must transform and modernize to become customer centric and industry relevant. "Traditional Services Providers" will continue to struggle; "Modern Services Providers" will thrive.
3.
“Customer Experience” and “Outcomes” matter most to the customer...
they will seek out providers that deliver both. They no longer expect their service providers to have all the required expertise in-house.
4.
Flexibility, Adaptability and Scalability are the new foundations of services growth & success. "Modern Services Providers" are those that establish, and capitalize on, those foundations.
5.
Services revenue should be profitable and predictable.
Services should never be a cost center or given away to sell product. Services Providers need to develop, deploy and manage strategies and processes that focus on their services revenue and profitability.
6.
"Billable Utilization" is an important metric but...
it is, at best, only a basic gauge of how well current capability maps to recent sales activity. There are better, more effective metrics to evaluate and measure services provider health.
7.
"Expertise Access" is far more important than "Expertise Acquisition."
Having access to the right people at the right time is much better strategy than the traditional build-it-and-they-will-come" resource strategy employed by most traditional Services Providers.
8.
Sometimes you're not a Services Provider but still need services to deliver your product.
Focus on your core product and be extremely efficient with your services delivery. Customer experience and outcomes are the priority, but burdening your company with a heavy in-house delivery team is not only costly, it will slow your growth. There are other implementation strategies to consider.
9.
Sales and Delivery "Alignment" and "Enablement" is absolutely critical.
Properly enabling sales and delivery to work as partners with common goals removes the usual "finger-pointing" that plagues most traditional Services Providers. When sales and delivery are aligned and enabled there will be a dramatic increase in results.