Typical services and software in SMBs?
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Besides the obvious Microsoft/Google/xxx for mail and office apps - what type of services or workloads are SMBs interested in? What are they spending their IT-"budget" on? What kind of business problems are they looking to solve with IT?
I'm wondering because large companies have a lot of problems or opportunities for improvement, but a lot of those comes from the fact that they are large. So small companies wouldn't have the same type of problems.
Some of you work with SMBs all day so I bet you have a pretty good grip of the situation.
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Another related thing I've been pondering is if SMBs actually turn to MSPs/ITSPs for advice on solving business problems?
Or is it the MSPs/ITSPs that approach the SMBs with suggestions for improvement?
Or are MSPs/ITSPs just doing the work that the customer wants?
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@Pete-S said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
is if SMBs actually turn to MSPs/ITSPs for advice on solving business problems?
No, not really. We're always the last to know, no matter how much we could have helped.
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@Pete-S said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
Or are MSPs/ITSPs just doing the work that the customer wants?
This, almost always. It's a rare customer that isn't a micromanager that secretly demands to run IT.
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I think most SMBs have some degree of LOB applications that they also depend on. Those are very hard to identify because they are per industry.
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@scottalanmiller said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
I think most SMBs have some degree of LOB applications that they also depend on. Those are very hard to identify because they are per industry.
I was thinking LOB and PBX should be pretty common, either as a service or selfhosted.
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@Pete-S said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
Another related thing I've been pondering is if SMBs actually turn to MSPs/ITSPs for advice on solving business problems?
Or is it the MSPs/ITSPs that approach the SMBs with suggestions for improvement?
Or are MSPs/ITSPs just doing the work that the customer wants?
My anecdotal assessment in the SMB medical space has been:
If MSP's/ITSP's are brought in, it is via word of mouth because of some issue (Virus) or new project (Old days was moving to VOIP and now moving to cloud)
If internal IT, some contract with MSP for heavy lifting and time off coverage but this has been rare.
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@Pete-S said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
@scottalanmiller said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
I think most SMBs have some degree of LOB applications that they also depend on. Those are very hard to identify because they are per industry.
I was thinking LOB and PBX should be pretty common, either as a service or selfhosted.
As Scott mentioned, most of the time there is an LOB and the company revolves around it. IMHO, finding a popular LOB vendor in an area and be the best darn MSP/ITSP for that LOB. The LOB vendor will recommend you to other clients (I've done and seen this many many times).
If the pricing is right, I see on-prem servers or helping SMB's move LOB to cloud as a way to provide monthly cash flow.
On a side note (very anecdotal), being nice has its benefits. I have seen on numerous occasions and even 3 times in the last month, an ITSP/MSP are nice till they get the account then turn into being total dicks! I don't understand it but it is so close to turning into axiom.
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@scottalanmiller said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
@Pete-S said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
is if SMBs actually turn to MSPs/ITSPs for advice on solving business problems?
No, not really. We're always the last to know, no matter how much we could have helped.
This! I am not an MSP/ITSP but I work with them for our clients (we resell LOB app).
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@Pete-S said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
Besides the obvious Microsoft/Google/xxx for mail and office apps - what type of services or workloads are SMBs interested in? What are they spending their IT-"budget" on?
Forgot about this one.
"Budgets" don't exists. Money is first come, first served and most is on everything but IT. Mind you, this is very small SMB's. The few people in the SME space I have spoken with do have some type of budget and most of that is wrapped up in PC's, SaaS and internal IT staff (most of the time one or two people).
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@Pete-S said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
@scottalanmiller said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
I think most SMBs have some degree of LOB applications that they also depend on. Those are very hard to identify because they are per industry.
I was thinking LOB and PBX should be pretty common, either as a service or selfhosted.
Yes, those are essentially universal.
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@pmoncho said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
@Pete-S said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
Another related thing I've been pondering is if SMBs actually turn to MSPs/ITSPs for advice on solving business problems?
Or is it the MSPs/ITSPs that approach the SMBs with suggestions for improvement?
Or are MSPs/ITSPs just doing the work that the customer wants?
My anecdotal assessment in the SMB medical space has been:
If MSP's/ITSP's are brought in, it is via word of mouth because of some issue (Virus) or new project (Old days was moving to VOIP and now moving to cloud)
If internal IT, some contract with MSP for heavy lifting and time off coverage but this has been rare.
Yup, that's what we see. The biggest issue in the industry is the customer's ability to understand hiring and engaging IT.
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@pmoncho said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
On a side note (very anecdotal), being nice has its benefits. I have seen on numerous occasions and even 3 times in the last month, an ITSP/MSP are nice till they get the account then turn into being total dicks! I don't understand it but it is so close to turning into axiom.
As an MSP, while I believe we are always nice, I can tell you that the customers practically demand this scenario. Time and time again, if you are nice to the client, they dump you for the next abuse dick that comes along, makes obviously false promises, pressures you into tripling your budget and signing long contracts with no protection for you. The average client only wants a vendor that treats them bad. I can't explain it, but the better job you do, the less likely a customer is to keep you. Obviously the great customers aren't like this, but good customers are few and far between. Most want to micromanage and IT is just scapegoat for their own mistakes.
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@pmoncho said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
The few people in the SME space I have spoken with do have some type of budget and most of that is wrapped up in PC's, SaaS and internal IT staff (most of the time one or two people).
Almost always the bulk of budget is spent on things that they don't need but that service an emotional desire - like lots of butts in seats that don't have the skill depth or breadth to do the job, but have to since many times the necessary budget was spent on people who were in over their heads and then spent the rest of the budget on things sales people duped them into because, they were in over their heads and didn't know what to do.
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@scottalanmiller said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
@pmoncho said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
On a side note (very anecdotal), being nice has its benefits. I have seen on numerous occasions and even 3 times in the last month, an ITSP/MSP are nice till they get the account then turn into being total dicks! I don't understand it but it is so close to turning into axiom.
As an MSP, while I believe we are always nice, I can tell you that the customers practically demand this scenario. Time and time again, if you are nice to the client, they dump you for the next abuse dick that comes along, makes obviously false promises, pressures you into tripling your budget and signing long contracts with no protection for you. The average client only wants a vendor that treats them bad. I can't explain it, but the better job you do, the less likely a customer is to keep you. Obviously the great customers aren't like this, but good customers are few and far between. Most want to micromanage and IT is just scapegoat for their own mistakes.
It is so weird isn't it? I cannot explain any of it. Whether it is on the ITSP/MSP or Client side.
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@Pete-S said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
Besides the obvious Microsoft/Google/xxx for mail and office apps - what type of services or workloads are SMBs interested in? What are they spending their IT-"budget" on? What kind of business problems are they looking to solve with IT?
I'm wondering because large companies have a lot of problems or opportunities for improvement, but a lot of those comes from the fact that they are large. So small companies wouldn't have the same type of problems.
Some of you work with SMBs all day so I bet you have a pretty good grip of the situation.
Heh, all of our clients are on-premises for mail and collaboration with some being hybrid with Azure AD and O365 strictly for Teams integration.
There's a strong on-premises market niche so we've stuck with it. :0)
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@pmoncho said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
@scottalanmiller said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
@pmoncho said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
On a side note (very anecdotal), being nice has its benefits. I have seen on numerous occasions and even 3 times in the last month, an ITSP/MSP are nice till they get the account then turn into being total dicks! I don't understand it but it is so close to turning into axiom.
As an MSP, while I believe we are always nice, I can tell you that the customers practically demand this scenario. Time and time again, if you are nice to the client, they dump you for the next abuse dick that comes along, makes obviously false promises, pressures you into tripling your budget and signing long contracts with no protection for you. The average client only wants a vendor that treats them bad. I can't explain it, but the better job you do, the less likely a customer is to keep you. Obviously the great customers aren't like this, but good customers are few and far between. Most want to micromanage and IT is just scapegoat for their own mistakes.
It is so weird isn't it? I cannot explain any of it. Whether it is on the ITSP/MSP or Client side.
It's like dating. So many people "demand" abusive relationships. It makes no logical sense.
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@PhlipElder said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
@Pete-S said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
Besides the obvious Microsoft/Google/xxx for mail and office apps - what type of services or workloads are SMBs interested in? What are they spending their IT-"budget" on? What kind of business problems are they looking to solve with IT?
I'm wondering because large companies have a lot of problems or opportunities for improvement, but a lot of those comes from the fact that they are large. So small companies wouldn't have the same type of problems.
Some of you work with SMBs all day so I bet you have a pretty good grip of the situation.
Heh, all of our clients are on-premises for mail and collaboration with some being hybrid with Azure AD and O365 strictly for Teams integration.
There's a strong on-premises market niche so we've stuck with it. :0)
Nothing wrong with serving a niche. But I'd say the customers are spending their dollars on mail & office apps - regardless if they're using on-prem or cloud services.
I'd always thought that the ones running on-prem was perhaps medium sized businesses that had enough scale for it to make economic sense.
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@scottalanmiller said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
@pmoncho said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
On a side note (very anecdotal), being nice has its benefits. I have seen on numerous occasions and even 3 times in the last month, an ITSP/MSP are nice till they get the account then turn into being total dicks! I don't understand it but it is so close to turning into axiom.
As an MSP, while I believe we are always nice, I can tell you that the customers practically demand this scenario. Time and time again, if you are nice to the client, they dump you for the next abuse dick that comes along, makes obviously false promises, pressures you into tripling your budget and signing long contracts with no protection for you. The average client only wants a vendor that treats them bad. I can't explain it, but the better job you do, the less likely a customer is to keep you. Obviously the great customers aren't like this, but good customers are few and far between. Most want to micromanage and IT is just scapegoat for their own mistakes.
Our longest standing client
wasis a company I started supporting at the end of 1998. All of our clients would sign a cheque today for anything that would be needed for the IT to function as it has been since we took it over.We divorced our last abusive client over 10 years ago. IT was a bleed for them so we did a lot of break/fix to the tune of $xKs per month but they would take 90+ days to pay and we'd have to chase them for the cheques.
After getting fed up with them not updating/upgrading their garbage and the payment situation a simple e-mail went out with the following:
- As of January 1, 2012 our rates and expectations will be:
** 24 Hour Response Time (Defined as our reaching back out to you)
** 24 Hour Response Time Rate: $225/Hour
** 8 Hour Response Time Rate: $275/Hour
** 4 Hour Response Time Rate: $295/Hour
** Immediate Response Time Rate: $350/Hour
Heh, within seconds of hitting SEND they called back. :0)
Boundaries are boundaries. If we get an impression with red flags, my wife and business partner is really good at picking up on them versus myself, then we'll discuss whether it's advisable to pick up the business.
That being said, when we were starting out we took the business that we could and learned through the School of Hard Knocks, sometimes to the tune of substantial loss, all the while figuring out the best way to assess incoming for those flags.
- As of January 1, 2012 our rates and expectations will be:
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@Pete-S said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
@PhlipElder said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
@Pete-S said in Typical services and software in SMBs?:
Besides the obvious Microsoft/Google/xxx for mail and office apps - what type of services or workloads are SMBs interested in? What are they spending their IT-"budget" on? What kind of business problems are they looking to solve with IT?
I'm wondering because large companies have a lot of problems or opportunities for improvement, but a lot of those comes from the fact that they are large. So small companies wouldn't have the same type of problems.
Some of you work with SMBs all day so I bet you have a pretty good grip of the situation.
Heh, all of our clients are on-premises for mail and collaboration with some being hybrid with Azure AD and O365 strictly for Teams integration.
There's a strong on-premises market niche so we've stuck with it. :0)
Nothing wrong with serving a niche. But I'd say the customers are spending their dollars on mail & office apps - regardless if they're using on-prem or cloud services.
I'd always thought that the ones running on-prem was perhaps medium sized businesses that had enough scale for it to make economic sense.
SPLA cost for Exchange is a few dollars per month. It's not that expensive. Office apps are expensive and always have been no matter where the licensing comes from so that's an acceptable operating expense level for most clients.
