10 Things You Didnt Know About IT Vendors & Managed Services
New research by Channel Insider and Amazon Consulting reveals that vendors not only get the growing opportunity in managed services, but are quickly developing programs to support this burgeoning market. Here are 10 things you don’t know about how vendors perceive and support partners’ managed services businesses.
Vendors Get Managed Services
All of the vendors surveyed say they either have or will have a managed services program in their channel program within the next year to enable and support their partners’ managed services businesses.
Growing Demand for Support
Two-thirds of vendors say that demand among solution providers for managed services tools and support is strong and increasing. Some vendors (7%) say they’re having trouble keeping up with demand.
Recession: A Sales Driver
Four out of 10 vendors surveyed say that they’re seeing an increase in managed services sales and revenue being driven by recessionary pressure to reduce costs.
Existing Partners Not First Choice
Vendors are slightly more likely to recruit new partners to their managed services program than convert existing partners. • 28% recruiting new partners • 20% converting existing partners • 39% evenly split—new and converting existing
MSP vs SAAS: No Distinction
More than half (53%) make no distinction in their programs between managed services and software-as-a-service.
No Quick Decisions
Vendors say solution providers take their time when deciding to join a managed services program. Most solutions providers (42%) take six to 12 months from first contact to signing up.
Lack of Understanding
Forty-three percent of vendors say that solution providers’ lack of knowledge and understanding about the managed services business model is the greatest inhibitor to success.
Fast ROI
Vendors say most of their solution providers (35%) start generating revenue from managed services within three months of joining a vendor’s managed services program.
Guaranteed Profitability
Vendors say the vast majority of their solution providers (79%) generate a profit from the delivery of managed services.
Measures of Success
Vendors don’t consider service-level agreement (SLA) performance a critical measure of success. More than half (51%) say they measure the success of their managed service provider partners on customer quality-of-service ratings.
Check out Channel Insiders Definitive Guide to Managed Services
The best resource for research, guidance and case studies/c/s/Managed-Services-Guide