
Expanding your duties
Many in our industry draw a distinct line between our responsibilities and those of the client. Traditionally, this meant we focused on getting devices to customers and keeping them productive. We made sure their devices stayed running, maintained their network, kept their business apps accessible, and fixed issues as they arose. As cyberattacks have grown more numerous, many have expanded into the security realm, too.This won’t change, and you will still need to do these. But increasingly, these are just table stakes. Top-performing MSPs and consultants look beyond these traditional services.Let’s say you have a client who’s thinking about rolling out a new software solution for their business. Traditionally, your role might involve planning out the deployment, running the installer, making sure everything works, and remaining on call for troubleshooting.Yet this one decision offers multiple revenue opportunities. You could start earlier in the process to help them vet the solution, choose the right one, and develop rollout plans to minimize customer disruption and risk. Plus, someone has to train them on the solution. Why should they hire a high-priced consultant to do this when you’re already right there? These sorts of business challenges would normally be handled by a chief information officer (CIO). When you think like one, you become their vCIO—and can charge accordingly while providing immense value.But even without digging into individual clients, consider some of the potential shifts occurring in our own industry. For starters, Mac computers are still gaining wide adoption in businesses. If you don’t already support them, that’s a gap that’s worth closing as the market will likely only increase. Additionally, the widespread shift to the cloud and hybrid environments means you should consider trying to manage elements of this infrastructure. If you act as a vCIO, you can advise them on how best to accomplish this task (and take on the project work for shifting more of their infrastructure to the cloud). Regardless, managing and monitoring their cloud infrastructures should absolutely be on your radar, even if you’ve traditionally focused on managing on-premises infrastructures.Know your customers and adapt
These are just examples. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to what you should offer. But the process is reasonably simple:- Know your customers’ industries
- Know your customers’ specific goals
- Figure out how technology helps them reach those goals