Here, John Chester, Director of Wholesale, Fixed, Virgin Media O2 Business (Comms Vision Platinum sponsor), assesses the key technology developments MSPs would be wise to prioritise and the critical importance of reviewing tech stacks and roadmaps through an innovation and future-focused lens.
As we move from transactional technology upgrades to solutions that provide tangible value-creating outcomes, MSPs are seeing a significant shift in customer engagement strategies, observes Chester. “More MSPs are selling an increasing number of services that are deemed mission-critical by their end users,” he stated. “The recent Microsoft-Crowdstrike outage exemplifies how crucial reliable services have become across various industries. Technology is no longer merely an enabling function, it adds substantial value to a business strategy. This shift is closing the gap between technology and business strategy, making quality connectivity an essential foundation.”
Chester has also witnessed MSPs getting on the front foot earlier in the process, which allows for more significant value creation opportunities. “For example, one of our partners is currently shaping a 200-site service offering, engaging us early to help develop the best possible response in terms of value levers for the end customer,” he added. “This early engagement with connectivity providers ensures a comprehensive approach to customer engagement, helping businesses meet their strategic objectives more effectively.”
Understanding the evolution of marketing and selling is key and demands that resellers and MSPs make it easy for customers to buy and consume their services. To facilitate this requirement Virgin Media Business Wholesale has invested in APIs and its Smart Planning Tool (SPT) to streamline this process. “Customer experience starts with pre-sales and extends through delivery and service management, ensuring everything performs as expected from SLAs to outage management,” added Chester.
Technology is no longer an enabling function, it adds substantial value to a business strategy. This shift is closing the gap between tech and business strategy
He also noted that to meet the demands of business transformation and customer experience it is crucial to layer differentiated CX approaches on top of price-driven services like Ethernet. “Embracing digital innovation is key,” stated Chester. “Those who can offer a seamless digital portal journey are making the most progress. Automation and the ability to provision services with minimal friction are critical factors for success in this evolving landscape. Finally, binding the above ambitions into innovative commercial arrangements with partners should create a willingness to increase enjoyment in revenues.”
Keeping up with the pace of change
Currently, one of the biggest challenges facing sales, commercial and marketing leaders in the channel right now is maintaining pace with customer experience demands amidst delivery and pricing pressures, believes Chester. “We’ve improved our delivery performance significantly over the past year and keeping up with the evolving needs of our customers remains a priority,” he confirmed. “Additionally, the national Ethernet market is price sensitive, with competitor economics having the potential to impact our competitive landscape.”
Chester believes that price certainty fosters mutual success. “However, these challenges also present opportunities to work with partners with whom we can create mutual value,” he added. “By picking the right partners and focusing on mutual value creation we can address substantial backlogs and manage large-scale projects more effectively. For instance, implementing project management around multi-site orders enhances customer experience and ensures better delivery outcomes and increased financial benefits for our partners. This strategic approach helps us convert challenges into opportunities for growth and improved partnerships.”
Identifying priority areas
To stay ahead of the go-to-market curve and to ensure a competitive advantage, the priority areas MSPs should be reviewing today include identifying the sectors they want to serve and the composition of their service stack, noted Chester. “Capital availability also plays a significant role,” he added. “Those selling connectivity with a narrow spread must manage working capital diligently. Businesses investing heavily in their portals and core networks, while also offering their own and third party services, need to focus on capital accessibility and allocation. Partnering with wholesalers allows MSPs to benefit from pre-invested networks, enabling them to divert their capital towards enhancing their core business. Capital allocation should align with the areas where MSPs have the most expertise and capacity for innovation.”
Automation and the ability to provision services with minimal friction are critical factors for success in this evolving landscape
MSPs may face tough decisions as they remodel for future growth. Key to this is knowing exactly where their strengths are and where they can create shareholder value. “Focusing on a narrow range of solutions with broad flexibility in commercial and delivery terms is often more beneficial than expanding into areas outside your core competencies,” commented Chester. For example, we’ve chosen to dedicate ourselves to supporting our partners’ growth rather than diversifying into non-core areas. MSPs need clarity in their sector focus and product offerings and must be pragmatic about whether to build or buy. By aligning their strategies with core strengths and leveraging partnerships effectively MSPs can make informed decisions that drive future growth.”
The big opportunity for MSPs is choosing how to deploy capital and knowing exactly where the levers for creating shareholder value lie, reiterated Chester. “Ultimately, any remodelling needs to be in the best interest of MSPs’ own end customers,” he commented. “Furthermore, drawing an effective line between underlying connectivity and overlay services creates an opportunity for MSPs to stick to their knitting. On the connectivity side, Virgin Media Business Wholesale is able to create and foster effective partnerships that allow MSPs to focus on their core service stack. This approach creates a strong opportunity for MSPs to double down on their own end customer demands, creating a trusted partner environment.”
About Comms Vision
Comms Vision is the leading annual leadership forum for CEO, MD and CTO delegates making up the major league of the UK MSP community. To find out more visit www.commsvision.com