Archive for month: August, 2024

A common statement we hear from sales experts and consultants is that 60% of IT buyers believe that they have found the solution they need before they contact their first vendor. While we are not sure of the accuracy of this claim, anecdotally we see more small and midsize businesses asking for IT quotes for specific products or services rather than a solution for a need or opportunity.

This makes sense to us. With so much information easily available, we are more comfortable researching solutions on our own. For small and midsize businesses, particularly those without dedicated IT resources, we tend to rely on market leaders, solutions seen as “best in class”, and vendor information.

We see challenges with this approach:

• Vendor sites are designed to be easy to digest and often lack details about specific functionality you may need, integration capabilities, and training/support expectations. Selecting a solution that will work well for your business requires deeper discussions and analysis.
• Market-leading solutions often attain that status based on enterprise-level revenue and sales. These solutions often lack design, implementation, support, and pricing options suited for small and midsize businesses.
• “Best in Class” solutions often lack integration with the IT systems and services used by small and midsize businesses. These solutions typically evolve for enterprise and midmarket entities. Understanding the need for “best match” and “best fit” helps avoid solutions that become administrative, management, and support burdens.

To avoid these challenges and get better IT quotes, we recommend these three practices as part of your research and selection process.

1 Define Your Requirements

The first step is to clearly define your requirements. 

This advice may sound obvious, but small business owners often see an issue, or an opportunity, and dive into looking for a solution. 

Assess and define your requirements for the issue or opportunity at hand. Then, step back and analyze how any solution will need to integrate and interact with other aspects of your IT services. For user-facing services, assess the impact on workflows and any training and support services that may be needed.

Not all needs and wants are equally important. Prioritize your requirements. As the process moves forward, you will evaluate solutions against your prioritized list. If you need to work within a specific budget, the prioritized list can guide decisions concerning scope.

2 Request Solutions over Products

With a complete set of prioritized requirements, talk to service providers and vendors about solutions, not products.

Preconceived notions about which product is appropriate create blindspots and biases. These preconceptions often result in product and service selections that do not adequately meet needs, do not integrate well with other systems, or prove difficult to manage, administer, and support.

Focus less on “best in class” and “market-leading” solutions and more on “best match” and “best fit”. Make sure that the solution:

• Meets your prioritized requirements.
• Integrates with (or cleanly replaces) existing IT systems and services
• Can be implemented with reasonable training and support efforts

IT solutions that work within, and improve, your IT ecosystem support better IT and business results.

3 Consider Value over Cost

Small and midsize businesses have smaller IT budgets. This is appropriate and understandable. At times, our focus on budget limits how we make decisions. We may:

• Look too closely at the cost while neglecting the value. 
• Focus on purchase and deployment costs without considering the full cost of ownership over time.
• Pick a lower-cost solution that does not integrate well with our other systems and services.
• Choose solutions that increase administrative, management, and support complexity.
• Sacrifice integration, training, and support to lower costs without considering the impact over time.

Price is an important consideration. Focusing on value, however, creates better results over time. Consider:

• How will the solution benefit your business objectives – directly and indirectly – over time?
• Will the solution simplify processes and workflows for individuals and/or teams?
• What level of training is needed for team members to fully understand and utilize the capabilities of the solution?
• How well does the solution integrate with your existing IT services with respect to data, identity, security, communications, collaborations, and workflows?
• Does the solution fit well with your current work environment (office/hybrid/remote, fixed vs flexible hours, etc)?
• Does the timing of the change fit within your current business activities and cycle? If not, does the change warrant action at this time?
• What are the hard and soft costs of inaction or pursuing another solution?

Your Next Action

The next time you are looking for a solution, go beyond your own research. Engage with a trusted IT resource early in the process – before you ask for an IT quote. 

Let us ask the “why,” “what if,” and “what about” questions that help identify requirements and priorities. 

Be open to suggestions and solutions that may not grab the headlines or industry attention, but could be the best match for your prioritized needs and the best fit for your business, IT services, and budget.

Our Cloud Advisors are ready to help and assist with any questions or concerns. Contact us or schedule time with one of our Cloud Advisors. 

About the Author

Bill is a Senior Cloud Advisor responsible for helping small and midsize organizations with cloud forward solutions that meet their business needs, priorities, and budgets. Bill works with executives, leaders, and team members to understand workflows, identify strategic goals and tactical requirements, and design solutions and implementation phases. Having helped over 200 organizations successfully adopt cloud solutions, his expertise and working style ensure a comfortable experience effective change management. h