ChannelVision Magazine

business to one that has recurring revenue, and more robust profitability that can also scale without requiring a lot of upfront investment? Recur- ring revenue means that the busi- ness continues to grow each month and the value of the business also increases. Based on the market de- mand and interest, and for example sake, we’ll focus our vendor criteria on cloud-based services. Here are a few criteria you can use to judge for yourself: What cloud service has buzz and can pique your prospects’ interest? Choose a category that has buzz and mystique. For example, hosted virtual desktops (also known as desk- top as a service, or DaaS) are part of an evolutionary path within IT for cus- tomers. First, companies virtualized their servers and increased productiv- ity within IT and lowered their costs. Now, they can do the same thing with the desktop and extend that produc- tivity gain throughout the entire orga- nization, not just IT. Looking for categories where cus- tomers have heard of the concept but want to learn more is a great way to get appointments and conversations started. Some topics are complex, so it gives you an opportunity to show value as an educator and advisor on the benefits and ability to implement something that isn’t purely self-service. Which cloud services allow you to demonstrate value? SaaS vendors strive to scale by allowing the end customer to acti- vate their service online, configure it, and then invest in customer success teams to onboard their customers. Many SaaS offerings therefore are self-service for a customer and don’t require a lot of consultation. Some, such as ERP and CRM systems, can become complex, and SaaS vendors encourage an eco-system of consult- ing partners to provide early stage advice (and also opportunity for implementation). But, if you are look- ing to identify services that truly re- quire a partner’s assistance, look for services that are complex yet deliver value to the end user. For example, hosted virtual desktops not only en- able you to provide upfront services, such as network assessments, but they also involve data migration, deployment and setup. An additional benefit is that you can also attach ongoing managed services, such as monitoring services and helpdesk, among many others. at your service: Xaas SaaS March - April, 2018 | Channel Vision 43