Small Business Computer Consulting

You have to properly advise clients when dealing with their IT spending.  Many clients will feel they have to make all PC purchases within a small period of time and follow a “use it or lose it” policy when it comes to their budgets.  You need to get owners when they are approachable to advise them against this mentality. 

Discourage Frivolous Spending

Those experienced in the IT consulting world and with giving advice about IT spending know that small business technology purchases are most successful when planned carefully.  You don’t want your clients to go to the warehouse club or local office supply store and buy $20,000 worth of equipment with a corporate credit card. 

When IT spending is unplanned, your clients’ support costs can actually go up.  They also might be sabotaging a progressive technology plan that helps them keep their systems more secure and dependable. 

Discuss IT Spending Before it Gets out of Hand:  Discussion Points

1.  Do your clients have written technology budgets for the year?

2. What happens if their budgets are not used up during the year?

3. What kind of planning needs to be done in order to spend on PC-related items?

4. Should you discuss anticipated support costs before recommending PC purchases?

5. Do clients’ major tech purchases typically happen after a great year or quarter?

6. Have your clients regretted hasty IT spending because it turned out to be on a really unreliable, difficult-to-support piece of hardware?

Created By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Many VARs have been trying to get their businesses back up and running in Southern California after a wave of fires hit the San Diego area this month.  19 fires still continue to burn from northern Los Angeles County and Malibu Beach to Orange and San Diego County.  Most were caused by a long-term dry spell and have downed power lines and disabled transformers, making business for VARs a particular challenge.

These fires are not unlike those that four years ago evacuated one million people and destroyed 2,000 homes.  Bruce Geier, the CEO of Technology Integration Group, a group of VARs based in San Diego stated that his office was untouched, but because his home was nearly lost he has had a hard time keeping his business open.

Many VARs and other business owners have stated that because of high security policies enforced by the National Guard, in large part in order to protect homes and businesses from looting and vandalism they have had a hard time running their companies as usual and keeping their clients well served.

The remarkable savior of much of the property is reported to be the ice plants in the area, which saved Geier’s home and the homes and businesses of many others in the area. 

John Matze, another VAR and vice president of business development at Hifn, a Los Gatos-based company also had his home saved by ice plants.  Because he had a city-mandated grouping of ice plants in his backyard, his home was protected from the fires that destroyed the homes of many neighbors.  He was forced to evacuate early in the morning from his home and came back later to find fires engulfing his neighborhood.  Despite a few fires which he was able to put out with his garden hose in his front yard (where there had been no ice plants), his home was untouched.    

The VARs Hifn office nearby was not touched by the fires, nor were the homes of any of its employees.  Many of them had ice plants.

Many other VARs in the area, including Nth Generation, Iomega and others were evacuated, but many repeated that their sales and shipping were not affected by the fires because there are very few employees that actually work at the headquarters.  Many VARs’ companies have sales and shipping centers at other points in the U.S.

For more information on how the recent California fires have affected VARs in the area, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Sweet spot small businesses do have support needs such as strong desktop support skills and some LAN skills.  But which certifications are really most important for your clients?

Which Tasks will Require Support?

Sweet spot clients will mostly be looking for assistance with popular desktop applications like Microsoft Office, Intuit QuickBooks and Interact ACT!  They might also need help doing hardware upgrades and setting up shared folder backup software.  They will also need help with antivirus and firewall software tasks.  So which IT certifications will these require from you?   

The Different Needs of Micro Small Businesses

Micro small businesses with fewer than 10 PCs and with P2P networks don’t typically care at all about IT certifications because they have very low budgets.  IT certifications for this type of business mean they may have to pay for someone way overqualified for the job.

IT Certifications Are Most Important to Real IT Managers

IT certifications really only become important when you find yourself selling to a real IT manager in a larger small business (50 or more systems).  An experienced IT manager will know what different IT certifications mean and will be looking for deeply-niched experts instead of just generalists.  Typically they will need someone with specific IT certifications to fill specific sales gaps.

The Main Idea about IT Certifications

Sweet spot clients offer a different opportunity and are an area a lot of small business computer consulting firms focus.  This space – with 10 – 50 PCs – is just the space where sophisticated IT support is necessary but IT certifications do not need to be complex.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Many in the computer industry are saying that Web 2.0 is a thing of the past, but solution providers are questioning the good aspects of the new Web 3.0.

Last week in San Francisco at the Web 2.0 conference, many companies discussed the power of Web 3.0.  Many claim that the new technology will improve the way we share, organize and find information.  Still, solution providers argue that the technology is still in development and that those providing technology services to businesses need to be careful not to push it too hard in its initial stages.    

Solution providers state that they believe the push for 3.0, particularly by companies that have yet to prove themselves in the marketplace is bold and a bit conceited.  They agree that Web 3.0 is definitely going to be a great technology, but that it still needs further development to be truly ready to shine.

One of the problems, according to many solution providers is that while those within the industry may understand and be able to talk about Web 3.0 technologies, the general public cannot yet understand or even use the technology, thus rendering it useless.  Plus, Web 2.0 technologies are still considered to be in the early majority phase, meaning not even all people have started adopting them yet.  Web 3.0 semantic capabilities thus would qualify as being still in the Innovator stage.   

And solution providers also argue that just because Web 3.0 technologies are “cool” technologies does not mean they are ready to be used by businesses.  They need to be careful not to suggest them for to clients until they are truly ready for use and can be integrated and beneficial to businesses.

For more information on the development of the new 3.0 technology and comments from solution providers, visit the attached link.

Submitted By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

As IT specialists, you must get through to your target audience with your marketing campaign.  Researching your niche is essential to achieving this goal.  

Study What Your Niche Clients Do

If you are IT specialists working with small medical offices, you need to know about their most impactful business issues (and namely the ones that affect the decision makers).  Subscribe to industry publications, e-mail newsletters and anything else they might read.  (See the attached link for examples of these important publications that IT specialists must read!)

While the resources given are U.S.-based, there are many others you can get as IT specialists looking to do research.  Your goal is to determine what worries small businesses in your niche, what motivates their decisions, which security issues bother them and in general which IT issues are most worrisome RIGHT NOW so you can be great IT specialists for them.  

Which Solutions Should You Give Your Clients?

You need to find out how those within your niche are using technology to change their businesses and make them more efficient.  Whichever industry you are dealing with as IT specialists, you need to research the biggest trends at the moment.  You will be expected to be a real expert.  

Remember – IT Specialists are Virtual CIOs

When you go to meet prospects, you need to stand out as IT specialists and not just the firm that sells PCs, installs LANs or fixes software issues.  Analyze their specialized needs and prove you are the expert!

Added By:  Computer Consulting Blog

A recent study conducted by virtual IT consulting firm Dimension Data Holdings recently reported that over 70 percent of those in the work force believe that e-mail is the best way to communicate.

While e-mail was the winner for best communication tool, 53 percent of those that took the virtual IT consulting firm’s survey believed that telephone was best followed by 52 percent that preferred mobile devices and phones.  Everyone surveyed used e-mail as part of their daily work routine.  

Instant messaging also made the grade (66 percent of workers use it).  However, security risks were agreed to be high with this type of communication, according to the virtual IT firm and PDAs and mobile phones got similar complaints.  Virtual IT consulting firm Dimension agreed that there are some serious security issues with instant messaging and mobile phone and PDA use.  

Despite some surveyed that seemed well aware of the risks with technology going beyond e-mail and telephone, 52% were almost unaware that instant messaging and other communications tools were more high-risk in terms of being able to be compromised.  Only 31% of virtual IT managers and other technology managers felt that all technologies were secure.  

According to the virtual IT consulting firm Dimension, the results of the survey showed that virtual IT managers know about the new security risks of unified communications, whereas users of the technology do not really know about the risks fully even with just e-mail.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

If you want to create a successful IT marketing campaign that speaks to prospects and motivates them, you need to be very effective at copywriting.

Long sales copy can work if your letter is compelling.  Several pages is fine if it includes a lot of engaging endorsements and testimonials. 

However, you want to stay away from jargon and tech-speak.  Make your IT marketing materials business focused, because you are most likely dealing with non-technically-minded small business owners or managers.  You also want to have a satisfaction guarantee.

Personalization with IT marketing materials is also critical.  If you have a common connection with your prospects, you need to enforce that connection early in the letter.

Keep Your IT Marketing Materials Out of the Circular File

A lot of business owners and people in general read mail near the garbage can.  So if your IT marketing piece isn’t immediately eye-catching, it will be gone in a second.  Make sure you give people a way to respond by phone, fax, through a website and also through e-mail.  If you give prospects multiple points of contact, they will be more likely to choose one that appeals to them and follow through.   

Successful IT Marketing is About Urgency

You need to attach a deadline to IT marketing campaigns to give them a sense of urgency.  Even if prospects are interested, without urgency, you get filed into their computer file and forgotten. 

Provide a call to action or specific offer that has a deadline attached.  Give prospects a reason to act immediately and respond to your IT marketing push.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Though computer business Apple often gets noted for making gadgets like iPods and the iPhone, it still is at the core a computer company.  The computer business is gearing up to release its newest version of the operating system Leopard, which will update the current Tiger.  The release was delayed by half a year due to all the work on the iPhone.  

While in January, Apple dropped “computer” from its name and became simply “Apple, Inc.,” its Macintosh computers still make more money than any other product the computer business offers.  In the U.S., Apple computer sales are growing at 2 ½ times the pace of the PC industry.  Sales by the computer business of just its computers were at $2.53 billion last quarter.

While the release of the new Leopard operating system won’t be as hyped as the iPhone release or the switch to Intel microprocessors, Leopard will continue the computer business’ trend to make user-friendly products, including software.

Some Highlights of Leopard:

1.     300 new features, including Time Machine, a program designed to help users digitize their lives by allowing them to easily retrieve deleted files, applications, photos and other items.  

2.    “Spaces,” a feature that lets users jump between applications with one keystroke.  

3.    Updates to Mail, including to-do lists and notes files.  

4.    30 professionally-designed stationary templates.  

5.    An upgrade to iChat that will allow users to add photo and video backdrops.

6.    A menu bar that floats on the desktop transparently.

While many experts don’t claim this new computer business release is a definite “hit,” it is considered a great upgrade.  For more information about this computer business news, please visit the attached link.

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg