IT Services and Support Community Meeting Minutes Location: San Diego, California Date: April 1, 2014

Transcription

1 IT Services and Support Community Meeting Minutes Location: San Diego, California Date: April 1, 2014 Attendees: Aaron Acker, SquareTrade, Inc. Chris Agnew, TOLT Solutions Steve Alexander, MS Ignite Dorianna Allyn, Brother International Corp. Nancy Alm, FieldSolutions, Inc. Ron Alphin, Supplies Network Levy Anthal, Image Microsystems Matt Arnold, PC Parts, Inc., a GreenLoop IT Portfolio Company Sandra Ashworth, Unisys Corporation April Babb, Zero Edge Unified Systems, Inc. Laura Bernstein, CRA Phil Boseley, System Design Advantage LLC Mickey Bynum, Xerox Mark Calzone, Ash Creek Enterprises Inc Mike Celayeta, TeamLogic IT Mike Cox, Parts Now! LLC Bruce Cutler, MasterWorks International Inc. Mike DiGregorio, TOLT Solutions Steve Doran, Symantec Paul Dorian, Zooce Sean Esler, Zero Edge Unified Systems, Inc. Lee Evans, Vital Network Solutions, Ltd. Robin Haggerty, FieldSolutions, Inc. Fred Harrah, The Network Co. of California Robert Hausman, Global Convergence Inc. Bob Heth, MasterWorks International Inc. Deborah Hintz, Tolt Solutions Patricia Howe, Posdata Colleen Howley, Marathon Deployment Christopher Hyun, Hyuntec Industries Tom Jordan, Hewlett-Packard Sharna Kahn, Technology Integration Group Earle Keizer, Business Continuity Technologies Sue Krautbauer, Veterans Alliance Resourcing, Inc. Mike Lamothe, Office Document Consulting Inc. 1

2 Sharron Lawson, Print Fleet Inc. Matthew Lenke, TOLT Solutions Chuck Lennon, TeamLogic IT Timothy Linsdau, Rock Your Box Ray Loisel, West Point Products Greg Magee, ExpressPoint Tim Malm, CorePoint360 LLC John Merhrmann, Brainhunter Mike Moore, Dex Jean Mork Brederson, Service 800 Nic Orrben, TekTegrity Inc. Joe Pothier, Belmont Technology Remarketing Angel Pineiro, ASI System Integration Glen Robertson, Service 800 Richard Rysiewicz, Synnex Nellie Scott, Lenovo Michael Shuler, Veterans Alliance Resourcing, Inc. Angelo Simao, Brainhunter Companies Lauren Simmen, Surgex Scott Storm, Storm Computer Derek Suzuki, Getac Michael Swailes, Cisco Systems John Tippett, Snap AV Brian Vincik, Securematics Mark Williams, Pensar Mike Wilmington, Surgex Aaron Woods, Xerox Mathew Wright, Yuma Office Equipment Chair CompTIA Staff Cathy Alper, Director, Member Communities Jim Hamilton, Vice President, Member Relations Miles Jobgen, Senior Manager, Member Community Programs Rino Marinelli, Director, Member Communities Liz Navlen, Senior Director, Marketing INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THESE MINUTES IS CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY TO COMPTIA. THESE MINUTES ARE INTENDED SOLELY FOR THE IT SERVICES AND SUPPORT COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND ARE NOT TO BE SHARED WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF COMPTIA. I. Welcome and Agenda Review Cathy Alper welcomed everyone to the meeting and reviewed the CompTIA antitrust statement, meeting purpose, and agenda. Meeting Purpose Work together to improve ourselves, our businesses, and our industry. 2

3 Meeting Agenda Welcome and Agenda Review ITSS Community Business Customer Satisfaction is about Revenue Roundtable Discussions Concurrent Initiative Workshops Close IT Services Welcome Angel Pineiro welcomed all attendees and guided participants through introductions. Mr. Pineiro then thanked the people who rolled off the at the end of 2013: Michael Schuler, Chair; and Scott Chatten, Mike Cox, Greg Magee, and Angelo Simao, members. Mr. Pineiro introduced the Angel Pineiro Jr. Chair Senior Vice President, Services, ASI System Integration, Inc. James Walters Vice Chair Director, CSD EB-S BTA/PTR, Samsung Aaron Acker Regional Manager, Sales & Operations, Square Trade, Inc. Mark Digregorio Vice President Business Development, Tolt Service Group Steve Doran Global Services and Support Appliance Solutions, Symantec Corporation Kevin Joyce Vice President, Business Development, OnForce George Harris Vice President, Business Development, FieldSolutions Inc. Robert Hausman Director of Service Solutions, Global Convergence, Inc. Colleen R. Howley Director of Deployment, Marathon Deployment Megan Pradhan Quality Officer, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America 3

4 Mike Moore Sr. Vice President Supply Chain Services, DEX Shawn Mason North America Channel Partner & Self Maintenance Service Delivery Manager HP Printing & Personal Systems Group II. ITSS Community Business a. Steve Doran reviewed recent deliverables and activities from the community: i. The Services Tools and Automation Quick Start Guide was published and is available in the CompTIA training catalog. ITSS will sponsor a webinar based on this document. ii. There is a survey for the Services 3 5 Years Initiative. Mr. Doran asked people who had not already responded to the survey to fill out paper copies at the conference. iii. Mr. Doran announced that the Warranty White Paper produced by the ITSS community in 2013 was presented as a panel for the Warranty Chain Management Conference. Aaron Woods, Xerox; Sandy Ashworth, Unisys; Kollen Brower, HP; and Cathy Alper, CompTIA were the panel participants. b. Community Charity Mike Moore provided an overview of the AWIT charity program for 2014 and asked people to nominate charities on the back of the sign-in sheet. III. Customer Satisfaction is about Revenue Jean Mork Bredeson, President, SERVICE 800 Ms. Bredeson presented customer satisfaction in a new light focusing on adjusting measurements and practices toward the end game of increasing revenue. Examples and case studies illustrated specific actions/adjustments for using customer satisfaction practices to increase revenue. IV. Roundtable Discussions The group participated in roundtable discussions to facilitate peer-to-peer learning on topics of interest to community members. The topics included: Ways to make your business more profitable: Steve Lu, SYNNEX; Bruce Cutler, MasterWorks International; Mark DiGregorio, Tolt Service Group Wearables/mobility/rapid shifts in technology: Mark Calzone, Ash Creek Enterprises; Steve Doran, Symantec Corporation Cybersecurity/compliance: Matt Arnold, PC Parts, Inc.; Robert Hausman, Global Convergence, Inc. Warranty abuse, developing best practices: Phil Boseley, System Design Advantage; Aaron Acker, Square Trade Customer satisfaction is about revenue: Jean Mork Bredeson, SERVICE 800; Kevin Joyce, Field Solutions Results of these discussions can be found in Appendix A: Roundtable Discussions. 4

5 V. Concurrent Initiative Work Sessions Two concurrent working sessions were held to work on the current ITSS initiatives: ASC as Trustmark, and Services 3 5 Years Future Results of these discussions can be found in Appendix B: ITSS Initiative Discussions. VI. Close Cathy Alper thanked the participants and the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted by: Cathy Alper, Director, Member Communities, CompTIA 5

6 Appendix A: Roundtable Discussions Ways to make your Business more Profitable 2:45-2:50 Introductions and why we are here 2:50-3:05 Topic 1: Grow your Top Line Expand your business with current customers o Transform your sales reps o Train your sales team on all offerings Grow your business by gaining new customers o Ask user group to define the market size o Find partners that can add to your capabilities o Have a marketing plan that sells what you do best o Align your compensation plan with your business priorities. Grow your business into new markets o Know your customers, find their pain points o Dig deep into your own company Why do customers buy? Where are the margin $ coming from? Do you have a plan to attack these areas? o Be involved in industry groups, see what others are doing o If there is pain and confusion, there is also margin and opportunity 3:05-3:20 Topic 2: Control your Costs Salary and bonus programs o Should be an incentive plan, not a club o Must be simple, easy to understand o Must motivate o Don t look at it as a cost, and there is no perfect plan o Balance your staff Full time VS part time 1099 VS W2 Temp VS pertinent Benefits o All cost items should be questioned, and put out to bid o Do exactly what our customers do, make your vendors earn your business every year Other items: o Find areas you are not best in breed and outsource that to someone that is o Simplify billing move away from T&M (time and materials) as it takes too much overhead o Never say no, but learn how to say Yes but 3:20-3:35 Topic 3: Address Non-Profitable Business Units Measuring each business unit Determine if you can make it profitable Have a plan to exit non-profitable business 6

7 CompTIA ITSS Wearables / Mobility We had an interactive, wide-ranging discussion on the consumer and business impact that wearables technology is creating as these devices proliferate. There are challenges that if not addressed, could impede successful growth in deployment of these devises. These are also considered to be an opportunity for service providers. Big data / data security in the cloud Security of access is a growing issue for MSPs (Managed Service Providers) as more wearables attach to their networks to access the service offering housed in the cloud. The increased demand on MSPs networks drives a need for bandwidth from traditional Telco and mobility carriers. Ensuring a positive customer experience with the wearable product means the MSP needs to ensure speed of access to their app as well as security of their personal data. This creates an opportunity for MSPs to grow differentiated service offerings Innovation Similarly MSPs have an opportunity to differentiate via Innovation in their offerings. One example discussed was Disney who is using wearables / mobility technology for their customer to have one device that is their room key, charge items to their rooms, pay for rides etc. Differentiated Customer Experience Another example was a member of the group saying he uses his wearable watch to take forwarded calls directly vs making customers leave voic . This drives a higher level of service and enhanced satisfaction to his customers. This is viewed as a clear service differentiator. Conclusions Overall, the team believes wearable technology connected via mobility services is the future and there will be no going back. The challenge is to get ahead of the problems, leverage the opportunities and ensure that opportunities for differentiation and service growth are identified and addressed. It was agreed that the ITSS committee should engage with the Cloud and Mobility/Security communities at CompTIA so service providers can understand how to plan for success in their future strategies. Cybersecurity / Compliance Issues & Challenges 1. BYOD security what have you done to protect yourselves 2. Cyber attacks from Russia & China 3. Insurance requirements from clients recent calls to have cybersecurity insurance - $1 million & up coverage limits 4. Compliance and regulatory issues HIPA, SOX, etc. 5. Customer Data integrity Electronic medical records 7

8 Many business opportunities can be derived from these challenges. What are your business pivot points & solutions to address these challenges and help you and your clients be compliant? Solutions/Opportunities 1. Client education 2. Proprietary applications / solutions 3. Security as a service 4. Managed services bundled together to provide an overall solution for your clients no unbundling sell the package 5. Mobile device management Warranty abuse, Developing Collaborative Practices What are the main issues? Fraud is much more relevant than and Abuse. o Service Provider o End User/Customer Abuse is it a consumer knowledge issue or deliberate abuse? Challenges 1. Systemic 2. Changes in warranty in product lines Opportunities /Next steps to the development of the White Paper produced in How do you educate the end-user whether it is large corporation or a small business? 2. How do you educate the selling agent? 3. Establishing consistent processes and procedures within the OEM s across the industry. Includes exception management. Customer Satisfaction Why don t companies use their customer satisfaction data more? Don t know how Don t want to know what customers really think Perceive it as a cost; need to think of it as a revenue source Need to see applied success (behavior modification) First step: Make a commitment that within X amount of time after a service event you will seek/get feedback. Next step: use the data to identify needed changes in customer interaction and modify behaviors. 8

9 Appendix B: ITSS Initiative Discussions ASC as Trustmark Miles presented the basic design of the CompTIA Authorized Service Center designations and the CompTIA Trustmark programs, highlighting areas of challenge resulting from the ASC design Miles presented CompTIA s intention to re-brand the ASC program into the Trustmark portfolio o One brand to manage/market o Opportunity to review ASC requirements for improvement Group discussion focused on o What the goal of ASC is differentiation based on certified techs General agreement on the validity of this goal o Some of the limitations of the current design generally agreed that a single ASC designation that is more flexible in its certification requirements is a good improvement o Debate regarding the core target audience Small businesses vs. Service depot o As conversations got too deep into design considerations, it would be brought back to address the overall question of Is ASC still a viable product? and Would bringing it into the Trustmark portfolio help it s growth? o Questions related to CompTIA marketing plans included What is CompTIA doing to bring the Trustmarks & ASC to the attention of the market? What resources do certified businesses get to help promote? Next steps: o CompTIA to form a Steering Committee beyond ITSS Community members to help determine the viability of ASC in 2014 and beyond. This committee needs to properly reflect the industry and target in order to provide accurate input o Angel Pineiro, Ron Alphin volunteered to represent the ITSS leadership The steering committee should be able to speak to the role of service centers in today s market and how other existing Trustmark products may or may not apply to the same audience. If ASC continues as a product, it will be under the Trustmark portfolio This is unavoidable. Budget, management, and marketing ability are all drastically impaired by leaving ASC as a stand-alone product Services 3-5 Years 1. Customer Satisfaction New innovative solutions for clients o Print CCP (Cost Per Copy) vs. Cost Per Seat Loyalty Proactive Solutions provided to clients 9

10 Retention speed of response and service Social Media Impacts of comments of social media. Convergence of Business and Consumer. BYOD is mobile today but may become all devices. How do we provide business level service in a BYOD market? 2. Talent Acquisition Recruiting & Retaining millennial workers o Bridging the situation language o Does the traditional process of recruiting need to change to attract talent. o Career Path Is there an option, or is there an early ceiling? Why isn t there one? 1. Tools and support are needed to support employee development. 2. Could compensation of time be the factor? o Clear expectations from the employee and company. o Changing the pay to impact the long term growth. Example: Pay annuity for clicks versus all the commission of a copier/printer up front. Identifying skills o Need the customer to articulate the requirements of their staffing needs o Strengths and challenging employees o Shift of FTE versus contactors Should we consider a best practices or white paper? 3. Technology Business Agility o Evolution that is impacting Identifying the Customer of the Future o What is the target of the business need? o Access and qualify the target o Transformational Create a methodology to do business o Qualify audiences 4. Automation of Operations Optimizing service delivery o Bonding to the client/customer o Automation can lead to customization o Becoming a trusted advisor Implementation RMM 10