Partner Sees Sales Soar 336 Percent in a Year with “All In ...
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Partner Sees Sales Soar 336 Percent in a Year with “All In” Approach to Cloud Services Overview Partner: INFINIT Consulting Partner Website: http://www.INFINITconsulting.com/ Partner Size: 15 employees Country or Region: United States Industry: Technology services Partner Profile INFINIT, headquartered in San Jose, CA and with an office in Salt Lake City, UT, and presence in Seattle, WA and Buffalo, NY is a digital transformation™ provider serving small and medium sized businesses. It was founded in 2006. Business Situation INFINIT had shifted from project services to hosting and managed services to gain a more stable business model—then found that model threatened when Microsoft introduced its cloud services. Solution The company adopted the Microsoft services as an offering, and expanded its “Technology Transformation Services” package of managed services around them. Benefits n Cloud Sales up 336 Percent in a Year; 500 Percent Growth Projected n Managed Services Income Grows 20 Percent Per Month n Microsoft Hybrid Approach Delivers “Power of Choice” “Microsoft cloud services have been a tremendous factor in accelerating the growth of our business. We see growth coming at both ends of the market.” Jerod Powell, Founder and CEO, INFINIT Consulting IT provider INFINIT Consulting was already providing cloud-based email—its own—when Microsoft BPOS entered the market. The company quickly shifted its business model not just to sell Microsoft cloud services, but to expand its own in-depth managed services offerings to cover them. It worked. Revenues, profitability, recurring income, income per employee—they’re all up.
Transcript of Partner Sees Sales Soar 336 Percent in a Year with “All In ...
PartnerSeesSalesSoar336PercentinaYearwith“AllIn”ApproachtoCloudServices
OverviewPartner:INFINITConsultingPartnerWebsite:http://www.INFINITconsulting.com/PartnerSize:15employeesCountryorRegion:UnitedStatesIndustry:TechnologyservicesPartnerProfileINFINIT,headquarteredinSanJose,CAandwithanofficeinSaltLakeCity,UT,andpresenceinSeattle,WAandBuffalo,NYisadigitaltransformation™providerservingsmallandmediumsizedbusinesses.Itwasfoundedin2006.BusinessSituationINFINIThadshiftedfromprojectservicestohostingandmanagedservicestogainamorestablebusinessmodel—thenfoundthatmodelthreatenedwhenMicrosoftintroduceditscloudservices.SolutionThecompanyadoptedtheMicrosoftservicesasanoffering,andexpandedits“TechnologyTransformationServices”packageofmanagedservicesaroundthem.Benefitsn CloudSalesup336PercentinaYear;500PercentGrowthProjected
n ManagedServicesIncomeGrows20PercentPerMonth
n MicrosoftHybridApproachDelivers“PowerofChoice”
“Microsoftcloudserviceshavebeenatremendousfactorinacceleratingthegrowthofourbusiness.Weseegrowthcomingatbothendsofthemarket.”
JerodPowell,FounderandCEO,INFINITConsulting
ITproviderINFINITConsultingwasalreadyprovidingcloud-basedemail—itsown—whenMicrosoftBPOSenteredthemarket.ThecompanyquicklyshifteditsbusinessmodelnotjusttosellMicrosoftcloudservices,buttoexpanditsownin-depthmanagedservicesofferingstocoverthem.Itworked.Revenues,profitability,recurringincome,incomeperemployee—they’reallup.
SituationJerodPowellthoughtheknewwhattypeofITcompanyhewantedtostart.Hewaswrong.Tenyearsago,in2006,PowellfoundedINFINITConsultingwithahandfulofengineers.TheyallcamefromenterpriseITenvironmentsandcreatedacompanytoservethesetypesoforganizations,whichtheyknewbest.Theircustomersrangedfrommanufacturerstoonlineretailers,andhadanywherefrom250to5,000employees.Inapost-Sarbanes-Oxleyworld,theyweremostlypubliclytradedcompaniesthatneedednewenterprisesystemstomeetfederalandinternalcompliancerequirements.INFINITmadeitsmoneyfromconsultingprojects,suchasonsitedeploymentsofMicrosoftExchangeServerandotherMicrosoftserverproducts.Thecompanywouldfindalargeproject,getitsengineersonit,completeit,andthenfindanotherprojecttorepeatthecycle.Itwasexhausting.“Wegottiredofhavingtofindhugeprojectstokeepusafloat,”saysPowell,CEOofthecompany.“Itcausedtoomuchgrayhair.”Withthatrealization,INFINITstarteditstransformationintothehighlysuccessfuldigitaltransformationprovideritistoday.Aninitialstepwastobegintoshiftfromprojectservicestohostingandmanagedservices.AsPowellsays:“WedecidedtotakeourenterpriseexpertiseandscaleitdowntoSMBs.”ThecompanybuiltabusinessinhostingExchangeServerdeploymentsatitsowndatacenter,andinprovidingagrowingrangeofotherhostingandmanagedservices.Theaveragecustomersizedroppedtoabout90employees.INFINITmadelessmoneypercustomerthanithadbefore,butcompensatedforthatbyincreasingthenumberofcustomersitserved.Withitshostingbusiness,ittooklesstimeandefforttoserveeachcustomer,soscalingtosupportmorecustomerswasquitepractical.
Andthen,in2008,MicrosoftintroducedMicrosoftBPOS,itsfirstonlinebusinessproductivitysuiteoffering—andadirectcompetitortoINFINIT’sownExchangeServerhosting.“Iwasn’tgoingtocompetewithMicrosoft,”saysPowell.SolutionINFINIThadalreadybegunonetransformationwithitsshiftfromprojectstohostingandmanagedservices.Now,withMicrosoft’sentryintocloudservices,INFINITfacedtheprospectofhavingtomakeanothertransformation.Butthecompanywouldnotretreatfromeithermanagedservicesorcloudservices.Instead,itwouldfindinventivewaysbothtoselltheMicrosoftservicesandbuilditsownservicesandproductsontopofthem.Asafirststep,INFINITmigrateditsExchangeServerhostingcustomerstoBPOSand,later,toOffice365.ManagedServicesfortheCloudAsamoreimportantstep,INFINITexpandeditsTechnologyTransformationServicetocoverMicrosoftcloudservices,includingbothOffice365andMicrosoftIntune.TechnologyTransformationServicesalreadyincludedmonitoring,maintenance,antivirusprotection,one-hourSLAs,helpdesksupport,escalation,onsitesupport,databackupandsmartphonesupport.Thecompany’sgoalwiththisservicewastobecomeitscustomers’outsourcedITorganization,coveringon-premisesinfrastructureaswellastechnologyhostedinINFINIT’sMicrosoft-basedprivatecloud,callediDNA.INFINIT’ssupportforOffice365throughTechnologyTransformationServicesincludes:useraccountadditionsanddeletions;configuringemail,mobiledevices,Lync,SharePoint,andpasswordresetpolicy;resolvingissueswithOutlook,Lync,andSharePoint;instructiononcreatingonlinemeetings;comprehensivesupport,consistentsupportteam,fastissueresolutionSLAs,anddirectaccesstotier3support.
“Iwasn’tgoingtocompetewithMicrosoft.”
JerodPowell,FounderandCEOINFINITConsulting
Customerscanusethisintegrated,comprehensivesupportofferingtomaintaintheirentireITinfrastructures—on-premises,privatecloud,andpubliccloud—simply,throughasinglevendor.ForINFINIT,thecomprehensiveofferingisawaytoincreaseitsvaluetocustomers,thevolumeofbusinessitdoeswiththosecustomers,anditsreturnoninvestmentinitsexistingsupportresources,suchasitshelpdesk.RemakingitsOfferingsfortheCloudINFINIT’sembraceofthecloudgoesfarbeyondofferingMicrosoftcloudservicesandsupportforthem.Thecompanyhasremadebothitsownofferingsanditsmarketingforthecloud.Thecompany’scloudservicesalsoincludesecurebackupandrecovery,unifiedcommunications,andacloudconfiguratortool.Itsprivatecloudofferingsincludeserverandapplicationhosting,virtualdesktops,andacomprehensive“virtualoffice.”
AndthecompanyhasearnedjustabouteveryMicrosoftclouddistinctionit’spossibletoearn,bothtooptimizeitsprovisionofcloudservicesandasamarketingtooltodemonstrateitsexpertiseinthoseservices.WhileINFINITcontinuestoofferenterpriseITproject/consultingservices,anyonelandingonthecompany’swebsitewillimmediatelyunderstandthatINFINITis“allin”whenitcomestothecloud.(seescreenshotatleft.)ShiftingtheBusinessModelShiftingfromprojectservicestomanagedservicestocloudserviceshasrequiredashiftinINFINIT’sbusinessmodel,too.Becausedealsizesforbothmanagedservicesandthecloudtendtobesmallerthanfortraditionalprojectdeals,INFINITneedsalargercustomerbase,andagreatervolumeofpotentialcustomersinitspipeline.Italsoneedstoclosedealsmuchfaster.Toincreasethepipeline,INFINITconductsmoremarketingevents,bothliveandovertheweb.Ithasaddedsalesrepsandgivenengineerssomeresponsibilityforsales.“Tomakethecloudwork,youcan’taffordtohavethebusinessownerdoalltheselling;youneedasalesforce,”saysPowell.Thecompanyhasaccelerateditssalescyclefromaboutamonthtoaweek.MostOffice365dealscloseonthefirstcustomercall,andallclosemorequicklythantraditionaldeals.Partly,saysPowell,that’sbecauseOffice365dealsaresimpler.ButINFINITalsosupportsthatfasterclosetimewithquotetemplates,internalsalesreviewmeetings—andevenallowingsalesrepstocloseordersoverthephonewithoutwaitingforsignedagreements.Powellhascoachedhisstaffonthenewsalesmodel,forexample,showingthemhowmuchtimetheycanaffordtospendonrelativelysmalldeals,andwhentheybegintolosemoneyonthem.Ithasn’talwaysbeeneasy.Salesrepswhousedtohavebetween2and6activeleadsatatimenowneedtohavemorethan70.“Retrainingoursalesrepsforalower-
INFINITissointothecloud,itwasthefirsttocloudsolutionprovidertolaunchtheCloudMarketplace.
margin,higher-volumebusinesshasbeenoneofthehardpartsofthetransformation,”saysPowell.“Youhavetotreata300-seatdealdifferentlyfroma20-seatdealoryoucan’tmakethiswork.”Andtherearechangestocome.Powellsaysthatproductizingthecompany’sintellectualpropertyonthecloudwillallowittoscaleitsbusinessvirtuallylimitlessly,sothat’sakeygoal.Thecompanyalreadyofferssoftwaretools,suchasitscloudcalculatorandbusinessintelligencetoolsforSharePointandMicrosoftDynamicsOnline.Powellplansmuchmorealongtheselines.BenefitsINFINIT’sapproachtocloudservicesisboostingrevenuesaswellasincreasingrecurringrevenueasashareofthetotal.ItsembraceofMicrosofttechnologygivesitscustomers“thepowerofchoice.”CloudSalesup336PercentinaYear;500PercentGrowthProjectedINFINIT’stotalrevenuesclimbed25percentin2013,ledbya336percentgainincloudsales.Powellprojectsthatthisyear’scloudrevenueswillbefivetimesasbigaslastyear’s.“Microsoftcloudserviceshavebeenatremendousfactorinacceleratingthegrowthofourbusiness,”hesays.“Weseegrowthcomingatbothendsofthemarket.Cloudserviceshaveenabledustoacquiresmallercustomerscost-effectivelyatalowerpricepoint,andthey’vealsogivenusasuccessfulwaytoservelargercustomers.”Thecompany’scustomerrosterhasgrownfrom40tomorethan200overthepasttwoyears.Thesizeofmanagedservicesdealshasalmostdoubled,fromabout70seatspercustomerto130seatspercustomer,whichPowellattributestolargercustomersapproachingINFINITforOffice365.ThattrendshouldcontinueasmoreofINFINIT’sOffice365customersalsosignonforitsmanagedservices.AbouthalfofOffice365customerscurrentlysubscribetothemnow;Powellexpectsthatnumbertoincreaseto70percent.
ManagedServicesIncomeGrows20PercentPerMonthINFINITadoptedmanagedservicestogrowitsrecurringincome.Itsucceeded.Thatincomeisnowgrowingattherateof20percentpermonth.Beyondrepresentingadditionalincome,therecurringrevenueismoreregularanddependablethanprojectrevenue,makingcashflowmorepredictableandhelpingtomitigaterisk.Recurringrevenuenowconstitutesabout60percentofINFINIT’stotalrevenues,upfromzeropercentsixyearsago.Overthatsametime,projectorone-timerevenueasashareoftotalrevenuesdeclinedfrom95percentto25percent.“Emphasizingmanagedservicesandcloudservicesissmartbusiness,”saysPowell.“Itmakesusanincreasinglystablecompany.”ItalsomakesINFINITanincreasinglyprofitableone.Becausemanagedservicesincreasethereturnoninvestmentinthecompany’sexistingresourcestheyhelptoboostprofitmargins.MicrosoftHybridApproachDelivers“PowerofChoice”PowellsayshisbusinesshasbeenaidedbyhisdecisiontobaseitscloudservicesandmanagedservicesonMicrosofttechnologies,inpartbecauseofMicrosoft’semphasisonhybridcloudsolutions.“Nearlyallofourcustomersrunhybridclouddeploymentsofsomesort,”saysPowell.“WhatweloveabouttheMicrosoftapproachisthepowerofchoiceitgivesus.Wecangiveourcustomersafoundationforthefutureandacloudstrategyontheirownterms.Thereisnoothersolutioninthemarketthatcansoseamlesslyofferthisflexibilityandintegration.”
“Emphasizingmanagedservicesandcloudservicesissmartbusiness.Itmakesusanincreasinglystablecompany.”
JerodPowell,FounderandCEOINFINITConsulting
MicrosoftCloudOSMicrosoftCloudOShelpsbusinessesbenefitfromconvergingtechnologytrendssuchasbigdata,cloudservices,and'bringyourowndevice'initiatives.Fromrapidlybuildinganddeployingapplicationstosupportingreal-timeanalyticsacrossallformsofdata,ITcandriveefficiencyanddelivernewvaluewithCloudOS.FormoreinformationaboutMicrosoftCloudOS,goto:www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/cloud-os/default.aspxForMoreInformationFormoreinformationaboutMicrosoftproductsandservices,calltheMicrosoftSalesInformationCenterat(800)426-9400.InCanada,calltheMicrosoftCanadaInformationCentreat(877)568-2495.CustomersintheUnitedStatesandCanadawhoaredeaforhard-of-hearingcanreachMicrosofttexttelephone(TTY/TDD)servicesat(800)892-5234.Outsidethe50UnitedStatesandCanada,pleasecontactyourlocalMicrosoftsubsidiary.ToaccessinformationusingtheWorldWideWeb,goto:www.microsoft.comFormoreinformationaboutINFINITConsultingproductsandservices,call(866)364-2007,[email protected],orvisitthewebsiteat:http://www.infinitconsulting.com/.
Thiscasestudyisforinformationalpurposesonly.MICROSOFTMAKESNOWARRANTIES,EXPRESSORIMPLIED,INTHISSUMMARY.DocumentpublishedApril2014
PartnerDesignationsn MicrosoftGoldCloudSolutionProvidern MicrosoftNorthwestAreaPartneroftheYear2015
n MicrosoftWestCoastCloudPartneroftheYear2014
n MicrosoftSilverCloudPlatformn MicrosoftCloudAcceleratePartnern MicrosoftWindowsIntuneBlackBeltPartner
