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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