Are You Ready For Recovery?

By Gennifer Biggs, security, storage, and managed services editor

As 2010 begins, and conversations move from recession to recovery, managed services providers (MSPs) are among those gearing up for growth and, hopefully, expansion in the new year. While struggling through a recession can be hard on any business, experts in the managed services space warn that the recovery process can be just as difficult. So take a few minutes and ask yourself whether your IT company is ready to succeed as projects and new customers start to flow in. Some points to consider:

• As businesses see profits start to rebound, IT projects put on hold in 2009 will become a priority. That project work will be doled out to the solutions provider that can meet customer demands for immediate action. That means having your processes in place, being in touch with those clients on a regular basis, and having the staff ready when the starting gun fires.
• One common misstep of companies that are gearing up for a recovery period is lack of financing plans. While most agree that the recession is fading, that doesn't mean credit is as available as it once was. So examine your cash flow and credit line, and create a plan for rolling out solutions to demanding customers without putting yourself in a cash or credit crunch. Good resources for this include your distribution partners.
• Another area on which to concentrate as you gear up for the recovery is staffing. You may need to plan ahead for potential hiring, and have a plan for staff training that brings new hires up to speed before project work starts to ramp up.
• If you have struggled with time to attach a new technology, now is the time. Hot new technologies include managed print, cloud services, tiered storage, and hosted anything. For more on hosted solutions and how they can bring in "easy money," register now for the March 11 Business Solutions Lunch & Learn on that topic.
• Lastly, look for vendor partners that understand this recovery period could be as rough as the recession on the channel. Expect product specials, marketing collateral, and more as they help you get geared up for success in 2010.

If you are interesting in more tips, download the Business Solutions Lunch & Learn webinar on this topic.