It is not enough for dealers to simply be providers of managed IT, software and workflow solutions to their client base. They need to be coaches, teachers, confidants and soothsayers.
Yes, there is a psychology to workflow solutions and a dealer’s role in shining the light on the fact that on-premise servers are not a requirement for 21st-century office employees. Even as many end-users have been pushed remotely—and are far more hesitant to return—dealers must continue to case-build the big picture of efficient operations through the cloud. It is a battle they seem to be winning on the whole…but it’s a battle, nonetheless.
Software and workflow solutions have provided ample opportunities for U.S. Business Systems (USBS) to engage deeper with clientele, notes Ron Hulett, project manager for the Elkhart, Indiana-based dealership. While there is a variety of software in USBS’ base offering, workflow can be somewhat more complex, depending on the business process that’s being addressed. This can lead to a bit of hand-holding for USBS, according to Hulett.
“It’s also absolutely necessary to define what the scope of these projects are, or they will creep to where you may never get to the finish line,” Hulett remarked. “I like to work through the same steps as managed IT, only treat them as project-based work that has a stopping point per phase. By separating major components into separate phases, we can accomplish something and agree that we did before moving on to the next phase.”
Meanwhile, the benefits of leveraging the cloud have been driving forces for its growth. Hulett’s caveat is that it requires subject matter experts to articulate those benefits.
“Unless you’re going to farm out all your work (and your margin) to a third party and hope they get it right and treat the customer the way you do, you must have the expertise in-house,” he added. “That doesn’t come cheap, but again we believe that it’s worth the investment. Especially as the transformation continues.”
Shining a Light
Dean Swenson, president of The Swenson Group in Livermore, California, pointed out that his dealership was in the process of hosting a document management/electronic workflow webinar with one of its key partners.
“In the hybrid world, companies realize they need to digitize their information in order to have better access, improved security, etc.,” he said. “Additionally, they are looking for ways to move from people-based processes to more automated, scalable electronic processes.”
In a post-pandemic landscape, flexibility is of utmost importance to end-users, notes Michelle Shepard, vice president of sales for Systel Business Equipment in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The ability to work from anywhere with immediate access is a must-have expectation in the eyes of clients.
“To me, scalable workflow offerings built within a cloud services platform are becoming more sustainable for small and large businesses,” she said. “I also believe that cloud acceptance is growing in popularity among all sizes of business.”
TJ DeBello, vice president of sales for Stargel Office Solutions-Star Managed Services, has witnessed a growing acceptance of cloud-based solutions. That has helped the dealer push deeper with the Microsoft platform, among others.
“We have seen a transition from our workflow software like DocuWare move from traditional on-premise to cloud-based,” he said. “We also sell higher levels of Office 365 licensing that includes access to SharePoint and OneDrive.”
Gaining Ground
Document management tools have become more important to end-users looking to keep workflows humming along for those at-home employees, notes Tom McHenry, vice president of managed services for Definitive Technology Solutions (DTS) in Bloomington, Minnesota. DTS offers a number of document management titles that have dovetailed nicely with client workflows, as many employees find they are more productive in a remote fashion.
Comfort with the cloud is not always an easy sell. Still, DTS is gaining more traction as existing servers reach the end of their rope.
“We talk about solutions in every quarterly review, and (clients) didn’t always take it to heart,” McHenry said. “A lot of them want to keep their workflows on-premise. But as we’re seeing servers reach end of life, we’re moving them more readily to the cloud to make their employees more productive, no matter where they’re working. That’s been a big change.”
For Usherwood Office Technology of Syracuse, New York, the cloud progression has taken hold with many end-user clients, notes Lindsay Usherwood, general counsel and corporate secretary for the firm. The workflow and software needs may no longer require on-premise servers, and the dealer is able to replicate their processes with an integrated Microsoft 365 and Azure solution.
Part of the challenge is getting clients to understand that the cloud is not a built-in panacea for security threats. That is why the dealer crafts a solution that can mitigate security failures and protect clients from one of their biggest threats: themselves.
“A common misconception for business owners is that if their data is in the cloud, it is safe from cyber threats,” Underwood noted. “According to Gartner, over the next three years, `at least 95% of cloud security failures will be the customer’s fault.’ This decentralized approach does not negate the need for cybersecurity and other network controls. Our experts design a custom solution that considers cloud shared responsibility, so we can close the gap on any cloud security failures.”
