From “Surviving” IT to Opening New Revenue Streams
Do you look at your technology as a cost center to be managed, or as a springboard for new revenue? If you’ve been following us for a while, you know we like to think of it as the latter. Small businesses spend much of their IT budget just to keep the lights on, stuck in an endless cycle of “surviving” rather than “thriving.” But with a virtual CIO, or vCIO, your business can reframe the conversation surrounding technology and look at it as an endless realm of opportunity rather than an endless loop of costs.
Let’s look at three hypothetical situations where businesses can move beyond “surprising” IT issues to transform their infrastructures into revenue-generating powerhouses.
Monetizing Data Through a Client-Facing Portal
Let’s say a business’ data lives in a bunch of disconnected spreadsheets and local folders that are virtually impossible to share and even harder to find when needed.
With the help of a vCIO, this business identifies that this data is a high-value asset that their clients would pay to access in real time. The company transitions this data to a cloud-native environment accessed by a secure password-protected portal, and instead of manually billing for data requests, the system can automate reporting for self-service insights. What was once an administrative burden is now a premium, subscription-based service that’s bringing the business money.
In other words, efficiency in the back office created a new product (and new profits) for the front office.
Scaling Geographic Reach Through Hybrid Agility
Another business might have once been tethered to a physical office location because their mission-critical software only ran on a local server.
Because of these geographical restrictions, the business could only serve clients within a 50-mile radius. With a vCIO’s guidance, this business could shift operations to a secure, decentralized cloud environment, allowing for previously impossible digital transformations. This shift to the cloud unlocked the capabilities for having 24/7 service, powered by a remote sales team across multiple time zones, all accessible through the company’s cloud-based Voice over Internet Protocol solution that automatically routes calls to whoever is on the clock.
With these innovations, a business could double its market territory without spending any more capital on real estate or office space—a considerable benefit.
Launching Tech-Enabled Consulting Services
Imagine that a business implements a proactive security stack, including Endpoint Detection and Response and Multi-Factor Authentication, and the team finds they have 15% more time in their week as a result. What does your team do with that time?
In an effort to reinvest those productivity dividends, the vCIO might suggest a high-margin consulting service of sorts to amp up revenue generation. To support this initiative, the vCIO recommends standardizing workflows through the use of project management tools, allowing the team to package their internal expertise into a repeatable service. With the vCIO maximizing the business’ security posture, the company is then able to win government and enterprise contracts they couldn’t before.
All of this lets the business position themselves strategically so they are not just another shop on the block, but a go-to expert and industry leader.
In truth, the difference between surviving and thriving is a bit of a perspective shift. With a vCIO on your side, IT stops being seen as an expense and is instead embraced as an investment.
If your business is ready to make this year its most successful yet, contact White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.