Assessing the needs of MSPs, integrators and other organisations and the challenges they face when sourcing quality third-party professional project and technical services for Cisco technologies

Managing relationships more effectively

Managed services businesses that provide project support and professional and technical services for Cisco technology solutions in the UK face significant challenges in meeting customer expectations, and at the same time, recruiting, training and retaining good quality Cisco-qualified personnel.

Many of these organisations will be focused managed services providers (MSP) and / or active Cisco systems integrator and value-added reseller partners. Others will be facilities management (FM) companies, or specialist third party organisations or consultants who get involved with project planning and delivery. The IT departments of end-user organisations may also be responsible for providing these services.

Whatever their exact position in the marketplace, these businesses and organisations share the same challenges with regard to Cisco technical services delivery, and frequently need to call on the services of third-party organisations to fill the gaps in their own resource and capabilities.

While this would seem to be an easy and sensible way to address the problem, using external suppliers also brings its own issues and MSPs, Cisco integrators and other organisations making use of third-party services will often find themselves frustrated because they can’t get the quality or levels of services they need, when they need them, and at a price they are happy to pay.

This report examines these needs and challenges and explores some of the potential responses MSPs, integrators, consultants, end-user organisations and other businesses might be able to take to improve satisfaction levels with external providers.

 

Back when computers ran off cassette tapes and plugged into your spare TV, it was generally the least cool kids in school who spent time in the IT suite – or as it was known in those simpler times, the computer room. The terms “geek” and “nerd” were coined to describe these unloved adolescents, and were used as playground insults by schoolboys of all ages.

How times have changed: Thanks to the pioneering efforts of some of those early IT engineers, computers became slick and fun, and soon they were essential to business too. More and more clever people saw where things were going and learned about IT; then they found more applications for it and built highly successful businesses using the new technology. Before we knew it, the terms geek and nerd were no longer pejorative, but used in a kind of awe of those who had mastered this world-changing technology. Nevertheless, most of us still prefer the term engineer.

IT engineering has been a desirable career for some time now, and yet there is still a shortage in many specialities. In terms of Cisco Engineers, the shortage is particularly acute, while at the same time there is also a pressing demand from companies who need their networks to work smoothly and cope with an ever larger and more business-critical level of usage. Given the fact that these are well paid roles, economic theory suggests that more people will chose IT engineering as a career and that the gap between demand and supply will close. However, that theory would under-estimate the quality of people needed to set up and maintain the ever more sophisticated networks in use.

To get an idea of the kind of people involved in Cisco Engineering, just take a look at the astonishing array of companies that have been started by former Cisco employees and engineers – this link gives just a few examples: http://www.networkworld.com/article/2988547/cisco-subnet/18-companies-launched-by-former-cisco-people.html

The fact that these engineers are of such a calibre and ambition that many seek to set up their own ventures further explains the shortage of skilled workers available to the average business, which doesn’t have the resources to keep specialists in all Cisco disciplines – if any – on its staff, let alone enough to cover all its global operations. In fact, Cisco itself has had problems retaining its best people, and adopted an extraordinary policy of encouraging ambitious employees to develop “spin-in” businesses that it would then buy from them, often for millions of dollars. This policy had the added benefit of keeping entrepreneurial innovation at the heart of the firm even after it had grown into a global giant, and of course made the job of building, maintaining and updating its systems even more demanding as they incorporated the innovative and disruptive technologies developed through the spin-in process.

Many were surprised to hear that Cisco is apparently ditching its spin-in programme last year, although reading between the lines it appears that the policy will essentially be retained in another form: http://www.businessinsider.com/ciscos-new-ceo-ditches-spins-ins-2015-11 This is just as well, as the flow of new IT and network applications which comes through this system has helped drive growth and profitability across many industries around the world. For ambitious businesses wanting to remain part of that growth story and keen to retain a leading position in their sector, access to Cisco Engineers is essential – and they must not only be suitably qualified, but thoroughly up to the job of working with cutting edge companies in many industries and helping them to innovate where necessary as well. That is why 4CornerNetworks exists: to supply those professional services.

We specialise solely in Cisco Professional Services, because although the hardware for the systems is essential, it is not in such short supply. We believe that access to great engineers is important for businesses to thrive and grow, and we understand that different firms have different needs in terms of the amount of help they need. Unlike most of our competitors, therefore, we don’t set out to win customers by selling managed services packages that charge them for things they don’t need. At 4CornerNetworks, we just provide access to great engineers, when and where you need them. That way, all our clients have access to the full range of skills available – as if they have a full set of Cisco Engineers on their staff, all over the world.

Your Pain Points when working with a Supplier of Cisco Engineers

“They” say that 98% of published statistics are made up, and people will think that when market research doesn’t provide them with the answers they anticipated. Conducting market research with a 3rd party will help to eliminate subconscious bias when asking questions and help to provide a survey format whereby respondents submit honest and detailed responses. Here at 4CornerNetworks, that’s exactly what we did when partnering with CRN Channel Web as we embarked upon a quest to understand client experiences, good and bad, when engaging with a supplier of Cisco Engineering Resources.

We Asked…

C-Level Executives, Operations & Project Managers from Telecomms, Managed Service Providers, ICT Providers and Cisco Channel Partners were asked about their experiences when utilising Cisco Engineers from a 3rd party vendor.

You Said…

Engineering Availability

We asked, the channel spoke and specified that a lack of available Cisco Engineers and High Costs were the two primary concerns. 40% of C-Level Executives stated that they used more than one supplier of Cisco Engineering Resources, with 45% of those respondents doing so due to a lack of engineering availability. A lack of available Engineers will naturally occur when external partners fail to understand your everyday business requirements. Where are your clients located? When do you experience dips or peaks in client demand? How quickly can your external partner process your request? – All these questions impact on Engineering availability and all can be avoided by planning, integrating processes with your external partner and studying previous trends to ensure that you can get Cisco Engineering excellence, where you need it, when you need it.

Access to Cisco Engineering Skills

2/3 of Telecomms, MSP’s, ICT & Cisco Partners utilised the services of a 3rd party vendor to gain access to specific Cisco Engineering skills not available in-house. However only a fraction, 7% of all respondents concluded that when hiring an external Cisco Engineering partner, that costs were a benefit of any such relationship – that’s 93% of hiring companies NOT completely satisfied with the costs they are being charged.

Almost half of all respondents expressed their concerns with the experience and qualifications of attending Engineers. Often the end client provides feedback on how each Engineer performs. How long it took them to perform tasks, their customer and communications skills and their overall technical ability and expertise. If an attending Engineer takes twice as long to perform tasks due to their lack of experience or because they are not adequately qualified, then costs increase and the quality of workmanship will reflect poorly on your Brand.

Peek-A-Boo Charges

Peek-a-boo charges were the main cost concern when hiring a Cisco Field Engineer from an external partner. Upon opening your invoices, all of a sudden, peek-a-boo! Out pop charges for account set up, account maintenance, minimum booking time of 2-4 hour slots (when you only need an Engineer for 1 hour) and being charged for a CCNA, when all you got was a technical courier. Such charges make financial budgeting and forecasting almost impossible when you have no idea how much additional costs will be added to your invoice.

We Listened and…

We understood what problems your organisation faced when working with 3rd party suppliers of Cisco Engineers and what solutions will help to alleviate your pain points. More transparency, greater Cisco Engineering availability, consistent pricing and a select partner to work in tandem with your current business processes, ethos and culture.

SMART Onsite Service from 4CornerNetworks implemented by a customised Partnership Portal provides a solution to each and every pain point.

Transparent Billing

No set-up fees and no account management fees will ever be charged. We do not believe in winning new clients, then charging them for the privilege of being our client. Securing clients in a mutually beneficial long-term relationship will always be a main objective of 4CornerNetworks. Financial planning and budget control is now placed firmly back in the hands of our clients as a set monthly fee is charged by Direct Debit making forecasting easy and accurate because you know how much your bill will be every month.

Ease of Booking

S.O.S is only available to clients who outsource their requirements for Cisco Field Engineers of 500+ hours annually. You will be able to access the exclusive Partnership Portal of 4CornerNetworks where booking an Engineer when and where you need them is quick and easy to use. Simply choose the date, time and location of where you require an Engineer, provide a brief scope of work to gain instant access to Cisco Engineers where you need them, when you need them. This results in less admin time to source Engineers and less time and cost when working with an external partner.

Cisco Field Engineers Availability & Quality

Have you ever found yourself questioning the certifications and experience of an attending Engineer? Have you experienced Engineers turning up onsite late, unprepared and lacking in both customer and technical skills?

With S.O.S you will be able to view the details of Engineers, their Certifications and previous Quality Assurance scores. Therefore any Engineer you book will firstly need to satisfy your exact requirements and those of the end client.  As a result of this function, the quality standards of your organisation will be significantly boosted brining you and your clients’ complete piece of mind.

Sourcing Cisco Engineers from a 3rd party supplier has thus far caused many organisations to seek alternative solutions to their Engineering requirements. Many existing suppliers of Cisco Field Engineers have caused customers to switch suppliers in search of transparent billing and certified Engineers. Perhaps the lesson to learn is to view your clients as partners and understand that there is a direct correlation between fair pricing, quality standards and long-term relationships.

Cisco Systems Inc. is an awesome company to be affiliated with. Market leaders in Networking Equipment, thought leaders in the world of IT, innovators and disruptors – yet their partnership model may deter companies who’d otherwise be a perfect partnership match. If a company wishes to specialise in delivering Cisco Professional Services rather than Managed Services, Technology Solutions or the Networking Infrastructure – Then becoming a Cisco Partner may prove to be more restrictive than progressive.

Constricting Criteria

Cisco set strict criteria to prevent poor quality vendors being affiliated with the Cisco Brand, a commendable approach to ensure Brand consistency & quality of service. However in an era dominated by Technology, might it be feasible to consider that people and not technology may be at the heart of some business models? If a business places a greater emphasis on people (Professional Services) over technology (Managed Service Provider/ICT), then the Cisco partnership model just doesn’t fit.

For example if a company wishes to deliver Cisco Engineering resources in a number of regions, then that company MUST have at least 1 employee with a Cisco ID in each region they operate – If you want to offer Professional Services Internationally, be prepared to pay for employees you don’t need, but Cisco say you do. Some Professional Services companies operate in a variety of international regions, and do so successfully without the need to have an employee with a Cisco ID in each region. In fact employing someone with a Cisco ID in all the regions they operate may help to satisfy the Cisco partnership criteria, but would result in a tremendous increase in operating costs and may even turn a profitable company into a loss-making one. Cisco Engineers can be deployed from a remote location using a retainer or contractor model, so why the need to have a Cisco employee in each region?

Partners also need to have at least 1 specialisation linked to a Cisco product/solution – What if your specialisation isn’t related to a specific Cisco product or suite of products? Often Engineers are faced with a network comprising of HP Server Blades, Cisco Routers, Switches & Firewalls and F5 Load Balancers. Cisco’s rhetoric with partners is focused on providing solutions across the entire network infrastructure, but there’s often a need to have a multi-vendor approach to the network lifecycle. Offering solutions in Unified Communications & Collaboration, Wireless or Security is part of the business model for most IT Professional Services organisations, but if the solution offered is Certified Cisco Engineers, that’s not recognised – only hardware/software is a recognised solution, not people.

Hannah Breeze in a recent CRM article wrote that Cisco admitted their current partnership model & annual audits “Caused Partners a lot of hassle” and that the overwhelming consensus from existing Cisco partners asked Cisco to “Ease Up”. Enduring annual audits and submitting 10 customer satisfaction survey results twice annually soon starts to take a toll on your employees, time and capital.

 

You Don’t Need Tin To Win

Cisco Systems are market leaders in the provision of networking hardware, but not everyone wants or benefits from selling it. For a company specialising in Professional Services the lure of a 1-2% profit margin when selling hardware vs the profit margins available on deploying Engineers, making the decision to “bin the tin” is a no-brainer. Of course Cisco hardware is essential for the provision of Cisco Engineers, clients continuously demand the best networking hardware, and Cisco duly obliges. However for a specialist Professional Services Company, selling hardware is simply an exercise in generating revenue rather than profits – vanity over sanity.

Power to the People

Cisco Systems Inc. is renowned for their market leading position in the provision of networking equipment, their innovations with smart cities and the Internet of Everything – but the key strength of Cisco is their people. No other vendor offers qualifications held in such high-regard across international borders, everyone knows and values Engineers with a CCNA, CCNP or CCIE certification. Cisco Certified Engineers have an excellent understanding of multiple vendors, their equipment and the network infrastructure – all a result of the quality of training and examination needed to earn a Cisco Certification.

Regardless if you offer Professional Services, Managed Services or Networking Solutions, the essential ingredient is Cisco Engineers – the people. As an organisation Cisco Systems create their own industry – distributors selling hardware, colleges selling certifications and partners selling Finance & Services. Diversification and growth is achieved through careful acquisitions and Cisco is a darling of the NYSE – their plans for the future are solid. However a plan is useless without successful implementation and this is where Cisco excels. Achieving the vision of the future with the Internet of Everything, hardware needs to be installed and maintained, Consultants need to design networks and the Cisco wheels need to keep churning – There is no future without Cisco Engineers.

Sitting on the Fence

For organisations choosing to specialise in Professional Services, sitting on the fence may be the best strategy to adopt. Becoming a Cisco Partner may result in dangerous levels of exposure, too many employees, too much capital expenditure or being forced to adopt a precarious infrastructure that lacks the flexibility to respond to market demands. Therefore by electing to be a Cisco-centric company, but not becoming a partner ensures continued success. If close affiliates to Cisco can create and prove a profitable business model, with exponential growth which is outside the realms of their partnership criteria, then reciprocation is needed to establish a functioning partnership.

The purpose of this blog article is to open up debate surrounding the Cisco partnership model. Do you think Professional Services as a business model can work without being a Cisco partner? If you’re a Cisco partner what would you recommend? Feel free to comment on this article – musings, rants and opinions are all welcome.

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