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Meeting Customers’ BC/DR Needs and Expectations. Gary Bixler President, Bixler Enterprises. CompTIA Channel Training. About t his Education
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Meeting Customers’ BC/DR Needs and Expectations Gary Bixler President, Bixler Enterprises
CompTIA Channel Training About this Education The content and materials featured in this presentation are the result of a collaborative, CompTIA community-led development effort. An advisory group comprised of channel leaders and technical experts identified training goals and objectives, while education specialists carried out development work based on the insights and information provided by the advisory group and other subject matter experts. About CompTIA CompTIA is the voice of the world's information technology industry. As a non-profit trade association advancing the global interests of IT professionals and companies, we focus our programs on four main areas: education, certification, advocacy and philanthropy.
Module 5: Meeting Customers’ BC/DR Needs and Expectations • Set expectations • Complete, value-added services • Ongoing relationships, ongoing support
Your Unique Value Proposition Make your BC/DR practice your own. • Value is what you do, not the tools you use. • Fine tune delivery to customer needs. • Brand everything you do Formula for channel success • Customize plans, policies, processes and support. • Incorporate vendor templates, but make the offering unique. • Invest in our own intellectual property(applications, processes, services)
Developing Effective Product Packaging Ways to present your practice • Solutions • Services • Professional services
Product Packaging Solutions • Highlight your value-add • Brand reference architectures • Package as new products • Differentiate from competition Services • Stand apart from the crowd • Unique attributes • Differentiating value • Conspicuous branding
Product Packaging Professional Services • Think of professional services as products • Assign brand • Build customer familiarization • Top competitive offerings
Contracts Protecting a client’s business goes beyond technology: • Detailed contractual obligations • Defined customer interactions • Prescribed fee structure Detailing products and services • Title transfers & RMAs • Purchase and sales • Termination and portability Maintaining the agreement • Auditing and contract compliance • Insurance and risk management
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) Frontline operations • Performance is a contractual function • Spell out performance parameters • Prepare terms and conditions Making assurances • Recovery Time Objective • Recovery Point Objective • Recovery Granularity Objective Performance specialization • Custom SLAs vs. standard agreements • Amendments entail risk • Consider red-lining a premium service
Ongoing relationships and support • Keep the fire burning • Focus on recurring arrangements • Strongly leverage the trusted advisor relationship • Work continuing commitments into pricing and contracts
Meeting BC/DR Expectations Conclusions and Recommendations: • Set performance and outcome expectations • Provide complete plans • Emphasize your unique value • Craft detailed performance agreements • Develop ongoing service relationships
Survey http://surveys.comptia.org/s3/edsess
QUIZ http://l.comptia.org/datto
Question 1 Name a key drawback of using vendor-provided reference architectures. • They are difficult to use • They tend to homogenize service providers and limit differentiation • They are not widely available • The technical details are often incomplete
Question 2 Proper packaging of your BC/DR professional service should differentiate your offering, and: • Establish service delivery parameters • Build customer familiarization • Allay client fears • Show strong ties to vendor products
Question 3 Name the contract elements focused on ending the SP/client relationship • Title and warranty • Purchase and sales • Termination and portability • Products and services
Question 4 If a solution provider allows customized SLAs, they should also: • Consider the impact on costs • Evaluate risk exposure • Charge more for the service • All of the above • None of the above