AppleInsider is reporting that 2010 looks like a rebound year for desktop machines. Not as sexy a market right now as note/netbooks but the interesting thing is that Apple is poised to sell one in four of those desktops. Why? Basically its because Apple is providing a better machine for less money now. Those are my words, the article says: “In his report Wednesday, Cihra offered comments of praise to this end, backslapping the Mac maker for remaining in control of its own product and pricing schedules. This has allowed the company to maintain much higher overall ASPs (average selling prices) than its peers while still delivering more affordable prices to its customers.”
Basically what hes saying is that although Apple still sells its computers for more than most competitors, the prices of PCs have dropped continually. I think theres a lot more to that of course, but the takeaway is that the trend is a growing Macintosh presence. Cool.
More than ever, we rely on our computers and supporting equipment to run our businesses. I know that’s pretty obvious and a total understatement to be sure, but the negative impact of our technology, when it fails, cannot be overstated. At Think Fixed, we receive calls every day from users across a wide spectrum of businesses who have some sort of emergency: Email not working, can’t print, internet outage, computer slow or crashed. The list goes on and here’s the thing: they are all critical.
Most likely none of this happens to you, but you probably know some affected business or user. We have come to realize that offering services that only react to problems as they arise (referred to as “break-fix) is akin to your dentist just pulling teeth and filling cavities without lecturing you about brushing, flossing and the general badness sugar does to your teeth (referred to as “malpractice”). And heres the thing: Its more painful and more costly. In fact, it is probably the most expensive support plan you could buy.
What then should a business expect as appropriate “tech support”? Consider again the dentist analogy: Does anyone really want cavities? Quite the opposite: We want at the very least a mouth of teeth that don’t hurt. So we perform daily routines and regular visits to prevent that. Expect that from your support team/person. Expect good advice. Expect to be challenged and expect to sleep better at night. Otherwise, whats the point of all that money spent?
Tech support needs to be a more holistic term. It must encompass people and culture as well as ones and zeroes. It absolutely needs to look ahead while keeping an eye on the present. And it means preventing, not reacting. In short, it is a partnership with a business that goes well beyond understanding the technical.
Large companies long ago figured out that this “reactive” support was more costly than “proactive” support and further realized that proactive can cover a wide range of tasks. Being on the fully managed side of things actually reaped them greater margins.
But what is a small company to do? Is it possible that a small group can actually afford a management plan? Surely the costs are prohibitive. Possibly. What Think Fixed and others are trying to bring is unlimited support at a flat monthly fee and are sometimes referred to as “Managed Service Providers (MSP)”. It is not perfect for everyone. But businesses who get the “all you can eat” plan, find that it’s less costly than hiring an in house staff member AND it pays for itself through the prevention of a single incident, whether it’s data loss (bad backup), a system failure, theft or noncompliance with software licensing or legal requirements. Often business owners don’t even know the extent to which they are vulnerable.
We are just tired of repeatedly kicking our clients in the head (and wallet) under the guise of “saving” them. Yes, the money is better (a LOT better), but it comes at the expense of strong, longstanding relationships. If we do our job, our clients don’t have many emergencies and can use their “down time” to complete projects and upgrades instead of feel beaten by something that could be prevented.
Ask yourself: Would you rather spend less money on reactive support or slightly more on inclusive and proactive services? Interested in changing the way you use your technology? Call me. Let’s determine, together, whether or not this is something that addresses your needs.
Geof Bowie
geof(at)thinkfixed(dot)com
866.674.0325
Unlimited Mac Support at a Flat Monthly Rate. Available Nationwide.
