Since taking this session, we’ve found many MSPs keep our Bucket Theory in mind when managing their customers and we’re pleased we made it easier to recall upon when needed.

If you would like a copy of the leaflet that audience members received please drop us an email or comment below.

Amidst the preparations for our end of year, Christmas, and New Year, was also our planning for our wedding. That’s not to say that the whole company found a new loophole in the legal system and got married together (hmm… doesn’t bear thinking about…) but me and the better half decided to tie the knot. I’m sure you’ll appreciate that there was a fair amount of work leading up to it and also a little bit of tying off afterwards.

Kris and Sarah were an amazing team whilst I was otherwise distracted and our clients have been equally understanding. I guess it helps following in their footsteps… a little empathy doesn’t hurt anyone!

But post-wedding, well, things got a little tough, lots of our guests fell ill with a nasty bug that had us incapacitated this week. It’s only now as most of us are recovering that most of us have realised that the silver lining of being incapacitated in this way has allowed us to realise how much of our work didn’t need to be acted upon as quickly as we had previously made it out to be. In fact, quite a lot of it, given that it had to wait and didn’t fall apart because we didn’t immediately react shows that we all probably have to go back and reset our expectations of who we are as professionals. We can’t all be superheros.

Realising our email habits and how we manage them has changed over time is extremely healthy for our mindset and stress levels. Many emails find their way to our inbox because the sender needs it out of theirs. Once it’s ‘delegated’ it is one less task for them to focus on so they can move onto the next. And behind those emails are people who accept that humans aren’t robots and occasionally need a life and therefore time to be out of the loop. Once we realise that (usually as a result of a chat or two), things seem a little less easier and the stress metre can go back into the green zone.

If you find yourself becoming a slave to your emails this year, make sure that you take a step back to avoid exploding. Just because you open your emails as soon as you open your eyes in the morning doesn’t mean you’re productive or setting a healthy example to everyone else. Don’t get bogged down by emails and sacrifice time away from the mobile/laptop/PC where you can sit and think up new ideas or solve gritty problems. You don’t need to write it down or set a reminder on your calendar, just have it in the back of your mind to do it every so often when you feel like you’re drowning in email.

Whilst I don’t recommend contracting gastric flu to really grasp this point, do realise the type of relationship you have with emails and don’t let it stop you managing your workload productively. Having a good methodology about managing your email will be a good start to helping you achieve a prosperous 2012.

Further reading: ‘Are You Hiding Behind Email?’ – by Richard Tubb

In the early days, there were a lot of ‘teething’ issues both in terms of how to ‘be’ a business and also regarding making that switch from a one-woman-entity to a company where we employ people.

2011 has been wonderful to us, and whilst we may not have grown to the same degree others had hoped we would, we’ve been careful not to open the oven door too quickly and deflate our delicate soufflé.

I’m extremely grateful to those around me who have helped me along the way – many have given me positive experiences to learn from but I’ve also valued the negative times where I’ve learned that little bit more about myself.

Two years ago I was told by a friend of mine that my business idea wouldn’t last longer than a year and on reflection, I think he did it to provoke further drive in me. We joke about it now and it’s so wonderful to hear how proud he is of me – especially as he was a catalyst in getting me to the point where I’m reflecting on two years.

With a wedding just around the corner I know that 2012 will kick off in our usual fashion of being busily creative and on the whole I’m really chuffed to be in that position. The company (yes, ‘the company’) is now three strong with Kris joining in October and Sarah starting today – both have very different qualities that they bring to the company and I look forward to seeing them take the company on to a level that I couldn’t do alone.

With two years under my belt despite the economic pressures we’ve faced over this time, I know we have something great to communicated to those around us. I know what our contribution to the Channel’s mindshare is of value to those we touch and I can only look forward to making many new connections in the next year as well as strengthening those that we already treasure.

Now, where’s my slice of chocolate cake?

That’s right – THE CLOUD!

I’ve been thinking a lot about what is being said at the moment, so have collated my random thoughts below, which are aimed at organisations thinking about adopting a Cloud strategy, so hope you enjoy the read…

Do I need a Cloud strategy?

There is no mistaking it that Cloud is the big talking point of the moment and is here to stay. Although Cloud has been around for a long time in many shapes and forms, it is really coming to the forefront, especially with customers looking to reduce their IT spend.

You will probably already have customers asking you about Cloud services, so in all likelihood it is something you cannot ignore, as you may face the risk of losing the customer. You may not even lose your customer to a direct competitor but to an organisation that already has an established Cloud strategy and game plan.

There are lots of things to consider when entering into a Cloud model, which will be addressed further down, but the main things to consider is what will happen to my business if I don’t look at Cloud seriously and can I continue my current business model and remain a success. The answer is sometimes not so simple and can depend on, for example, whether you are a lifestyle business or you have some big growth plans.

Regardless, Cloud needs to be discussed within your organisation, even to see if it the right fit for you.

Do my customers need Cloud?

Most people will say yes they do but this isn’t always the right approach. As with selling anything, the main question you need to ask is “What exactly does my customer need?” Solutions need to be sold on the business benefits to the customer, rather than the technical specs or functionalities or even the method it will be delivered.

Therefore, sometimes the Cloud isn’t always the right solution. Take for example, a customer who is in an area where the Broadband services doesn’t allow the bandwidth for a Cloud solution. Would you sell them a service that doesn’t meet their needs, simply because they ask for it or the industry is telling you to?

I also don’t think that on-premise services are dead and buried, as it is dependent on lots of factors. Cloud services equate to around 15% of IT spend but everyone is forgetting about the 85% that isn’t. Last time I checked 85% was still bigger than 15%!

Although the shift to Cloud services is increasing, there are still other options available to your customers.

If you can propose an on-premise solution and services to a customer based on meeting their business needs and you can justify the spend and ROI to the customer, then any sensible MD, IT or Finance Director should take you seriously.

There will though be instances where a Cloud or hybrid solution, will be best option for the customer, at which point you have to look at how you can deliver.

How will it affect my business?

Cloud is a way of both delivering and selling a service that is very different from the traditional model. To be successful you will have to change the way you do business significantly and is the first hurdle most organisations face.

A change in mind-set is needed from the top down and if it is a direction the organisations is taking, then you need people who both understand and are on-board with the idea.

There’s is no doubt that it will affect your profit and loss, as upfront investment is needed in terms of training and marketing but also in terms of what you get back. Cloud is a long term, volume sell and it may be that you don’t see the returns until up to a year down the line.

How will it enhance my business?

Having Cloud offerings will mean you are meeting an obvious demand in the market. Not having one, could run the risk of losing customers and business to other organisations but should it be the core of your business or an additional service?

It could be an additional service, as there is still money to be made from other services but it should make an organisation feel more comfortable and secure in knowing they can deliver Cloud solutions, on top of their other service offerings.

Having a Cloud offering can open up new avenues for an organisation, in terms of winning new business and making new partnerships, within the Channel.

The important question to ask is “How I am different from all the others now offering a Cloud solution?”

How will it affect my bottom line?

There is no question that initially it will affect your bottom line. You will have to invest in training your internal staff, marketing your new offerings, buying or renting the necessary equipment, which could all prove to be a significant cost.

Also, most organisations are used to getting all the money upfront. With that they pay the wages, the bills and other overheads. The accountants know how much money is coming in and out, and are happy (well as happy as an accountant can get!)

Moving to a Cloud model, changes that completely. You will have to wait several months to get a return on the investment, but at which point your outgoings haven’t changed.

If an organisation wants to enter into the Cloud model, they will need a nice chunk of money in the bank to cover the initial disruption to the business.

How will I compensate my sales staff?

This is a very big question amongst Sales Directors and often a difficult one to address. As a former Sales Manager at Microsoft, I used to get my account managers to take the cost for a month and multiply it by 12 for the year, to get the value on which I would pay them.

Was that the right way? Difficult to say, as the risk with this method was that the customer could downscale at any point, which means the value goes down but you have already paid the account manager already.

Other solutions would be to do it on a monthly basis but the problem here is that the size of a hosted solution is relatively small and at Microsoft, we didn’t track such small opportunities. Also, there is the admin overhead of the sales person adding a new opportunity every month into the CRM tool.

Taking this method, does mean that the sales person will constantly have to find new business each month, to ensure the size of their bonus increases with each monthly annuity. The risk here is at the point where they have enough customers paying monthly; they could then get lazy to hunt new business.

Also, if you have sales people, who are used to selling a service where they get paid up front, where is the incentive for them to push a Cloud solution? One way to overcome this would be to have two sales teams, one still pushing traditional offerings and one pushing Cloud ones, but you may have some internal competition and conflict.

What will be my go-to-market strategy?

This is quite an important factor to consider. Do I go to my current customer base and offer them my new and exciting Cloud proposition? Yes, if it’s right for them but it may affect your business in terms of current support contracts or on-going projects.

You may also encounter some dissatisfaction with recent customers, where you have just sold a solution and now you are pushing a different method, so you need to be clear about who you are targeting, potentially customers who haven’t done any business with you in while.

The other question is how do you win new business? This goes back to how you will differentiate yourself from the other Cloud players. What will be your USP? That could be the knowledge or skills you can wrap around the services, it could be on price or on what business challenges you can solve for the customer, and therefore how you deliver it doesn’t matter.

Who will I partner with?

Some of the things you need to consider with regards to Cloud are, will I offer the services myself or will I use a hosting partner.

The cost of having data centres (and having more than one is needed for redundancy) is a big cost and on-going overhead, so needs to be considered carefully.

Most times, working with a Partner is the easiest way to go, although it will affect your bottom line in what you have to pay that Partner. However, if you are starting out, then that cost will outweigh the complications of doing it yourself.

How do I sustain it long term?

The important way to sustain it long term is pretty obvious – grow your sales. The more customers that you have paying monthly, the more it will allow you maintain your business. The risk is, with Cloud, customers can be fickle and can change provider at the drop of a hat, usually based on price.

The other important thing to remember is not to ignore the other parts of your business, as this can still be your bread and butter and I believe there will (for now) still be a place in the market for both on-premise and Cloud solutions.

(Credits to Richard Tubb, as some of my thinking has spun out from his excellents presentations. Check him out here – http://www.tubblog.co.uk/)

If you have never heard of CompTIA (although I hope most of you have!), they are a not-for-profit organisation that brings together the IT community through their membership programme, as well as, providing industry standard certifications for IT workers.

On top of that, they are also a great bunch of people to work with and have some smart minds working in the background, to provide excellent resources for organisations.

On 8^th and 9^th November, CompTIA had their big annual event at the Hilton London Metropole on Edgware Road. The 8^th was a Community Day for members of CompTIA, whilst the 9^th was their EMEA event, both of which had the CompTIA executives over from the US.

The 8^th November, also happened to be my Birthday, so I had lots of people wishing me a Happy Birthday on the day!

Most of the hard work for organising the event has to go to Stephanie Meadows at CompTIA but Purple Cow Ideas were working away in the background assistance with certain side projects.

We were tasked with helping CompTIA gather feedback on the Community Day, to look at how the membership programme is adding value to the members and whether any changes need to be made.

I also had the pleasure of interviewing several members, to get their take on what being a CompTIA member meant to them, which was also filmed by Tom Liszka from CompTIA.

The interviews are going to be edited into short segments to help promote CompTIA membership but a short snippet was played at the opening of the EMEA event and can also be found here (courtesy of Richard Tubb):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnSUcoY-Pqc&feature=youtu.be

The feedback from the Community event was that it was the best so far and the members got lots out useful industry information from it, as well as discussing business challenges and sharing best practice.

At the EMEA Member Conference, Susanne was also on her usual form and did an excellent presentation on Successful Business Growth Strategies (there was also free chocolate on offer!).

You can see photos from both the days on CompTIA’s Facebook page at the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10150391155688184.380103.289792633183&type=3

It has been a great experience working with CompTIA and I hope I have the pleasure of working with them again in the future!

P.S If any of you are interested in becoming a CompTIA member you can contact Joel Faugh, who works at CompTIA, on 0207 330 6072.

Here’s a copy of what you should have received:

“Dear Partner,

Every year, we look at the various components of the Microsoft Partner Network to ensure our partners get the best value from our benefits. We are happy to inform you that we have now added Microsoft Office Multipack 2010 and Microsoft Windows MultiPoint Server (WMS) 2011 Premium to the list of software you get as a competency partner. We have also increased Channel Incentive benefits such as Solution Incentives to reward partners for driving sales of specific Microsoft solutions. In addition, Gold competency partners will now have access to a Tele-Partner-Account Specialist to help with your benefit utilization, incentive program participation and competency requirements amongst other topics. At the same time, we would like to emphasize the value of the online benefits available to you free of charge as Microsoft continues to focus and invest more in our cloud strategy.

More partners are nowadays downloading the valuable Internal Use Rights (IUR) benefits online rather than requesting physical media shipped through the mail. We encourage accessing IUR benefits digitally because partners can receive their assets faster, more accurately, manage consumption better and this is free of charge. Now may be a great time to “go digital” if you haven’t already!

Choosing digital distribution provides you:

• Flexible access: 24×7 availability.
• Quicker access: Download updates the moment they’re made available—no need to wait for a quarterly shipment of software.
• Improved software benefits management: Add or remove users and manage their access to downloads, keys, and a license statement.
• Reduced carbon footprint: Help reduce negative environmental impact by decreasing the amount of waste from manufacturing, shipping, and disposing of disc kits.

As a result of these updates, we will make an adjustment to the media and membership fee in January 2012. For further details, please contact your local partner marketing Manager, check your local online partner portal or call your Regional Service Center. In the future, any price revisions will be made annually in October.

Next time you renew your Microsoft Partner Network membership or decide to purchase an additional benefit toolkit, you will be prompted to select to “download only” software; however, you will still have the option to select physical media, if you decide you want to receive the physical distribution of media.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership.

Signed

The Microsoft Partner Network Team”

January is but a matter of weeks away so it’s time to think long and hard about the current strength of your relationship with Microsoft.

Unfortunately, this is a generic message and has not been signed by your actual Partner Account Manager so if you don’t know who yours is, you may want to check using the hyperlinks given by MS above.

Microsoft used to have a really strong presence when it came to Partner Programmes and that came from the way in which Partners and the Corporation interacted. Simply walking away is one option, but if you believe that your feedback even if it is to tell them honestly what you think of these latest revisions will be heard, then please say something to them because they need to hear it if they’re ever going to create anything that is of value to both sides of the relationship.

And in the meantime, why not have a look at the other strengthening Partner Programmes that exist out there courtesy of more agile, transparent, and energised organisations. You may find your money is better invested elsewhere…

I had recently just got back from Italy, after doing a stint there as an English Language teacher, as well as fitting in having a baby (well my fiancée did most of that but I am a very hands-on dad!)

My aim when I got back to England, was to go back into a Sales role but fate would have it that I got in contact with Susanne (actually to see if she knew of any roles in the industry, especially with all the contacts Susanne has!).

However, after a great pitch by Susanne, I just couldn’t resist taking on this unique opportunity with Purple Cow, and now I am part of the team!

I am two weeks in and it has been an interesting start. I have been to a few events already and heard lots on the cloud (surprise, surprise!)

I have to say I was a little disappointed, as it would have been good to hear about what else is going on in the industry, especially about opportunities outside of the cloud (and I don’t think I am the only one who shares this opinion)

I also went to two Microsoft Partner briefings and was a strange experience, being ex-MS, to be looking in from the outside!

I did get to catch up with some familiar faces and also met some new ones, to introduce myself under my new Purple Cow badge.

There’s also lots of exciting things coming up on the horizon, with some nice projects on the go, which I am excited to be a part of.

So watch this space and be warned – the Purple Cows are out of the field and are on the move!

Seth’s recent book release ‘We Are All Weird‘ has been recently covered by Mitch Joel in one of his podcasts which we recommend you have a listen to. Yes, it’s about marketing but it’s relevant to businesses from any industry that are trying to shake the trappings of conformity.

If you believe that just because you’re the age and sex you are, doesn’t mean you’ll like a certain type of food and a certain type of fashion, then this is a great book to read and provoke further thought.

Just have a pen and paper to hand because it’s guaranteed you’ll have an explosion of ideas you’ll immediately want to implement into your business.

Enjoy the podcast and if you do get the book we’d love to hear what you thought.

The Partner Business Briefings will take place in four locations across the UK:

Birmingham (18th October),

London (20th October),

Manchester (1st November),

and Edinburgh (3rd November).

Following the Partner Business Briefing structure of a morning Executive keynote and technology showcase, they will then have two rounds of track sessions by technology or big bet, giving partners the opportunity of attending more than one big bet session. Microsoft will then run a final round of track sessions by partner type.

AGENDA

09:00 Registration

09:30 Executive Keynote

10:30 Technology Showcase

12:00 Win the DataCentre | Relise the Future of Productivity | Win the Database /Consumarisation of IT | Cloud

13:00 Lunch and Expo

14:00 Same mix as 12:00 but obviously you can pick something else

15:00 Break

15:15 SIs and VARs | ISVs / Dynamics, MPN Masterclass

17:00 End

Previously, it’s been very easy for Microsoft Partners to turn up and just listen to what’s being said – this in my view is a waste of everyone’s time since a lot of the information can be gleaned from online resources or simply picking up the phone and asking the very people presenting. Instead, it would be great if those in attendance used the time constructively i.e. if you aren’t getting any value as a partner then use the opportunity to tell someone and resolve it. It’s also a great networking opportunity, a bit like your local monthly IT Professional Group meeting but with a bunch of unfamiliar faces who you can learn from.

For more information and to register, click here (secure link available to Microsoft Partners only).

It is estimated that around 7% of the UK’s population is affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) every winter between September and April (particularly the chillier months of December to February). Even for the other 93%, getting up on a dark morning and returning home from work in the dark can really be a mental drain on you after a while and can negatively impact your life and work and in the home.

According to SADA, there are a few key symptoms that are linked to SAD:

• Depression
• Sleep problems
• Lethargy
• Over eating (NB: anyone with a poor diet does not have the right to blame it on SAD)
• Loss of concentration
• Social problems
• Anxiety
• Loss of Libido
• Mood changes

Whilst many in the list above could also be symptomatic of some other problem (please seek the advice of a qualified medical practitioner if you aren’t sure), one of the easiest ones shown that you can quickly and positively affect is the amount of sleep you are/aren’t getting.

There are a few nifty pieces of gadgetry that you might want to consider purchasing before weather realises it’s put summer and autumn in the wrong order this year and here are some you might want to consider:

Pure Twilight: No, nothing to do with moody teenagers stomping around woods and turning into rabid monsters. I’m starting off with this one because we have been using one for the last few weeks and it’s made a real difference to our early morning starts. Interestingly, it’s built on a Linux O/S but you can only update the firmware using a Windows O/S (well I found it interesting) using the USB connection. You can also flip between DAB radio, their own selection of relaxing sounds, or you could really push the boat out by plugging in your iPod/MP3 player and listening to wherever your mood takes you.

The best thing about this clock is that the light gradually gets brighter so that you’re not yanked out of a deep sleep and clambering around for the snooze button. We also like the touch sensitive light and the knowledge the manufacturer will keep tweaking it.

It’s not the cheapest around but the price tag reflects the quality. You might be lucky like we were to find a returned one on Amazon (other online stores available).

Find out more about it (including some lovely animations) here.

Philips Wake-Up Light: If we didn’t buy Pure’s version we would have ended up getting this one. The functionality is pretty much the same but it comes with less wake-up sounds (yes, I wanted more than four) although the halogen lamp is replacement (not sure Pure’s can be).

Philips have a great range to chose from so it’s worth having a look around and paying particular attention to what the customer reviews say.

Find out more about Philips’ range of lights here.

Energy Lights: Now, I couldn’t not mention these a) because I know of a friend who swears by this type of technology and b) because this woman is looking just so darned cheery because of it! Seriously though, the examples shown above are lights that get brighter or dimmer based on a timer. What these are are effectively light boxes specifically designed to help SAD sufferers cope better.

Earlier this year, the BBC broadcast a programme focussing on the importance of sleep and how a trick of the light can both wake you up and keep you asleep. It also talked about the importance ensuring we still receive the right amount of vitamin D to keep us on form.

Philips have two models available as do Sunrise System, Sunny and Diamond. In fact there are a fair few options for you if this is something you want to seriously consider. It’s well worth shopping around and asking a few people who own them about their experiences.

Just don’t leave the decision making too long, someone said there’s snow on it’s way for October and for those who do struggle with work when the nights draw in, it’s something that could positively affect their state of mind.