 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
 | |||||||||
MSPs Go Global
In today’s competitive marketplace, it is difficult enough for a managed services provider (MSP) to get its business off the ground nationally. Business relationships must be built, services perfected, clients impressed and employees paid. But what steps must an MSP take when it sets its goals higher and aims to do business on an international level?
Jeff Kaplan, managing director at Wellesley, Mass.-based THINKstrategies Inc., said an MSP must make several considerations before it can even begin to contemplate expanding its business internationally. When considering expansion into other geographies, he suggested that an MSP ask itself the following questions:
- What unique services can you offer that will set you apart from local competitors?
- Do you have the right service delivery and management tools and skills to ensure quality services and profitable operations?
- Are you willing to make a long-term commitment to build a successful international business?
With clients worldwide, including more than 100 clients ranging from Fortune 500/Global 2000 corporations to entrepreneurial start-ups, Kaplan understands what it takes to successfully make the shift to international business.
Making the Leap
For MSPs, making the leap from local or national to international business does not happen overnight. It takes much work and patience for an MSP to make a name for itself worldwide. “It is never easy to expand internationally and typically takes time and numerous attempts,” said Kaplan. “It is very likely that (MSPs) will need to make multiple efforts to be fully successful. The key is to not make any serious missteps that significantly damage your corporate image or local relationships long term.” In other words, perseverance and the willingness to learn from previous mistakes are two key ways in which MSPs can eventually succeed on a worldwide level.
To be successful on an international level, Kaplan said MSPs must “hire local managers who thoroughly understand each local market, establish partnerships with leading vendors and channel companies in each region, build a single-service delivery infrastructure to ensure consistent and cost-effective operations and develop consistent operating procedures across worldwide operations to ensure quality services.”
If those steps are followed successfully, the hard work just might pay off. According to Kaplan, “Doing business across multiple regions enables MSPs to better serve their multinational customers, broaden their market opportunities and offset the economic cycles of specific geographies.”
As with all new business ventures, some potential downsides exist to expanding a business to a worldwide customer base. Kaplan said a few of the cons to shifting to international business include the challenges of “managing a dispersed workforce across multiple regions, satisfying the varying customer needs on a region-by-region basis and contending with the local business mores and regulations in each region.”
Of course, what is the point of expanding to a bigger, international level if the service the MSP provides is not considered valuable to the worldwide market? Kaplan said it is important that the MSP understands the value of service it provides. And, along with that service, the MSP should be able to support multinational clients in a consistent, cost-effective fashion.
If an MSP does not understand the challenges of international business it will have a difficult time finding its rightful place in other geographies. Kaplan pointed out that a few of the reasons MSPs do not succeed on an international level include “failure to recognize differing customer preferences or market dynamics across various regions, insufficient management skills and tools to coordinate multinational operations and an unwillingness to make the long-term commitment to build a successful business.” Those may seem like basic rules to follow, but some MSPs are simply unable to make the adjustment.
Understanding the Market
Expanding to a bigger, international market is a major decision for an MSP to make. The company must weigh the aforementioned pros and cons as well as decide whether the services it offers are valuable to customers worldwide. After making those considerations, Kaplan said MSPs must “understand the unique requirements of the specific geographies being targeted, be sure they have the management skills and tools to oversee a multinational operation and establish the right local relationships to build a strong regional presence.”
Email
Print
Mobile