3 Benefits of The Cloud for System Integrators

The role of System Integrators has been considered vital in the era of digital transformation. With their skills and expertise in incorporating siloed systems in a company into a single coordinated system with joined databases and data sources, they have enabled companies to operate more effectively and efficiently and, finally, gain more revenue. 

However, a lot of aspects in today’s System Integrators’ work are different from those in the past. The inevitable changes have been stimulated by various life-changing technological advances, including cloud computing. Despite various assumptions that it will replace System Integrators, cloud computing might just do the opposite. In fact, the cloud has created an opportunity for System Integrators to offer service-oriented solutions to their clients as a new business model. Based on this understanding, a lot of System Integrators agree that leveraging the cloud is about adding more value to the business.

Let’s dig deeper and look at three advantages the cloud offers to System Integrators.

Convenience and Efficiency
The cloud offers the ability to remotely perform maintenance tasks — administer system upgrades, fixes, health checks, and settings adjustments — and automate them. With the help of the cloud, System Integrators will be able to reduce repetitive manual tasks and free up some of their time, increasing work convenience and efficiency. What’s more, instead of hiring more technicians to serve more sites and a bigger client base, today’s System Integrators can leverage the power of the cloud to address the needs of their clients using fewer resources. How does it affect clients? Cost-effectiveness, of course. By significantly reducing the extra cost for personnel, System Integrators can offer their clients lower prices. For example, they won’t need to charge their clients with additional personnel fees every time new upgrades and services come out and need to be installed.

Faster and Smarter Problem Solving Option
Besides automating maintenance tasks, the cloud also helps System Integrators by providing them with the necessary data and capabilities to keep sites running smoothly. By using a cloud-based system to manage a site, System Integrators will quickly receive a real-time notification whenever a problem occurs, potentially before the client even notices a disruption in service. They can then identify the issue and determine whether it can be resolved remotely or requires a technician to be deployed. By having the capacity to identify service needs and make certain adjustments remotely via the cloud, System integrators can streamline their customer service processes and lower their response times to provide better and more efficient service.

Stable Recurring Business and Revenue
As managed services are typically offered on a subscription basis — meaning recurring monthly revenue, this business model generates more stable and predictable income streams which are useful for a business that seeks to scale faster. Cloud managed services also create an opportunity for a service and technology to be purchased together, helping to generate a higher gross profit margin from the beginning of the customer relationship. What’s more, subscription based managed services are especially attractive for small and medium enterprises. The growing number of SMEs means more clients for System Integrators.

To summarize, the cloud might seem like a thread to System Integrators, but with the right treatment, it can be a powerful tool. To succeed in the era of the cloud, System Integrators need to take the leap and start adapting —  moving to a business value consulting role, evolving to be advisors to clients, and harnessing the power of the cloud to serve clients.