Below we’ll explore why vCIO’s have become such a vital part of the current information technology landscape, their roles & responsibilities and whether using one is right for your business. Virtual CIOs not only bring in years of skill, knowledge and IT experience into a business, but utilizing them can also present a major cost saving. Understanding how sales and pricing plays a role will help you and your customers get the most out of your vCIO offering.A vCIO appeals to business owners in many ways. While many MSPs are familiar with the vCIO role, they may not be well acquainted with its responsibilities and the process itself. With one, MSPs are more likely to have happier clients and teams, and increased profitability all around. Your vCIO should focus strategic planning efforts on the first two groups first (worry about the last bucket later in the year).Īll new clients start with the vCIO process during on-boarding. When taking on a vCIO role with a client, ensure there’s a process in place. Divide them into three buckets: A, B, C (best, average and worst). (Imagine running a helpdesk without a ticketing system?)īefore developing strategic plans, rank your current clients. Without tools, vCIOs are operating less efficiently than peers. There are vCIO tools on the market (for instance, Strategy Overview), so use them. There are solutions MSPs can use to assist their vCIOs with setting goals.ģ. To kick-start the vCIO process (the strategic planning process), find someone within your business who will be your vCIO.Ģ. How to Add vCIO to Your OfferingĮvery MSP should do strategic planning with clients.ġ. You get to see your competitors’ rates and packages, so you can price yours to be just under competitor pricing. It’s a standard practice in most industries, and as long as you're doing it fairly, then it’s perfectly above water. Here’s what you can do to get around that: Get three quotes, and if yours is the best rate and fit for the client, then it’s perfectly fine. On one side, it’s great a vCIO can promote his managed services to a client, but here’s the thing: You can't be an impartial vCIO if you're selling the services you’re budgeting for. How Do You Price vCIO?Ī virtual CIO charges according to either an hourly rate or a flat fee.īasically, the consulting rate is multiplied by the expected workload per month. When working will smaller clients, you can add a vCIO service to one of your bundles and conduct a quarterly vCIO meeting, where you can advise the client on their IT strategy. Besides other responsibilities, these clients often rely on vCIOs for strategic technology planning.Ī vCIO can help SMBs be more proactive. Other businesses use MSPs to support their CIOs and internal IT teams.Īs far a size, typically, larger clients with in-house support consider using vCIOs. Some businesses contract MSPs to act as their CIOs. There are a couple of reasons companies hire MSPs to be their vCIOs. Possible conflict of interests as vCIO is supposed to put clients' interests above MSP’s interests.Sometimes, you are told you are given autonomy to decide but in reality, you have to pass it by the boss.You can promote the services of your MSP to a client.You get to add immense value to your client's business, and your client gets a trusted advisor in you. By becoming a virtual CIO, you move into the boardroom as a key decision maker.Why an MSP Should/Should not Offer vCIO Pros Some MSPs stay away from using the "vCIO" word but do what a trusted advisor does: helping a client with planning, assisting with decision making, looking out for their interests. A vCIO is a person who fills a strategic role for an organization regarding information technology. MSPs take care of operational tasks, they fix the current IT problems. Build relationships with all key vendors that play a role in the business' technology stack.Speak to clients regarding large technical issues/incidents.Keep business owners/executives aware of compliance requirements with suggestions and plans for adhering to them.Become a business owner/executives go-to for ideas for the business, as IT will more than likely be involved.Keep the company aware of technological trends relevant to their industry.Remain aware of the business' goals as to propose relevant technology solutions to accomplish them.Meet monthly/quarterly/annually to keep management aware and involved in IT evolution as the company grows.Plan the technology roadmap for the next period.
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