The Next Profitability Challenge: Enterprise Cloud

The dichotomy: custom orders versus economies of scale

However, the enterprise services business is becoming more complex. Managed services are no longer just about the network, having moved from network-based services like multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) and VoIP to the outsourcing of software and services via the cloud and software-as-a-service (SaaS).

Enterprises are not only outsourcing routine work, but also more complex tasks, giving service providers the opportunity to deliver end-to-end cloud solutions. This requires a comprehensive and integrated approach to the systems that design and deliver end-to-end enterprise solutions — they must now combine software and services on top of network and data-center infrastructure equipment.

The end-to-end solutions also include elements such as edge and premises equipment. Plus, these solutions need to embrace the networks that enterprises already have in place as well as the growing number of functions being provided by partners.

In contrast to the consumer market, enterprise and cloud solution designs are unique to each customer, making them a market-of-one situation. Service providers must deal with many variables, including a wide range of vendors, complex technology and configuration options and customer requirements for both today’s networks and those of the future. Added to the mix is a multitude of service possibilities, an expanding partner ecosystem and phased projects. The challenge is to address this complexity while making unique, compelling designs and proposals that win deals.

But enterprise services won’t be profitable unless they can also take advantage of economies of scale. What’s required is to rapidly create designs that meet the customer’s unique needs and can flow through the provisioning process without error.

Still in the dark ages

So what’s the starting point for this transformation to an efficient presales organization? Believe it or not, in many companies the presales environment for enterprise sales has changed little in the last 15 or 20 years. It’s still a manual mess of Visio diagrams, spreadsheets and hand-drawn architectures tailored to each product and sometimes to each customer.

Since the design and proposal process depends on individuals with expertise in specific technologies and customer networks, keeping such specialized information up to date and making sure your company’s sales team is using the latest information is an organizational challenge.

These manual presales processes create inefficiency and the potential for errors. They also lengthen time-to-market significantly and have a direct impact on the profitability of services sold to enterprises.

The opportunity

Time-to-market is the most compelling service-provider business imperative today; the ability to respond quickly and accurately to an enterprise customer’s requirements is key. Taking two weeks to generate a proposal, another two weeks to process changes from the customer, and factoring in multiple provisioning attempts prior to implementation opens the door to integrators and other competitors who can move faster.

Accelerated time-to-market involves utilizing automation to ensure accuracy and increase productivity while at the same time taking all the customer’s requirements into consideration.

The challenges are:

• streamlining go-to-market and new product introductions;
• bundling equipment, services and applications with best practices and provisioning rules;
• differentiating your organization with a unique customer experience and integrated solutions;
• quickly and accurately handling numerous “what if” iterations;
• automating processes and knowledge retention;
• improving presales throughput.

Sprint has successfully made this transition through leadership and a willingness to let go of its old ways of doing business.