The Ideal Solutions Provider Exemplified

By The Business Solutions Network

Integrating her company’s professional services automation and remote monitoring and management tools was necessary to run a lean, profitable MSP practice, says Beth Burnside, founder and CEO, CMIT Solutions of Erie.

Photo By MenajErie Studio

Just about every VAR, ISV, or MSP we cover in Business Solutions magazine does one or two things well that separates it from its competitors and drives its success. Business Solutions recently published an article, “Building The Ideal Solutions Provider” (see February 2017 issue), that focused on seven key traits the best solutions providers possess. A short summary of that list, in no particular order, includes:

• A lean organization
• A deep understanding of key performance indicators (KPIs)
• A heavy emphasis on automation tools to manage customers
• A process-driven mentality
• A heavy emphasis on offering security and business continuity solutions
• Strong emphasis on the as-a-service sales model
• Custom software development capabilities

While some might think that possessing these traits is reserved for a few behemoth solutions providers, CMIT Solutions of Erie dispels that myth. I recently spoke with Beth Burnside, the company’s founder and CEO, and discovered her company exemplifies all of these traits, and it has only four employees. Fortunately, Burnside was willing to share some of the secrets that have enabled her company to achieve an impressive year-over-year double-digit revenue growth since its inception nearly 10 years ago, including a doubling in revenue between 2011 and 2016, without adding staff.