The Demand for Cloud Solutions
Small businesses are embracing cloud technology and modern infrastructure solutions. In a recent report, SMB expenditures on cloud solutions leapt up from 38% of their overall technology spend in 2021 to 53% in 2022. This increase indicates that most businesses understand the benefits of operationalizing their technology investments, and adopting Anywhere Operations to support their distributed workforce.
Despite increased emphasis and investments, many established businesses are struggling with the monumental and confusing number of tasks it takes to complete a digital transformation to the cloud. Others who have either adopted cloud early, or made substantial progress, are often unable to fully secure and protect their data or adopt a Zero-Trust framework. Navigating the process with high success begins with identifying the pitfalls and addressing limitations.
Pitfalls and Limiting Factors
While some businesses struggle with where to begin, the primary issue that bogs down most small businesses is the multitude of changes required to bring about a secure transition to the cloud.
A single IT project will not completely transition a business to the cloud, nor secure their existing cloud environment.
Compounding this problem, small business IT projects are typically limited to a short duration because of the cost constraints and perceived risks. IT projects can also require significant capital investment, as most IT service providers require a 50% down payment and the remaining balance paid upon completion.
Furthermore, introducing your teams to significant infrastructure change, while preserving business continuity requires careful attention. Most small business decision-makers have an intuitive understanding of the maximum rate of change their staff and operations can absorb. Many cloud projects involve simply too many configuration changes to reasonably roll into one big change event.
The Solution
These challenges demand a comprehensive solution. Small businesses deserve to fully leverage the benefits of secure cloud services. That’s why Net Friends has designed a contract service that now makes this possible: NetVisor Architect.
NetVisor Architect is a year-long IT Project customized and focused on achieving a core business outcome, such as fully migrating the entire business operations to the Microsoft 365 framework or implementing a Zero-Trust framework.
Our solution brings something most enterprise businesses seek: a fully managed project with dedicated staff who are committed to a sustained, steady, and transformative engagement. Guided by a Master Project Framework, your dedicated Project Coordinator will check-in weekly, fully update your custom Project Plan every month, and stay focused on clear and timely communications.
Our solution also brings something you wouldn’t expect: a low fixed monthly rate with discounts built in if we fail to deliver on the intended business outcomes in a timely or sufficient manner. This lowers your risks and keeps Net Friends laser focused on providing you with results that make a positive impact on your business. This arrangement also helps reinforce our shared commitment to completing your goals to our mutual satisfaction.
Since your solution will be delivered by a mature, SOC 2 Type II audited IT service provider, you can rest assured that your work will be professionally performed by security and compliance trained experts. Furthermore, 100% of our Leadership Team has recently become certified in IT Service Management (via ITIL framework) to ensure high performance throughout the entire service value chain.
Because our project team will be so closely engaged with any customer who has signed up for NetVisor Architect, we ensure they receive a discounted project service rate on any other projects they might take on with us while under contract.
Getting Started with NetVisor Architect
Any existing Net Friends customer already has a Customer Success Manager (CSM) that is actively working on their Technology Roadmap. The CSM will identify and qualify ideal IT environments for this service based on these criteria:
- There is a clear, leadership-backed, business goal
- Improvements to cloud infrastructure and/or security are central to achieving this business goal
- The business has a stakeholder who is passionate about achieving this business goal with us
- Achieving the business goal will take many months and involve delivering multiple requirements
Once these criteria are met, we create a custom Project Plan by adapting proven and known strategies for achieving specific requirements by our trained and certified staff. We calculate a monthly cost based on the resources the Project Plan requires, factoring in discounts unlocked through the NetVisor Architect service contract.
A customer who signs up for NetVisor Architect will enjoy a fixed monthly cost throughout the engagement with no surprise billings or confusion about what success looks like. Our NetVisor Architect customers will enjoy enterprise-grade projects delivered at small business prices.
