Data Resolution
IT Company Expands Services to Include Telephony, Finds Cross-Sell Opportunity
Partner: Data Resolution
Web Site: www.dataresolution.net
Partner Size: 15
Country or Region: United States
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Partner Profile
Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner Data Resolution has 15 employees and provides a range of services, including hosted solutions, to businesses of all sizes. The company places emphasis on offering affordable and effective enterprise-class functionality to small businesses.
Software and Services
- Microsoft® Response Point™
- Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
- Windows® Small Business Server
"I demonstrated Microsoft Response Point phone system software to a company at a Microsoft event, and within 15 minutes they were sold."
Jason Mindte, Software Development Director and CEO, Data Resolution
Company Profile
Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner Data Resolution is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, and has 15 employees. With roots in software development consulting for enterprise businesses, the company has since expanded its services to focus on the needs of small businesses. The company stands by the notion of "enterprise business solutions for small-business budgets," providing hosted enterprise solutions that are toned down and then scaled out, to help distribute the expense of an otherwise high-cost solution between customers.
When bringing enterprise-class functionality to the small-business space, Data Resolution must pay careful attention to project scope. "Small businesses are often on a tight budget and have no room for scope creep and cost overruns," says Jason Mindte, Software Development Director and CEO of Data Resolution. "Our solutions absolutely must align with customer needs from the start."
Although Data Resolution drives significant business through its managed services and hosted solutions, the company prides itself on its ability to provide full-service IT support.
These services span from network installations to helping companies use Microsoft Dynamics™ business management software to establish financial reporting for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.
Business Opportunity
As the Software Development Director and CEO of Data Resolution, Mindte is always on the lookout for new services to provide to customers. When Microsoft announced Microsoft Response Point™ phone system software in early 2007, Data Resolution acted promptly.
"Phone systems are almost always the first buying decision that a new or recently relocated company makes," notes Mindte. "By offering Response Point, we can get our foot in the door with new customers, benefit from cross-sell opportunities, and further establish our reputation as a full-service IT provider."
For Data Resolution, Microsoft Response Point complements the company's drive to provide small businesses with enterprise-class solutions. "Microsoft Response Point provides small businesses with a range of powerful features for only one quarter of the price of other similar phone systems," says Mindte. Such features include integration with Microsoft Office Outlook® messaging and collaboration client, support for both traditional phone service and voice over Internet protocol, the ability to scale up to 50 users with no additional licensing costs, and a voice-activated user interface.
Microsoft Response Point phone system software also integrates seamlessly with Windows® Small Business Server, which is common to many of the customers of Data Resolution. By deploying Microsoft Response Point alongside Small Business Server 2003, Data Resolution can manage Response Point remotely through a VPN, further helping its customers reduce internal IT overhead costs.
Offering Response Point
Adding Microsoft Response Point phone system software as a new line-of-business has been relatively easy for Data Resolution. Says Mindte, "New customers are drawn to Response Point by what I call ‘trust by association'—the trust that is established through the combination of the Microsoft brand name with that of an OEM, such as D-Link." While the software is developed by Microsoft, the base unit and phones are provided by OEMs including D-Link, Quanta, and Aastra.
After receiving training from Microsoft and working with a demo phone unit from Quanta, Data Resolution was ready to offer Response Point to its customers. Since then, Data Resolution has closed two sales and has four to five sales in the pipeline.
"We really just drop-ship Response Point to the customer—it's that easy," says Mindte. "After that, we hold a meeting where we walk the customer through how to create a user, add a phone, back up the system, and set up remote administration. We also offer post-implementation support for any outstanding questions as part of the setup package."
To increase awareness of Microsoft Response Point and drive sales, the company has begun work on www.buyresponsepoint.com, a Web site that includes feature and price comparisons between phone systems targeted at small businesses.
Benefits
By adding Microsoft Response Point phone system software to its portfolio of offerings, Data Resolution has not only added a new line-of-business, but it has also ensured that it meets customers' first needs—first.
Supports Managed Services
The remote administration functionality in Microsoft Response Point pairs well with the company's dedication to providing customers with managed services.
"With Response Point, we can centrally manage a customer's phone system in addition to the other services and technologies that they may rely on us for," says Mindte. "This helps us to become a single point of contact for support issues, and makes supporting our customers much easier."
Generates Cross-Sell Opportunities
Mindte defines Microsoft Response Point phone system software as a "gateway" product, helping the company to drive interest to its other offerings. "I demonstrated Response Point to a company at a Microsoft event, and within 15 minutes they were sold," Says Mindte. "Soon afterwards, they approached us to upgrade their server infrastructure. I got the opportunity to quote them for Small Business Server and a hosted solution, which then opened up a discussion about the benefits of both."
Adds New Lines-of-Business with Little Need for Support
While the features and low price make Microsoft Response Point attractive to customers, the ease of deployment and support make it attractive to IT services firms. "It only takes one to two hours to set up a customer with Response Point—it is essentially plug and play," Says Mindte. "Although revenue is not driven from implementation support, it comes from training support and other value-added services."
Data Resolution is considering future service offerings based on Microsoft Response Point phone system software, such as next-day replacement and backup and restore. The company also plans to bundle Microsoft Response Point with other products as part of its small-business solution offerings. For example, the company plans to write software that will integrate Microsoft Response Point with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, helping to better serve the customer relationship management needs of its clients.
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