The tech industry is dynamic-you innovate or get left behind, evolve or become obsolete. We’ve seen tech leaders establish the bar only to watch as other disruptive players raise it. So how can you possibly get your arms around that moving target, stay relevant and thrive?
For us it’s always been about listening to the voice of the customer and never letting anything get in the way of that-even profit. We believe that doing the right thing and building relationships leads to stronger and more long-lasting business partnerships.
The Importance of Nurturing Relationships Post-Sale
In the 1970s, companies like IBM designed a business model that really worked, for both the customer and the company. This model recognized the importance of the post sale systems engineer whose job was to understand how customers think and feel, what makes them tick, what services and troubleshooting they need today and in the future. Across the industry everyone seemed to adopt the idea, until a point where another evolution took place and that role became extinct. We took the opposite route.
Although we’ve expanded our portfolio of services offered, we’ve never stopped providing this post-sale support because it’s a critical part of our guiding philosophy.
How Mission Drives Action
What Else Can We Do For You? This is the question we’ve engrained in our culture. We continually ask customers how we can best be of service and help them tackle challenges – both before and after the sale takes place. We use our available resources to address customer needs because we understand the important role that service plays in any relationship.
When organizations hire ViON, we adopt their mission and share the customers’ commitment to do whatever it takes to accomplish that mission. It’s not about profit, it’s about partnership.
What Does Customer Intimacy Mean in Everyday Business?
We’ve been asked to do some pretty crazy things over the years.
One of our larger customers recently experienced a devastating setback: both the transformers and the backup transformers supporting their data center were severely compromised. Seeing our client in this situation pushed us into action – even across the boundaries of the work we typically provide. Our team immediately responded, moving quickly to get not only our own equipment up and running, but the equipment and applications from other vendors as well. Everything was completed within 72 hours. I still remember the letter of thanks we received from this organization. That letter meant the world and still does. It’s philosophy in action – and it’s in our DNA.
This example defines what we mean by “customer intimacy.” It wasn’t about revenue. It was about being the kind of technology provider that can satisfy the customer’s needs, which means creating a culture of listening first and being willing to respond, no matter the request. We’ve embraced that and it’s made all the difference.
Why Listening Leads to Modernization
Today we find ourselves on the cusp of yet another change-up – all based on the customer’s voice. Every era has its calling card: Tape Back-Up, Mainframe, Cloud and now Data Center as-a-Service (DCaaS). But sometimes new challenges emerge just as others are solved.
Customers who want DCaaS enjoy how easy it is to access and introduce new technology to solve their data center modernization problems without having to restructure or refresh existing contracts. But innovation often means more options to consider, decisions to make and technology to manage. As we engaged with our customers, we learned how difficult it is to easily compare solutions for best fit, make an informed decision and manage the Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
So while the DCaaS approach provides access to the best disruptive technology the market has to offer in a flexible financial model, we’ve spent the last few years coming up with a way to make managing this model easier.
Asking our customers about their challenges kick-started the inception of the ViON Marketplace-a place where customers can research, compare, procure and manage solutions, all on one interface. Every facet of the development was grounded in the customer’s needs and the result is a powerful platform that is disrupting the way as-a-Service technology is acquired.
We like to think of the ViON Marketplace as a living testament to years’ worth of learning from our customers. Our customer intimacy focus has remained strong, even when it is no longer an industry trend. It has become a catalyst for innovation – all because we are willing to listen and take action.