BlueEdge Consulting

IT Firm Saves Two Hours a Day, Improves Customer Service with Cloud-Based Software

Business Needs:

Kevin Miller launched BlueEdge Consulting in 2003 after spending more than 20 years in corporate IT. He wanted to use what he had learned in setting up and caring for enterprise infrastructures to help small and midsize businesses reduce technology frustrations and costs. “Many small businesses are frustrated with technology,” says Miller, who is the owner, president, and sole employee of BlueEdge Consulting. “They don’t have the time to stay abreast of new technology or the money to keep their technology up-to-date. Consequently, key systems sometimes fail, which is when they call me—not a very efficient way to operate.”

Once I’m using Office 365 fully, it will save me a couple of hours a day in meeting with customers, customizing their SharePoint sites, and locating customer data.

– Kevin Miller
Owner and President, BlueEdge Consulting

When cloud computing—accessing applications and services over the Internet instead of installing them on local computers—became available, Miller shifted his efforts in that direction. “When I first learned about Microsoft Online Services back in 2008, I said, ‘I want to be part of this.’ I was one of the first resellers of the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite in 2008 and today am a member of the Microsoft Cloud Champions Club.”

Although Miller had a growing number of customers using Business Productivity Online Standard Suite, many customers were eager to have more autonomy in administering online services. Customers also wanted an easier way to stay up-to-date on Microsoft Office applications and eliminate the headache of managing an on-premises IT infrastructure.

Solution:

In fall 2010, Miller learned about Microsoft Office 365, a set of email, calendaring, collaboration, and conferencing services combined with Microsoft Office Web Apps. He immediately signed up as a beta user. “Office 365 provides a single portal for doing everything. Microsoft Lync Online combines instant messaging and conferencing. Microsoft SharePoint Online has more capabilities than earlier versions of SharePoint Online. With Microsoft Exchange Online, email archiving is built in. And with some subscription plans, customers get the full Microsoft Office Professional Plus. The service is everything that my customers wanted,” Miller says.

Exchange Online provides a personal archive that Miller and his customers can use to quickly locate older email messages either in Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Web App. SharePoint Online, the collaboration component, gives users a central place to store contacts, calendars, and documents. Miller plans to move all customer-related documents, such as pricing spreadsheets, contracts, and referrals, from his computer to SharePoint Online, which he will be able to access from Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, the Microsoft Online Service for customer management. Miller even accesses Office 365–based documents on his Windows Phone.

He uses Lync Online for instant messaging, online meetings, and screen sharing. “I probably use the screen-sharing feature in Lync Online at least once a week,” Miller says. “When customers call with problems, I just invite them to a Lync session, and I can view their computer screens to see the problems.”

Many customers appreciate the ability to get Microsoft Office Professional Plus for a per-user monthly subscription with some Office 365 plans. “This will get customers out of the constant upgrade cycle, because upgrades happen automatically and even out software costs rather than having big cost jumps every three to five years.”

Benefits:

By moving to the Office 365 set of services, BlueEdge Consulting will save time, improve customer service, enhance data protection, give customers better IT value, and boost revenue. Specifically, Miller expects:

• Time savings of two hours a day. Since adopting Office 365, Miller is more efficient. “Once I’m using Office 365 fully, it will save me a couple of hours a day in meeting with customers, customizing their SharePoint sites, and locating customer data,” he says. “I can use Lync Online to have conference calls with customers and see their computers remotely.”

• Better customer service. “It’s a big competitive advantage for me to have a solid remote assistance capability,” Miller says. “I can be more responsive to customers. As I grow my customer base, remote assistance and communications capabilities will become even more important.”

• Enhanced data protection. Miller likes the fact that all his business data will be stored in Microsoft data centers—a benefit that appeals to customers, too. “When I tell people that they don’t have to worry about disaster recovery or backup, they light up,” he says. “They also like the fact that they no longer need to purchase spam and virus protection software to scan their email. It’s all there in Office 365.”

• Great value. Office 365 is a great value for BlueEdge and its customers. “Office 365 is a terrific value,” Miller says. “I understand what it takes to get these services in place, and it’s amazing that I and my customers can have the same services that a Fortune 100 company has and pay as little as $6 per user per month.”

• Potential revenue boost. Whereas BlueEdge has been selling Business Productivity Online Standard Suite to an average of one customer a month, Miller expects to sell Office 365 to two customers a month. “I’m expecting Office 365 to double my Microsoft Online Services business. Migration tools are built right into the service, which will make it easy to get customers running on the service. My customers are just as excited about it as I am.”

Source:

Microsoft Case Study: BlueEdge Consulting