September 20, 2016
When Mindsight announced our rebrand earlier this month, we also announced a shift in our business strategy. For over twelve years, Mindsight has served Chicago as a Value Added Reseller (VAR) of technology solutions. Along the way, we’ve always taken a consultative stance to our client’s infrastructure. Now with our rebrand, we are making consulting part of our official strategy. Over the next several months, Mindsight is going to move away from the VAR model to become a full technology consultancy firm.
On some level, this may all sound like semantics. We are keeping our experienced and talented engineering team, maintaining our relationship with technology partners throughout the industry, and continuing to offer managed services and technical support. How much is really changing?
Let’s sort through some of the differences between a VAR and a consultancy and discuss what that means for the future of Mindsight.
Value-Added Resellers and Technology Consultants
A Value Added Reseller occupies a specific niche in the marketplace. Rather than companies purchasing technology solutions directly from the manufacturer, they would contact their preferred VAR to acquire the solution from them. The VAR would then add some kind of value to the solution. Perhaps that value would come in the form of expertise with the solution. Perhaps the VAR would assist a client in the deployment. Perhaps the VAR could then manage the solution for them. At the end of the day, however, much of the relationship between a VAR and their client boils down to simply requesting and selling hardware solutions.
During the two years of research leading up to our rebrand, we found that Mindsight hasn’t fit that classic definition of a VAR for quite some time. We were organically moving towards a more consultative approach. In infrastructure consulting, the client relationship works less like a “retail” environment and more like a partnership.
Yes, Mindsight will still fulfill many of the same duties and services taken on by a VAR with one major distinction. If our clients call us asking to purchase and deploy specific servers, switches, or storage equipment for an upcoming project, we are happy to help, but as infrastructure consultants, our role now includes discussions on higher level strategy. Our infrastructure consultants will meet with the IT department to discuss the client environment, goals, and what options we have to achieve those goals.
Instead of contacting Mindsight with the solution you wish to purchase, we ask you contact us with your problems. Together, through discussion, analysis, and our expert recommendations, we can determine what the best course of action will be. We can align your technology investments with your business goals and ensure that the IT department is seen as a valued asset rather than a necessary expense.
We’re in the business of helping our Chicago neighbors navigate the complexity of the technology industry and find real-world solutions to real-world problems.
The Transition Process
Transitioning a business model is not like flipping a light switch. While we have always had a consultative mindset and approach, we can’t be a team of engineers and technologists one minute and full-fledged infrastructure consultants the next. Over the next several months, we’ll be assessing our own processes, so we can provide Chicago with our thoughtfully-crafted recommendations and thoroughly-vetted solutions. Making our consulting services a formalized strategy takes time, but we are excited to be underway.
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About Mindsight
Mindsight, a Chicago IT consultancy and services provider, is an extension of your team. Our culture is built on transparency and trust, and our team is made up of extraordinary people – the kinds of people you would hire. We’ve always prided ourselves in delivering the full spectrum of IT services and solutions, from design and implementation to support and management. Our highly-certified engineers and process-oriented excellence have certainly been key to our success. But what really sets us apart is our straightforward and honest approach to every conversation, whether it is for a local business or global enterprise. Our customers rely on our thought leadership, responsiveness, and dedication to solving their toughest technology challenges.