The day I’m writing this marks the launch of the iPhone 6.
That is right, S-I-X. Almost like we batted an eye and we went from this new concept of an iPhone to a now ubiquitous product that has defined the category of smart device.
What fewer people are talking about when it comes to the latest iPhone is how Apple’s HomeKit allows the phone to instantly be turned into a control device for the garage, theater, security system and more.
This is where everyone says, “We aren’t in the ‘home’ business.” I’ll acquiesce, but you own or live in a home, right? And those of you that use the technology to control your devices at home work for and run businesses, right? So you can see how this small innovation might bleed into our commercial integration practice.
This change marks just one of many, but it so elegantly brings together four trends that are reinventing our businesses — social, mobile, big data and cloud — and it is empowering us to communicate, control and coordinate our time, assets and collaboration differently.
The Mistake: Okay, let’s get to how this ties into recurring revenue. Bottom line, the future of the integration business is in services; and not one-time, big-ticket services, but recurring services. This is the impact of the cloud. We don’t need to buy bulky installed technology when we can have endless HD communication at our fingertips, and even in cases where it is the shrinking trend, not the growing one.
Related: 5 Strategies for Selling and Renewing Service Plans
Yes, I know that integration projects are still alive and well. But that doesn’t mean massive change isn’t in the works. It just means that adoption of emerging trends is still in their earlier stages.
The Solution: The moral is that the panacea for business is going to be successful growth of recurring revenue. But those revenues aren’t going to come from the maintenance and managed services that have represented our relatively small service businesses today. The consumer of the future is going to be looking for services that solve real business problems.
It will be less about whether or not you can maintain their monitors because soon enough they will be like light bulbs; when one goes out, you throw them away. So in the future they will look for an integrator that can sell them the content and make it simple, easy and on point.
Another example is video conferencing. Five years ago the dedicated, immersive telepresence room was all the rage. Who’s talking about them now?
The shift has happened and people want to be connected on their Apple iPhone 6 or their Android tablet. Why would clients spend a million dollars for one room when they can put 1,000 employees face to face from anywhere on any device for a fraction of that per month?
Times are changing and businesses must evolve, too. The old is, well, old and the new is capitalizing on trends that for the most part this industry is still learning about. Fortunately it isn’t too late because the work we know and love is still out there, as are the associated services. However, if you think that is going to last forever, then I have some swampland in Florida that I want to sell you.
More: What Are You Thinking… Not Being Ready for Cloud, Mobile, BYOD?
