New Approach in IT Companies
It is high time that legacy IT companies start taking a new approach if they wish to survive the changes and disruption that they are facing due to new-age tech companies. The new normal is all about artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, blockchain, etc. It is no longer about servers and hardware, as they are on their way out. This is why all the new-age tech firms are providing high-value digitalization services and are signing up newer and more partnerships than the legacy IT companies.
Legacy IT firms now, more than ever, need to start getting serious about re-skilling or up-skilling its existing workforce. So that they too can offer new value propositions to the market. IT firms are not alone; the market’s perception is to blame as well. Many customers often tend to see established IT companies mainly as the outsource giants that only offer hardware and other traditional services. They feel like these old companies do not possess any new capabilities and value.
Reinventing the Customer Value
What can these legacy IT companies possibly do differently so that they can dispel this mistaken notion? IT companies can start with first reinventing their customer value proposition and entire marketing approach. Secondly, these legacy IT companies have to start building relationships beyond just the IT departments, their client companies and start infiltrating their businesses directly. Third and lastly, they need to recognize that the advantages of youth aren’t exactly sufficient to win in the current marketplace.
Speed and agility are the only selling points of most young IT shops hungry for business. Therefore large and multifaceted IT giants needn’t concentrate on that. IT companies approach happens to operate in an aggressively competitive environment in which customers always expect nothing short of perfect and quick turnaround time.
Upgrading the Skills
Also, if customers feel one IT firm cannot provide what they are particularly looking for then they know there is another IT company. They just waiting to grab this opportunity right around the corner. To tackle this situation, legacy IT companies should seriously consider upgrading their sales team and managers. There is no question that older salespeople do not have the same kind of perspective on new technologies that millennials and Generation Z do.
In this case, while simply hiring younger and more energetic salespeople and consultants seem like the right thing to do, that is not the case. The life skills and experience that senior sales consultants and their relationships bring to the table in no way should be underestimated
It is often observed that over time, salespeople always happen to develop great relational expertise. Which can also be called an educated thought process and valuable work experience. These amazing attributes give them a good amount of gravitas in senior-level conversations.
The bottom line, legacy IT companies should not hand pink slip to their older employees. They should put an effort into re-skilling them in the latest industry standards, while also hiring young freshers who are versatile in the latest technologies.
