Every business uses technology differently, and how you leverage technology plays a crucial role in your company’s productivity and efficiency. But how well are you aligned with the people managing that technology? What meetings or mechanisms are in place to ensure satisfaction, reinforce strategy and plan for the future?
Today, let’s talk about Strategic Business Reviews (SBRs): what they are, why they’re important and how they can benefit your business.
Before diving in, we will note our bias as a Managed Service Provider (MSP) that holds these types of client meetings. As you’ll read below, we feel strongly about these meetings' value and potential outcomes. However, not all MSPs conduct SBRs, and if they day do, they may conduct them differently. We obviously have some bias about how SBRs should be conducted, but we know our approach may not be best for everyone. It’s important for you to know your MSP’s specific approach, which may or may not be like ours, and if it’s right for your business.
Also, SBRs exist in many forms across different industries, so for the sake of simplicity, this article will only explain SBRs between a business and its MSP.
A Strategic Business Review (SBR) is a dedicated meeting between you and your MSP’s account manager. Ideally, it’s held on at least an annual basis, but the frequency can vary depending on the needs of your business. The goal of the SBR is to ensure that your technology strategy is aligned with your company’s goals and to review your relationship with your MSP.
The content and length of the meeting can vary based on your specific needs, but some of the key topics usually include:
An SBR provides an opportunity to review your relationship with your MSP comprehensively. While day-to-day interactions with your MSP may focus on specific issues, such as service tickets or project updates, an SBR is an opportunity to discuss the big picture and address any potential gaps in your strategy or service. It’s about ensuring your IT environment functions as it should and that your business gets the support it needs to succeed.
An SBR also provides a great platform to discuss your business beyond technology. Open and honest discussions about your business can better inform your IT strategy and strengthen your partnership with your MSP. If your account manager is knowledgeable about what’s happening in your organization, they’ll be better positioned to provide advice or assistance with IT decision-making.
In addition, these meetings allow you to look forward to the future. As technology evolves, it’s crucial for your business to stay ahead of the curve. Meaningful IT investments usually can’t be thrown together at the last minute, so an SBR is a great time to discuss emerging technologies that could help prepare your business for the changes ahead.
Ideally, an SBR should be held at least once a year, but the frequency will depend on your business needs and the guidance of your MSP. Larger and more complex environments, for example, may experience more frequent changes and could benefit from more frequent meetings.
Even if your business is smaller, having an SBR at a set cadence is still important to ensure that everything is running smoothly and to address any new challenges or opportunities.
SBRs should be held in addition to other strategic meetings you have with your MSP throughout the year. At Innovative, we meet quarterly, monthly or even weekly with some clients, depending on their size and scope. The SBR is just one specific meeting type that occurs, at a minimum, once a year.
Regular SBRs with your MSP are pivotal for aligning technology with your business goals. These meetings give you the opportunity to assess your current IT environment, further build your relationship with your MSP and ensure that you’re making the most of your technology investments.
At Innovative, we hold these meetings with our clients because we believe in their value. While every business and MSP relationship is different, we’ve found that regular SBRs are vital to ensuring our clients are always ready for what’s next.
At the end of the day, no business should embark on its technology journey alone. Technology is complicated, constantly evolving and requires a high level of expertise. A strong partnership with your MSP ensures that your technology is not just functional today, but scalable for tomorrow.