Join CentraStage for an introduction and demonstration of the tool which is helping transform IT service delivery in various organisations from local authorities, to IT service providers, right through to large telecommunications companies. No surprise if your competitor is already using us. In these session you will learn about the features, functionality and benefits, with questions and answers towards the end.

Tue, Jan 24, 2012 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM GMT

https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/875505262

Wed, Feb 8, 2012 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM GMT

https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/786607390

Thu, Feb 23, 2012 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM GMT

https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/719928486

Tue, Mar 6, 2012 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM GMT

https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/593052310

by admin l January 23, 2012 l No Comments »

Following my recovery from the BETT show last week, it was a hugely positive show for CentraStage, and if I could sum it up in a few words I would say that “we have arrived”. The existing visitors who visited the stand – and there were many – were hugely positive about the technology and benefits it brings; new prospective clients were also excited about moving forward and were very complimentary. One chap (who will remain nameless) so keen he told Scripting Simon “I’m in love with it”. If you’re not familiar with what our education customers have achieved using CentraStage have a look at our infographic.

Kris Scruby from East Sussex County Council was also on hand for three days during the shows, chatting to customers about how they use the technologies, sharing experiences from a live environment – which as we all know is more compelling than a demo environment knocked up in Scripting Simon’s bedroom.

To top all of that, we announced that the London Grid for Learning have selected CentraStage as the IT management software of choice for a number of local authorities.

by Christian Nagele l January 20, 2012 l No Comments »

Some of you may remember back in December, Matt Barton from Ostrich IT held a webinar to discuss and share how he increased his managed services business by choosing the right tools and communities/groups which he is involved in.

Within the webinar Matt covers his usage of tools such as CentraStage and Shockey Monkey. Additionally he praises his peers Karl Palachuk, Richard Tubb, Susanne Dansey and useful groups such as AMITPRO.

by James Fletcher l January 20, 2012 l No Comments »

Join us for a live product introduction and demonstration! See why over 40 local authorities and hundreds of service providers globally are using CentraStage to improve and transform their service delivery. Review all the components of CentraStage, with Question and Answers at the end.

Click the below link to join us on Tuesday 24th January 2012 at 3pm GMT.

https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/875505262

by admin l January 19, 2012 l No Comments »

Here’s a take on business building that I thought would be worth sharing. As this is our first guest blog

on MSPMentor I figured it may be of use in your own efforts and also serves to provide you with an insight into ours. Lean startup methodologies have been around for a few years now and as more supporting evidence is fed back many mature businesses have adopted the approach for new projects.

The underlying assumption is not to make any at all. Whatever IT solution or services you currently offer to your customers can and will be improved upon. You will do it, or your supplier, or your competitor – or even your customers themselves. The ultimate fix, the one that will make the problem disappear forever, does not exist. Once you get that, the notion of providing the perfect solution can safely be discarded and you can start establishing long term business relationships based on build, measure and learn.

Every business or new project starts with an idea, whether that is to solve a problem, change the world or make loads of cash. It is not necessary to know the solution or even the problem at startup, you simply need to start.

BUILD: Flesh out your idea into a minimum viable product or service (MVP). That’s not beta, or half-baked, it’s simply the minimum needed to offer and bill for. Most often it’s a lot less that you think. Now pitch it to potential customers. Bear in mind you may not even know who your real customers will be at this time. The key here is to pitch it to people and organisations with a track record of early adoption. These are the people who consider new concepts and give proper feedback.

MEASURE: Make sure you properly collect and measure the feedback you get. All the feedback in the world serves no purpose if you can’t organise it, analyse it, and learn from it. Does the idea have legs? Is it going to be relevant in the market you operate in? Is there a new market you should be investigating? Answers are always more valuable than questions – regardless of how good or bad the question is. The questions you ask tell others about you, their answers tell you about them.

LEARN: Apply this knowledge to your original idea and ask yourself the key question: Do I need to persevere or pivot? Exclusive and overwhelming positive feedback on the MVP is rare (if you get it then call me – I may have some seed money to invest  A mix of positive and negative is the most likely scenario and this is the bit that separates entrepreneurs from managers – and that is not a slight on either but rather recognition that each have different risk profiles. Do I push on with the original idea, invest more time/effort/money in refactoring the product or market focus, or do I abort project A and have a go with project B?

Neither answer is correct by default. Many great ideas have been shelved because of early negative feedback only later to be revisited and turned into successful businesses because someone was prepared to try a little harder. The opposite is also true of course in that many millions have been poured into trying to make lousy ideas work. The lesson to take away though is that very few good ideas are obvious winners from the start, so investing everything into the MVP before testing it out on potential customers (and that includes billing for it) is not a pre-requisite for success.

by Ian van Reenen l January 12, 2012 l No Comments »