Accelerating Customer Productivity & Profitability
United Business Systems — a leading managed technology services provider (MTSP) — announced the expansion of its Strategic Business Reviews (SBRs), designed to help organizations maximize their technology investments. With many small to mid-sized business owners either under-resourced or undereducated in regards to the latest innovations in IT and cybersecurity, UBS has stepped in to serve as a fractional CTO for owners who need help with strategic planning.
Instead of focusing on lower-level information — such as the number of service tickets completed or number of threats prevented — these reviews are not just routine check-ins, but a systematic approach to understand how clients are growing their businesses and how to apply new technology to drive innovation, increase productivity, and boost profitability within those specific areas.
“In today’s environment, simply meeting expectations is no longer enough. To truly thrive, businesses must exceed expectations,” stated John Kerling, Vice President of United Business Systems. “Our SBRs foster open and respectful conversations between customers and technology advisors, leveraging their collective expertise to help businesses scale intelligently. It’s not about how many support tickets we close,” said Kerling.
“Our focus is understanding which specific obstacles are preventing our clients from growing. Then, our responsibility is to act as a stand-in or sounding board for the organization’s CTO. By providing business owners with access to a panel of IT experts, we set the stage to ensure that their long-term vision can be actualized from an IT standpoint. While this may be controversial since it requires significant resources on our side, by helping our clients strategize on the technology needed to reach their goals, we can build trust to recommend solutions in the future.
For us, it’s about investing the time up-front, so when their business is propelled forward they remember the value of our guidance. And when our clients win, we win, too.”
The Strategic Business Review Process
The Strategic Business Reviews function in the same manner as a fractional CTO would, empowering businesses to leverage technology more deliberately and providing expert guidance to prepare for the future. With the average business person relying on outdated advice from a single IT employee, internet searches or a cousin who builds websites, UBS is bringing sophisticated IT infrastructure road-mapping to companies who most need that level of expertise.
The reviews cover essential areas, including:
- Performance & Network Review
Evaluating the overall performance of the company’s network to ensure uptime and efficiency, since it only grows as quickly as the network can reliably perform.
- Cybersecurity Overview
Assessing which cyber threats have been avoided and offering proactive recommendations for stronger security. Additionally, SBRs help clients prioritize threat severity levels so they don’t overpay for comprehensive solutions that don’t match their immediate goals, “rightsizing” cybersecurity defense based on real data.
- Growth & Innovation
Identifying areas for company growth and introducing new tech solutions to enhance operations.
“We’ve been around for so long because we don’t just fix problems; we anticipate them,” added Kerling. “Through these reviews, we can understand what’s happening within clients’ companies behind-the-scenes and suggest ways to optimize and improve business management. After working with hundreds of clients, another huge outcome of these meetings is that we’ve found ourselves introducing companies to each other if there’s a high chance of mutual benefit. Over many years in the industry, we’ve also learned which companies to work with and which to avoid — we share the benefit of that experience with our clients, so they can connect with reputable businesses. We’ve even referred clients to other shipping providers although it’s unrelated to our services, simply because it could reduce costs and drive profitability.
The core reason we exist is to find ways to help our fellow business owners succeed, despite all the challenges they face.”
Guidance in Cybersecurity Insurance
Another example of an issue that’s been solved as a result of SBRs is that many companies who’ve migrated to WFH (work from home) or hybrid environments have run into cybersecurity insurance “escape clauses,” subtly written into their agreements with shady insurers. UBS has uncovered such documents which basically state, “If your IT provider attempts to resolve this threat, at any point, we are no longer liable for any damage to your company,” an unethical manipulation that may slip past the typical business owner.
In response, UBS not only offers complimentary reviews of these predatory cyber insurance agreements to pinpoint illegitimate “escape clauses” but we’ve gone a step further to solve the issue
completely via redundant insurance agreements. Through a partnership with Lloyd’s of London, if a client’s insurer tries to shirk their responsibilities, United Business Systems’ insurance extends to the client’s business — effectively providing “double-coverage” through another layer of cyber insurance with an ironclad agreement put together by our legal team.
Kerling added, “Insurance costs skyrocketed when companies shifted to remote work, and many were caught off guard by sneaky loopholes in their policies. However, we’ve worked with Lloyd’s of London to make sure our clients aren’t left exposed. We believe it’s our duty to protect our clients’ best interests, especially when no reasonable person would expect them to catch this level of granular manipulation.”
Your Trusted Technology & Business Partner
Our Strategic Business Reviews are a two-way exploratory process: UBS learns about the client’s specific business needs, while the client learns about new technology trends, security risks, and potential growth opportunities. This collaborative approach solidifies the relationship as a trusted business partner, not just an IT provider.
By taking a proactive role in our clients’ business strategies, we build a deeper relationship based on mutual respect and trust. In a fast-paced industry with high turnover, MTSPs like United
Business Systems are poised to provide stability. Our clients can rest assured that their technology not only supports business today, but drives growth tomorrow.
For more information or to request one of our Strategic Business Reviews, contact UBS at 716-854-4122 or send us a message.