Computer skills: Which ones do your competitors have?

Computer skills need to exist at a basic level to gain sweet spot clients. Learn which ones your competition likely has and what you need to have the necessary level of computer skills.

Computer skills are important for your virtual IT business. But with so many possible skills, which ones do you really need in your business? In this article, we'll address which computer skills your competitors may have so you know what you're up against.

Necessary Networking Platforms

Most of your competitors who are doing well with sweet spot clients know the following networking platforms:
·    Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS)
·    Novell Small Business Suite or just Novell NetWare
·    Linux (generally RedHat)
·    Mac OS

Some of the larger integrators in your markets that have several employees may go towards the higher end of this market. They'll start at about 25 to 50 PCs, and take on some larger small businesses where there are 50 to 100 systems. They also may take on some small, mid-size companies where there may be a range from 100 to 500 systems. These larger competitors will need to get involved in more sophisticated solutions than what you need to provide.

What Else Do Your Larger Competitors Have? 

Your larger competitors will usually have some more advanced expertise on:

o    Network Attached Storage (NAS)
o    Storage Attached Networks (SANs)
o    Complex security solutions
o    CheckPoint firewalls
o    Citrix Terminal Solutions
o    Higher end Wi-Fi solutions
o    Managed hardware

Remember though, such high-level advanced certifications are not critical until you start selling to a real IT manager at a larger small business.

What Do You Really Need?

For the sweet spot small businesses with 10 to 50 PCs, employing virtual IT staff that has one or two entry-level certifications and are working towards something like an MCSE is sufficient.

Solving Problems Makes Your Clients Happy

Usually your clients put more of a premium on problem-solving computer skills. Those clients want your company to know about their particular business industry and how you can apply IT to their business problems. That's what sweet spot clients tend to value even more strongly than pure technical computer skills and certifications. 

The Bottom Line about Computer Skills

In this article, you've been introduced to which ones are the necessary computer skills in your computer consulting business. computer skills in your computer consulting business.

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