SP500 Winner: Mobility - MicroTech Puts Customers First

"I think the days of dropping products off at the loading dock and leaving are over," MicroTech CEO and president Tony Jimenez told CRN. "There are so many things that have to happen from security, to mobility, to infrastructure, to reliability to the different solutions that you have to bring your net customers. To have somebody just drop [a product] off and expect your customer to be able to make it work is just not a realistic model anymore."

Mobility, in particular, is an IT umbrella term that encompasses much more than just a physical device. To arm a client with a truly end-to-end mobile solution, Jimenez said, a VAR needs to fully understand the specific goal of that client. And many of these goals, he continued, revolve around apps.

"A lot of that requires, you know, an understanding of the applications that run in that environment. If you don't understand what's driving [adoption], then you're essentially going to have nothing but difficulty," Jimenez said, referring to MicroTech's recent deployment of a control panel app for the iPad as an example. The app streamlines collaboration for teleconferencing and virtual meetings; it was developed almost entirely based on client feedback.

Jimenez said MicroTech's heavy R&D investments, and its careful attention to the pulse of the IT market, have contributed to its success in mobility. The strategy has resulted in, for instance, the company's Social Recon series of offerings.