Who needs developers the most?
Great question- lots of answers to that one- but I always come back to a customer profile that I created when I was a analyst with Info-Tech Research Group.
Their name is “ MARC” and they represent a group of companies that are most in need and most likely to procure the services of IT Dev shops and Independent Solution Providers (ISPs)
What is a MARC(click for more general definition)?
A MARC is Mid-size Active Regulated Complex.
What does that mean well? Let’s break it down the letter by letters.
M for midsize. What it really means is that they have budget limitations; they’re not the Global 10k, they’re not a huge multinational. From a customer profiling perspective they have needs similar to a Large enterprise but they not the same budget. That’s where this title MARC really comes to play: they act more like a mid-sized company with respect to IT budgets.
They have a vision of how technology fits into their business that is not a grand expansive platform-its a solution to a problem.
As a vendor; a Dev Shop or a IT services company, when you’re working with a MARC you need to really understand that they’re not looking for platinum package. They’re looking for a reasonable price and they’re looking for something that fits their need.
What do I mean by Active? Well, when we talk about IT services and IT spend there are a couple of things that are important to realize. One is that in reality, IT is not important for every company. For some technology is something they passively need because the business is transacted digitally (Think: Manufacturers, Distributors who distribute physical goods, Brick and Mortar grocery stores). They don’t actively go out to get the the best technology, they passively wait until they have to get. A MARC has a vision to reduce overall business costs and they actively want to use new technology to be better and faster than their competition.
Regulate that’s the R. Regulated companies in some ways pretty straightforward they have responsibilities to government overseers to ensure that they’re they’re businesses run according to the rules. For a MARC the oversight is more limited and not as ponderous but is still expensive for them to meet the regulators requirements.
The last letter; C is for complex- which is well complex. Think of a perishable food vendor like a bodega or health food store. Their value depends on freshness and their margins depend on their vendors getting them the whole order as fresh. However, unlike a Whole Foods or Amazon that have a whole department; you have “Molly” coming in on weekends to look at the supplies and put it into a excel. A MARC has a limited ability to document issues and keep vendor honest. A MARC cannot afford the fancy platforms and expensive connectors to ensure that that they can maintain the investment- they need “cheap and cheery” but robust. They look to their local IT service provider to be a trusted advisor.
For Developers and ISPs; MARCs can be long term customers, they want to move fast, they don’t need the nameplate. (for more on how you work with “Marc” see this blog)
For example, they need contract approval — and you can build that and provide it at a fraction of the cost. Try it for yourself sign-up for a 90 day free trial https://developer.opentext.com/imservices/trial
Need more help getting started? I created a Github repository and a Youtube channel (see the getting started playlist)
