“We got to a point where the application was holding us back. We wanted to grow the company, but we were spending so much time just dealing with the administration of the tickets, of the billing, of the opportunities, that we couldn’t push forward,” Austen explained. “I always described it like a glass ceiling we just couldn’t find a way to bust through because we were spending too much time on the admin.”
After a time using their home-grown system, Clark was still seeking a reliable solution that would allow systems to work together seamlessly. That’s when he was introduced to ConnectWise PSA™ (formerly Manage).
Manage helped CIT break through that glass ceiling by identifying silos of chaos that, as Austen puts it, were “beating them down”. Clark made the commitment to partner with ConnectWise, implementing solutions to increase process efficiency and promote manageable growth. While the complete transition to ConnectWise wasn’t immediate, the resulting improvements were so positive that Austen says he’d never want to operate without it again.
Satisfied with more streamlined operations, CIT then turned to ConnectWise in their search for an integrated quoting tool. Frustrated after having tried products that worked well only intermittently, Clark recognized ConnectWise CPQ™ (formerly Sell) as the solution best suited to move their sales process forward.
“The CPQ/PSA partnership has allowed us to streamline and make processes in our business that work all the way through. My sales guys know they can raise an opportunity, and it goes straight into PSA,” Austen said. “That means the operations team knows about it, and it gets handed across to the service desk. It’s just seamless.”
The Power of Community
As much as ConnectWise PSA contributed to Clark Integrated Technology’s growth from a product perspective, Austen attributes much of the ongoing success to something less tangible – a powerful benefit he hasn’t found with other providers.
Personal experience has taught Austen that running an MSP business can be a “lonely place”, so he’s always an enthusiastic participant at the annual IT Nation conference, soaking up knowledge from experts at the industry’s forefront, developing professional relationships, and drawing inspiration from a community of peers who’ve traded their competitor hats for collaboration, sharing ideas and support. “I’ve heard people say why would I want to become a managed services provider? Come down to these events, see what’s out there, see the opportunity,” Austen suggests.
“This is family and we all come together once a year.”
But perhaps even more influential on Clark’s growth than scheduled events has been the ability to plug into the ongoing, on-demand benefits of the ConnectWise community. “Community is building friendships, relationships, trust among the people who are using ConnectWise solutions. A million times I’ve gone to the ConnectWise community site and somebody’s just thrown in a little tip or trick, or given you a snip of information, and you take it back and it makes such a big difference to your business,” says Austen.
During eight years of building business with the powerful tools in ConnectWise suite of solutions, along with plugging into the IT Nation community, CIT has tripled in size and continues to flourish. Although he never originally set out to run an IT company, Austen is clear about the philosophy that now keeps him passionate about the industry and continuing to drive Clark Integrated Technologies – a passion he knows is backed by the ConnectWise commitment to partner success.
“Manage has been the tool, but the real driver has been the community and what it’s allowed us to do.”
Austen Clark, Managing Director, Clark Integrated Technologies
