What's Your Edge?

Most of us are wrestling with change. Whether it’s because of accelerating technology cycles, disruptive technologies challenging established models, competitive pressures intensifying, or something else, we risk becoming dinosaurs.  How do you future-proof your company, and what does that mean? For leaders and boards alike, this question has become less about optional innovation and more about long-term relevance, risk management, and enterprise resilience. The companies that anticipate change, embrace innovation, and most importantly keep their customers at the center of every decision are in a better position to survive and thrive.  Future proofing is about building resilience and agility so your organization can adapt, grow, and stay relevant. No matter what the market throws your way. Future-proofing isn’t about predicting exactly what will happen next.  It’s about creating the capacity to respond when it does. For customer-centric companies, the answers to tomorrow’s challenges are often hiding in plain sight: in the very pain points, feedback, and unmet needs of the customers you serve. And that’s what we’re going to explore today in our conversation with Dave Work, Managing Partner of Diversicom Corporation, a Managed Service Provider (MSP). MSPs act as an outsourced IT department for businesses, which typically provides managing IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, network management, and cloud support. Dave, welcome to What’s Your Edge? Use Disruption Successfully to Focus on Customer-Centric Growth Dave, let’s start with your take on the current MSP landscape. While the MSP market is experiencing explosive growth, it is also facing significant disruption. There are anywhere 150,000–200,000 providers worldwide, with 5,000-10,000 of these being certifiable. The market is growing, projected at a 12.9% CAGR through 2033. But competition is fierce, and SaaS platforms are eating into core service revenues. From a board and executive perspective, this creates a familiar tension: market growth on one hand, and margin pressure and model erosion on the other. The landscape is shifting rapidly, which is eroding traditional MSP revenue, forcing providers to innovate or risk obsolescence. What are the biggest challenges you see for MSPs today, and how might that relate to other industries? You’ve said you believe much of the traditional MSP business is going away. Can you elaborate on what’s impacting the MSP model, and which of these risks you see impacting other industries? Laura, I see the further emergence of Saas products severely diminishing the management needs that were once provided by typical MSP’s. A core function of an MSP is to manage the software their clients utilize, and with support now being provided by the software company, it will minimize the need to contract with an MSP. Additionally, many quality MSP’s host client data, which is typically much safer than a cloud environment; the “Cloud” is being utilized more and more each day. This is another area that will affect the client/MSP relationship. I also believe there are a few challenges that businesses/industries will face because of these factors. First, the support that most Saas products provide is limited and not personal to the end users. Meaning, the clients our MSP firm manages have relationships with our staff. We know their business, their struggles, and have genuine care as a partner. All our contracted clients are of the highest priority to us, but that level of care and prioritization currently doesn’t exist with the majority of Saas products and probably never will. The loss of having a true “IT partner” will undoubtedly affect businesses & industries. Second, the cloud is a great development, and as a firm, we are all for it. However, because of the cyber dangers that exist, we also still firmly believe in having data backed up and monitored. Personally, I believe the cloud gives business leaders a false sense of security, and the need for redundant data and a Backup disaster or Recovery plan may be ignored. This scenario could be catastrophic for businesses that aren’t educated or recognize the needs this evolving world brings. Take The Customer-Centricity Assessment From Legacy to Leadership: Successful Future-Proofing Takes Proactive Change  You’ve spoken about the need to “future-proof” your company, to insulate Diversicom from becoming a “dinosaur” as the market changes. Future-proofing is about proactively protecting growth by anticipating threats and adapting before disruption hits. As we tell our customers, future-proofing is about building the agility and resilience to adapt to whatever comes next. For many organizations, this also requires leadership teams and boards to challenge legacy assumptions and be willing to invest ahead of certainty.  We have found that this requires leaders to continually scan the horizon, experiment with new business models, and invest in capabilities that will keep their organizations relevant and competitive. Dave, what were some indicators that made you pause and realize you needed to future-proof your business? Because of the many Saas products that are available, many business owners/leaders believe that if they just bundle some products together and have access to support, then their IT needs are resolved. This creates a false sense of security. But this is what the narrative is by salespeople for these products. I began to notice, as an MSP, that it was becoming more difficult to have conversations on the benefits of contracting with an MSP. This made us as a firm realize that this is now our competition, not just another MSP. To future-proof our business, we were going to need to improve how we educate businesses on the existing need & benefit of an MSP, and also how we create our niche alongside these Saas products. Data is the Essential Currency for Better Decision-Making  Whether it’s a transformation or a tweak, leaders need data to make better and faster decisions. Companies and boards that foster a culture of data-driven decision-making are better equipped to create a path forward.  Data becomes the connective tissue between strategy, execution, and accountability. Tell us about how you began using your own data to enable better decision-making. I have always been a data person. Analytics has always been an important tool for me to manage & grow my organizations. I believe that data is currency! As software and technology have evolved, it has provided businesses the ability to extract and examine internal data more quickly, and the more someone does this, the better they are at decision-making. Years ago, it was taking data from financial reports, operational reports, sales reports, etc., and configuring some type of snapshot to view the desired data. That was time-consuming. Then technology allowed us to export, cut/paste, etc. This was much quicker. Now tech can be connected and do the extraction and analyze the data for us. More efficient decision-making. How Solving Customer Challenges Created a New Growth Opportunity Organizations that optimize analytics, especially customer analytics, can anticipate needs, personalize experiences, and make more informed, data-driven decisions. There was a moment when you realized that the need for data-driven decision-making was your challenge alone; it was a pain point your customers shared. Often, the most resilient growth opportunities emerge when leaders recognize that creating an internal capability can solve external customer problems. When did you realize there was a business opportunity in helping customers with analytics? And what were the most common pain points you heard, and how did you translate those into a new service? Basically, we followed the technology. We knew about data mining, data warehousing, dashboards, etc., and we started investing time in understanding and in development. We have a client who used a variety of software applications, and they wanted to pull them all together in one report. An out-of-the-box or Saas dashboard was not the answer this client wanted. They wanted something tailored. They also wanted something that would break less than the previous types they tried.  And they wanted it managed, so when it broke, they weren’t on hold or lost in a ticket queue. It was a perfect opportunity for us. By solving their problem, we realized we had created a quality, trusted product/service we could market. To Future-Proof, You Need a Relevant Market-Worthy Solution  That’s a great example of combining your passion for data and solving a customer problem to create a new line of business. Moving from insight to monetization is often where many good ideas stall. How did you move from internal analytics to a packaged, customer-facing offer? What steps did you take to productize the offer? Before we went to market, we knew we needed to do some market research. We discussed this new solution and current challenges with many of our peers in business.  We started having conversations with target clients about the solution, and they responded positively.  That information, combined with our own expertise, gave us the information we needed to take the idea further and begin pilots. As a market researcher, I’m glad you conducted research. Another thing companies often do before going to market is to test the product internally and then in the market. Testing ensures that the customer experience meets expectations and that the solution delivers real value. This phase also helps reduce risk, something boards and leadership teams care deeply about when introducing a new offering. What did you learn from the pilot phase, and what changes did you make to the product as a result? We learned a lot about the overall process of collecting the desired data, protecting the data, and getting it translated to what the client wanted. As we learned more, we iterated on the product. Plus, the product needs to evolve to remain current as technologies change. But the biggest change is the end users, once they see the data, then they want more data or more of it translated in a different way. So, we are always facing the challenge of providing the next iteration of the product. It’s a good problem to have because it means we remain relevant to our customers. Remaining relevant is a key part of future-proofing a company. If You Want Business Success, Always Be Future-Proofing I agree. To have a future as a company, you must remain relevant to your customers. The faster organizations can turn data into actionable insights, the greater the impact on performance. We are often asked how to measure the value of data-driven decision-making. Two measures we regularly recommend are time-to-insight and time-to-decision. These metrics help leaders understand not just whether analytics exist, but whether they are actually influencing outcomes. As you scaled this new offering, how did you measure the value of the analytics you provided to clients? I believe we are still scaling! We routinely meet with this client to discuss their use of technology. We have received feedback that the analytics tool has improved the management team’s performance and has allowed for better decision-making. This is a company with a management team spread throughout the country, so the fact that they are all seeing the same analytics daily has made them a stronger, more efficient team. Since launch, analytics now makes up 10% of your revenue, with expectations to grow to 25–30% in 2–3 years. Congratulations! That kind of revenue mix shift changes how a business is valued, how risk is managed, and how future investments are prioritized.  How have you changed the culture in your organization to continue your future-proofing efforts? We are blessed with a number of young guns who are hungry to learn and are confident to try new things. So, we have further empowered our staff to be an integral part of growing our company. As managers, we don’t make decisions in a vacuum. Yes, we are the decision makers, but we seek and invite our staff’s ideas and thoughts. Dave, as we come to the end of our conversation, I’d like to reflect on your journey. You’ve navigated a rapidly changing landscape, future-proofed your business by listening closely to customers, and demonstrated how a customer-centric approach can reveal new opportunities hiding in plain sight. Let’s talk about lessons learned.  What were the biggest surprises or challenges you encountered as you pivoted and launched a new line of business? Looking back, are there any assumptions you had to let go of, or moments that fundamentally shifted your perspective as a leader? And finally, what practical advice would you offer to business owners, executive teams, or boards who recognize the need to future-proof, but aren’t sure where to start? The biggest challenge is that you are never DONE! The future is always around the corner, so the need to look ahead never ceases. We must always challenge ourselves and our leadership teams to look ahead. Another challenge is to make the time to look ahead, which involves research, evaluation, and risk. As a service provider, our main priority is the level of service we provide to our clients, so freeing someone on our team to “champion” the initial research and begin some type of Beta testing internally is a challenge and a risk. I don’t think we had to shift perspectives much. I am fairly open-minded, let’s try this type of person, and my partner is an out-of-the-box thinker. So, regarding perspective, I believe we are and were in a good place. The advice I’d give is to look at your competitors and your peers, talk to your client base and your professional networks. You must discover the challenges they all face, any solutions they have encountered, and keep a pulse on technologies. Take AI, for example. Considering AI is progressing at a rapid rate, we may always be a bit behind, but the quicker you know what it can do to improve your team or business, the better you’ll be. Discussing and researching what others are doing or have done is very important in adopting new ways of doing business better! Dave, thank you for sharing how you approached future-proofing your company. Your story is a powerful reminder that resilience, adaptability, and deep customer understanding are the keys to sustainable growth, especially in times of uncertainty. For leaders and boards alike, future-proofing isn’t about chasing trends.  It’s about making deliberate choices that strengthen relevance, reduce risk, and create new value for customers. Let’s talk if you are ready to future-proof your business and are open to guidance. FAQ: (written by Penn of Sintra.ai) Q1: What does it mean to future-proof a business? A: Future-proofing means building organizational resilience and agility to adapt, grow, and stay relevant in the face of disruption. It’s about making deliberate choices that strengthen relevance, reduce risk, and create new value for customers—not just chasing the latest trends. Q2: Why is focusing on customer pain points essential for long-term business growth? A: Solving real customer pain points ensures your company remains relevant and competitive. By listening to feedback and unmet needs, businesses can uncover new growth opportunities and develop solutions that drive loyalty and market differentiation. Q3: How can analytics help companies future-proof their strategy? A: Analytics provides actionable insights that inform better, faster decision-making. Organizations that leverage customer and operational analytics can anticipate market shifts, personalize experiences, and optimize performance for sustainable growth. Q4: What are the best metrics for measuring the value of data-driven decision-making? A: Two key metrics are time-to-insight and time-to-decision. These help leaders understand whether analytics are actually influencing outcomes and driving meaningful improvements in strategy and execution. Q5: What steps should leaders take to create a culture of continuous future-proofing? A: Leaders should empower teams to experiment, invest in ongoing learning, and encourage open dialogue about challenges and opportunities. Regularly seeking customer feedback and involving staff in innovation keeps the organization agile and responsive. Q6: How can market research and pilot testing reduce risk when launching new offerings? A: Market research validates customer needs, while pilot testing ensures the solution delivers real value before a full-scale launch. Both steps help companies iterate quickly and minimize the risk of failed products or wasted investment. Q7: Why is data considered the “essential currency” for better decision-making? A: Data connects strategy, execution, and accountability. In today’s digital landscape, companies that treat data as a core asset can move from intuition-driven decisions to evidence-based growth, improving outcomes at every level. Q8: How does VisionEdge Marketing help companies become more customer-centric and future-ready? A: VisionEdge Marketing partners with organizations to identify customer pain points, implement analytics-driven strategies, and build cultures of resilience and innovation—ensuring clients stay ahead of change and unlock new growth.

True differentiation takes boldly reimagining how products are created and delivered. For many organizations, the secret to market growth isn’t found in the boardroom alone. It’s forged in partnership with their most demanding customers. In this episode of What’s Your Edge?, we are joined by Armen Alajian, CEO of ARTO, a family-owned innovator in the tile, stone, and brick industry. Armen is going to share with us how they turned customer challenges into a catalyst for innovation and sustainable growth. Embracing customer-centric product development propelled them ahead of overseas competitors and established a blueprint for unlocking new levels of market success. Welcome Armen. How a Remarkable Legacy Ignites Customer-Centric Product Innovation Armen, I know from personal experience that sustaining a family legacy in a highly competitive, mature industry requires more than tradition. It demands strategic leadership and the courage to adapt expertise to evolving customer needs. Legacy can be either a constraint or a springboard. We have found that the companies that thrive are those that use their history as a foundation for reinvention, not as an excuse for inertia. I believe the future belongs to organizations willing to leverage their deep expertise while reimagining what’s possible for their customers. It’s less about discarding the past and more about building on it to create new value and differentiation. ARTO’s journey is a prime example of how honoring legacy means using that legacy to fuel innovation and growth. From a governance perspective, this balance between continuity and change is often a central board conversation. Armen, how have you and your brother balanced honoring your father’s legacy with the need to innovate and adapt ARTO for today’s market? My father, Arto, was both a maker and a merchant. He crafted products based on what he knew customers already liked or what he anticipated they would appreciate once they saw them. He was inherently adaptable. Because we always keep the customer in mind and often work with limited resources, my brother and I view innovation not just as a way to honor our father’s legacy, but as the method for staying relevant to our customers. Epic Customer Challenges Spark Breakthrough Market Growth In our work, we’ve found that engaging customers early, especially those with demanding requirements, dramatically increases the odds of developing products that succeed in the market. We have used customer scenarios to reveal gaps and opportunities that internal teams may overlook. They provide a valuable real-world perspective that moves product development from guesswork to grounded innovation. When companies are willing to take on challenging projects, they transform these customers into partners for co-creation. This accelerates learning, validation, and confidence in future investments. At ARTO, this willingness to tackle the “hard jobs” did more than bring in premium business. It created a pipeline for new, validated products that could be brought to market faster and with greater certainty. From a leadership standpoint, this approach replaces random acts of innovation with deliberate experimentation anchored in customer reality. Can you share a story where working with a particularly challenging project for a customer led to a breakthrough product or a new market opportunity for ARTO? To be clear, it wasn’t the customers’ personalities that were challenging, but the technical demands of the work itself. Two projects stand out: Fertitta Hall at USC and the Belle Isle Library in Oklahoma. Both required very specific custom colors—a precise “USC Red” and a unique palette for the library. While we continue to offer those custom colors today, the real breakthrough was internal. These high-stakes projects forced us to develop new, streamlined procedures for color matching and production. Those processes now allow us to serve all our customers with much greater ease. Isn’t it illuminating that it is our difficult customers who often have the clearest vision of what’s missing in the market? And that by listening to them, understanding their market requirements, and leveraging their real-world scenarios, you can turn custom work into a proving ground for future bestsellers. Customer-Centric Engagement is a Powerful Ingredient for Market Success It seems true that the most customer-centric companies are the ones willing to invest in understanding what their customers buy, where they spend their time, how they make decisions, and what truly matters to them. Armen, I know you share our philosophy about the importance of personal outreach, whether through events, video, or direct email. Personal outreach builds trust, opens dialogue, and uncovers unmet needs that can fuel innovation. From a strategic perspective, this kind of engagement turns customer interaction into an intelligence system rather than a transactional function. What impact did your personal outreach efforts have on customer loyalty and product innovation? How did you structure these communications to maximize insight and trust? The outreach created a real connection through me. I worry sometimes it should be about the brand and not the CEO, but at the end of the day, people want to buy from people, not a logo. It made ARTO real. At trade shows, people recognized us. It gave us some “celebrity” that opened doors with suppliers. With existing customers, it lets us get deep. We’d talk about the struggles of being an employer or just being fellow travelers on the earth. It turned a transaction into a real relationship. When companies move beyond basic customer service and proactively engage customers, they uncover insights competitors miss. It’s about being present in the moments that matter, asking the right questions, and listening deeply. ARTO’s decision to launch weekly personal videos and emails wasn’t just a marketing tactic. It was a strategic move to build authentic connections and replace transactional interactions with partnerships. How did you ensure these efforts stayed focused and didn’t become another set of random acts of engagement? These are not random marketing tactics. In my emails and videos, I share the good, the bad, and the ugly. I don’t just talk about the business. I make it personal. Trust is not simply something you can convey in a standard corporate email. The beauty of this approach is that I often get direct and immediate feedback, which provides valuable insights and market intelligence. Download the CC Worksheet Gain a Strong Competitive Advantage with Exceptional Market Intelligence Market leaders don’t simply react to trends. They shape them by listening closely to customers and systematically gathering market and competitive intelligence from the field. Scenario planning based on real customer data allows companies to anticipate shifts and leapfrog competitors, particularly in industries where overseas suppliers compete aggressively on price. Boards often ask, “How do we know what’s coming next?” This is one of the most reliable answers. How do you and your team identify and act on market trends before your competitors? It’s like a perpetual motion machine. Once people know we solve problems, they bring us more problems. We don’t guess at trends; we look for patterns in what people are asking for. If a customer brings us a problem that is just plain cool, we might take it to market immediately. Other times, we wait until we see the same “non-standard” request pop up multiple times. When that happens, we know it’s a trend, and we turn that custom solution into a standard product. Competitive intelligence tracks what others do so we can understand where the market is headed and position our organization to lead, not follow. By regularly engaging with customers and mapping market scenarios, companies like ARTO can spot opportunities and threats early, turning information into a competitive advantage. What tools or processes have proven most effective in gaining insight into competitors? To be honest, it sometimes feels like we are following, but we track competitors at trade shows and listen to what customers are asking for. A lot of times, we spot a trend because a “market leader” has a great idea but fails in execution. The customer comes to us because the originator can’t actually deliver. We don’t just follow the trend; we step in to solve the problem the other guys created. Two Valuable Measures of Success for Customer-Led Innovation From our perspective, the most successful innovations are rooted in a deep understanding of customer and market requirements, not just internal brainstorming. Research shows that companies that effectively leverage customer feedback are 30-50% more likely to develop successful products. Measuring engagement, time-to-market, and adoption rates ensures innovation delivers business value, not just activity. When companies involve customers in the product development process, they accelerate validation and build products that are more likely to succeed in the real world. What metrics or signals do you rely on to validate new products before scaling? A product is ready for prime time when it’s actually out in the field. Depending on the situation, the testing might be rigorous over a long period, or it might be quick if the product is going into a low-friction, low-touch location. If we need to get it to market faster, we’ll use ASTM or ANSI testing to validate it and move forward. And companies that continuously test, learn, and iterate see significant sales boosts, with examples including a 50% net sales per employee increase from continuous training, a 28% revenue jump from standardized sales processes, and 7-20% productivity/revenue gains. Innovation metrics should go beyond the number of ideas generated. By tracking customer engagement, pilot success rates, and market adoption, you ensure that your innovation pipeline delivers tangible results. The best organizations make learning loops part of their DNA: test, measure, refine, repeat. How do you measure the ROI of customer co-creation at ARTO, and how do those insights inform future investment decisions? I look at ROI through a few lenses: top-line sales and market share. Eventually, the CFO tells me if we’re actually making money. Every product has to pass two tests: Does it help me make payroll this Friday, and does it help ARTO become a 100-year brand? That balance between surviving today and building a legacy is just human nature. Take a Customer-Led Growth Strategy to Improve Your Competitive Advantage I love these two tests! Market leaders implement processes that drive those outcomes, such as customer engagement, product validation, and innovation velocity. Companies that continually learn from their customers and adapt their approach are those that sustain growth, even in crowded markets. Differentiation is possible when organizations relentlessly focus on customer collaboration and learning from every engagement. In my experience, the most resilient organizations treat every customer interaction as a learning opportunity. They don’t shy away from tough feedback. They seek it out. From a board and leadership perspective, this requires discipline, patience, and a willingness to invest ahead of certainty. Armen, as we wrap up, what advice would you give to other business leaders facing intense competition, especially those tempted to compete on price alone? My advice for CEOs is to get on the ground, meet the customer, and get involved. If you’re already doing that, the answer isn’t necessarily to do more of it, but to do it better. Always go back to the two lenses: paying the bills today and building the business for 100 years. Price is often not the real issue; focus on the margin. If you have to shrink the business to survive, then do it, but protect that margin at all costs Thank you, Armen, for sharing ARTO’s journey, which shows the future belongs to those who listen deeply, act boldly, and measure relentlessly. Turning adversity into innovation and customers into collaborators is the foundation for sustainable growth and market leadership. For leaders and board members listening, this episode is a reminder that the strongest differentiation is built not through random acts of innovation, but through a disciplined, customer-led growth strategy. If you’re ready to move from reactive innovation to a deliberate, customer-driven growth strategy, we invite you to explore how we help leadership teams turn customer insight into measurable market advantage. FAQ: (written by Penn of Sintra.ai) Q1: What is customer-led product development, and why is it important for market growth? A: Customer-led product development is a strategy that actively involves customers in shaping and refining products. This approach uncovers unmet needs, accelerates innovation, and reduces risk. Companies that leverage customer feedback are up to 50% more likely to develop successful products, fueling measurable market growth. Q2: How can engaging customers with challenging needs drive innovation? A: Customers with challenging needs often highlight unique problems and unmet opportunities. Collaborating with these customers turns challenges into co-creation opportunities, resulting in validated products, streamlined processes, and a strong foundation for future innovation. Q3: What metrics should organizations use to measure the success of customer-led product development? A: Key metrics include customer engagement, time-to-market, product adoption rates, and return on investment (ROI). Tracking these metrics ensures that customer-driven innovation delivers business value and supports sustainable growth. Q4: How can personal outreach enhance customer insight and product innovation? A: Personal outreach—through direct conversations, video, or events—builds trust and uncovers valuable insights. This engagement transforms customer interactions from transactional exchanges into strategic intelligence, fueling more relevant and successful product development. Q5: What is the role of leadership in customer-driven product development? A: Leadership sets the tone for a customer-centric culture by prioritizing listening, learning, and adapting based on customer input. Strategic leaders ensure that customer insights are embedded in decision-making and that innovation is anchored in real-world needs. Q6: What are common challenges in collaborating with customers on product development, and how can they be overcome? A: Challenges include aligning expectations, managing diverse feedback, and maintaining focus. Success comes from structured engagement, clear communication, and a disciplined process for evaluating and implementing customer insights. Q7: How can organizations balance legacy and innovation in mature industries? A: Organizations can honor their legacy by leveraging deep expertise and established relationships while remaining open to change. The most successful companies use their history as a foundation for reinvention, embracing customer-led innovation to drive new value and differentiation.