OXEN Technology

OXEN Technology, formerly known as Heartland Technology Solutions (HTS), got its start as a break-fix IT provider more than 31 years ago. Of all the changes HTS has undergone over the years, including acquiring four companies and transitioning from break-fix to managed services, the past 18 months have seen some of the biggest changes.

Last January, Bob Gentzler became the new president of the company. One of the first projects he became involved with was identifying areas that were impeding growth. A top culprit that emerged was HTS’ BDR offering. “Our former BDR solution was hosted in a co-location facility and managed by our technicians,” Gentzler says. “Our BDR vendor had a multi-tiered sales model, which was complicated to sell and difficult for customers to comprehend. Plus, we realized that we couldn’t scale the offering by hosting it ourselves.”

Replacing Complicated BDR Pricing with a Simple Solution

The MSP did an analysis of several leading BDR vendors offering cloudbased backup solutions and chose Barracuda MSP. “We liked the simplicity of the Barracuda MSP pricing model as well as the scalability of their offering,” says Gentzler. “These factors combined with their track record of investing in research and development gave them an edge over other options. Prior to Barracuda MSP, we on-boarded one BDR client every few months, and now we are bringing on two new BDR clients a month.”

Creating a Blueprint for Business Success

After signing up to become a Barracuda MSP partner, HTS quickly learned that the value of the partnership went beyond BDR sales. One of the first areas Barracuda MSP assisted the MSP was with its business plan. “For a long time, our company wanted to create a business plan that would communicate our purpose, values, mission, financials, and SWOT [strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats], but it never happened,” says Gentzler. “Barracuda MSP offers partners a one-page business plan, which they also use. I presented this to our board of directors, and we were able to adopt it for our company. Having this document in place enables us to succinctly communicate our shared vision, and it also creates energy and excitement throughout our entire organization.”

Managed Services Upgrade: From À La Carte to Entrée

HTS changed its pricing model last year, too, as a result of its partnership with Barracuda MSP. Previously, the company had a 20-item a la carte offering that put selecting IT solutions and services into the hands of the customer. “This was problematic as some customers simply don’t know what they want or need,” says Gentzler. “Barracuda MSP's thought leadership materials played a key role in educating us about industry best practices, and we incorporated some of their ideas into our managed services bundled offerings. Today, we have four managed services bundled offerings that cover the needs of about 80 percent of our customers. This new pricing structure has greatly reduced our sales cycle and time spent on customization.”

Eliminating 4,000 “Competitors” Instantly

Throughout the Midwest, there are more than 4,000 businesses named Heartland. Not surprisingly, trying to brand a company with this name is an exercise in futility. HTS made a bold move to change its name, and Gentzler says Barracuda MSP was involved in this company milestone, too. “Barracuda MSP sponsored and attended the company event where we officially announced our name change."

The MSP wanted a name that wasn’t overly used but still represented its Midwestern values. “We’re not about selling the shiniest objects; we’re about making life simple for our clients,” says Gentzler. Three descriptive words that continuously rose to the top during the planning phase were: strong, trusted, and simple. From there, the MSP began looking for something that would embody each of its core traits, and it landed on the name OXEN. “Not only do OXEN exemplify these traits, they work closely with one another to get the job done,” says Gentzler. “Also, there are no other IT companies in the Midwest with a name like OXEN Technology. It is completely unique.”

After agreeing on the name, OXEN Technology, the MSP did a full rebranding, complete with a new website. After the new name went into effect, within a month Gentzler said it already sparked a lot of conversations with clients and prospects and has given his company an opportunity to explain and reiterate its core values and differentiators.

OXEN Technology is also in the midst of unprecedented growth. “We are projecting up to 50 percent revenue growth this year in managed and cloud services, and as much as 30 percent of our growth will come from backup and related services,” says Gentzler. “Out of 20 vendors we work with, Barracuda MSP has been the most proactive partner in providing useful information to help us grow our business. I get inundated with emails and newsletters from everywhere, but the only one I regularly open is from them. In the same way OXEN work well together as a team, Barracuda MSP works very closely with its channel partners, adding strength, trust, and simplicity.”