Managing IT across multiple vendors is a bit like trying to keep a dozen plates spinning in the air. Each plate is a critical part of the operation – and if one wobbles or crashes, the whole show is at risk. Companies often find themselves scrambling to keep everything in motion. They patch together solutions from different sources with no clear strategy to keep it all running smoothly.
This is understandable, considering the stakes. In 2024, each minute of downtime can cost a company up to $9,000. Efficient IT management is more critical than ever!
At Xcelocloud, we step in to prevent these issues and simplify the chaos. Over the last few years, we’ve grown from a startup into a tech powerhouse by delivering seamless multi-vendor support through our innovative MVSS365 solution. Our white-label approach adapts to market demands and allows partners to offer high-value IT services under their own brand while we handle the complexities behind the scenes. With a focus on agility, expertise, and the ability to integrate across more than 20 vendors, we’re setting a new standard for IT management. The goal is to empower our partners to help foster flawless operations for their customers.
In this interview, Xcelocloud CEO Mike Champion shares the company’s journey from its early days to becoming a key player in the tech world. We explore how Xcelocloud has evolved and what’s next as we continue to shape the future of multi-vendor support.
Xcelocloud delivers services through VARs. Was a white-label approach always the plan, or did that evolve?
Our white-label approach developed organically. I had a connection with a VAR in Virginia, and he approached me saying, “Mike, we don’t know much about SD-WAN, but we want to partner with you. Can we introduce you to our clients? We’re aiming to sell more routers, hardware and software solutions, but need services to differentiate us in the marketplace.” This led us to create a professional services framework they could offer, allowing both of us to make a healthy margin on consulting services. This became our entry into white-label professional services.
Soon, more VARs reached out for similar collaborations. As we consistently delivered professionalism, expertise, agility, and responsiveness—the qualities partners and customers look for—demand increased. Requests from partners evolved into, “Can you handle this? Can you handle that?” We always said, “Yes!” and found a way to deliver.
Our approach mirrors what companies like Google do—they iterate and adapt to market demands. For instance, it has been written that Gmail wasn’t necessarily a part of their original roadmap, but engineers saw the need, built it, and became a global product. Similarly, we let authentic market demands guide our service development, continuously iterating and growing based on client feedback and data.
Let’s talk about the multi-vendor support service, “MVSS,” and how the idea of it became part of our vernacular at Xcelocloud.
Our approach to multi-vendor support services – MVSS – grew directly from market demand. It started when a partner asked us to develop a Microsoft support service as an alternative to Microsoft’s own. After evaluating the opportunity, we launched the service, which was well received. We quickly expanded our offerings as new requests emerged—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic for virtual desktop solutions with Citrix. When Broadcom acquired VMware, more service requests came in, which we also integrated into our portfolio.
Additionally, we soon realized that about 25% of our Microsoft support tickets weren’t actually directly tied to Microsoft issues—they involved other vendors like Cisco, Fortinet, or Juniper. These would have been largely unsolvable cases by any one single OEM support service.
To address this, we built a broad network of engineers who could quickly respond to these complex, multi-vendor challenges. Unlike larger, siloed organizations, our agility allows us to support over 20 vendors seamlessly on our own proprietary platform, using the same customer success and incident management teams.
This led to the development of XceloHub, our unified white-label platform where partners and customers can manage support and services for multiple technologies through a single interface. It offers detailed reporting, analytics, and even AI-driven predictive maintenance.
“One standout moment that highlights our capabilities was a recent Microsoft-CrowdStrike issue. Our engineering team resolved it within 30 minutes for 156 customers—an agility critical to a successful multi-vendor support service.”
As we did in our last discussion, what are your thoughts on Xcelocloud and leading MVSS over the next 5 to 10 years?
Our vision for the future is to keep advancing our multi-vendor support services, adding more platforms that are supported within our product, and become the leading voice in the market.
I recently had breakfast with an investor who used to oversee tech departments for a very large company. He mentioned how much time and money he could’ve saved had he known about our approach. Back then, they juggled multiple support services from various OEMs and often had to bring in outside firms like Accenture. The problem is that most support models today are siloed, complicating the management of multiple platforms.
Our goal is to educate the market on the value of comprehensive, integrated support. If we can continue to make our offering so indispensable that 98% of 1000’s customers renew year after year, we’ll have achieved my vision over the next 5 to 10 years.
As we continue to push boundaries and refine our approach to IT support, our mission is clear: to empower our partners with unparalleled agility, expertise, and seamless multi-vendor solutions. In a competitive market, the ability to offer fast, precise, and efficient services is critical. We’re dedicated to helping partners stay ahead of the curve, so they can deliver the best to their customers.
Partners: now’s the time to elevate your IT service offerings. Visit xcelocloud.com to explore how MVSS can simplify complex environments and provide the unified support needed to drive growth and deliver superior value.
Let’s collaborate to turn your support capabilities into a game-changing advantage. Partner with us today!
Bridget Hildebrand
Bridget leads partner and product marketing at Xcelocloud, leveraging her decades of experience in high-tech companies to create effective messaging and marketing tools for partners. She holds a master’s degree in international management from the University of Maryland and co-owns a vineyard in Southern Arizona.
