How House of Service Started

The story has a familiar ring: a group of colleagues working in a hardware and software-focused IT company when along comes the cloud and the demand for cloud services, effectively challenging the future of the company. Rather than wait for the legacy company to catch up to the changing market, Niklas Stoltz, CEO of House of Service, and his partners wanted to get in front of the tailwinds and start fresh with a new company focused only on digital solutions. Based out of Stockholm, Sweden, House of Service offers complete business solutions tailored to each unique customer need. With expertise in Azure/Microsoft 365, House of Service confidently supports their customers throughout their cloud journey. As Stoltz says, “We help companies that don’t have their own IT department with questions regarding cloud services in the Microsoft 365/Azure security network and everything a company needs to have working in IT.”

Stoltz and his team’s ability to deliver solutions easily and securely was integral to the adoption of different licensing and services for customers who did not have digital or cloud experience, knowledge, and skills. And, in return, it quickly helped establish the company.

Growing with Ingram Micro Cloud

Extended Support

House of Service had another large partner in Sweden providing them with licenses. After reviewing the market, and their experience with the Swedish team who helped them migrate to the Cloud Marketplace, they decided to become an Ingram Micro Cloud partner. Ingram Micro Cloud’s customer success team also provided Stoltz and his coworkers with support in ramping up sales (e.g., Adobe and Acronis).

“I just want to give a big thank you for that the team and all the support we get from Ingram Micro,” said Stoltz. “Not only regarding good services with the current solutions, but also for their help with the Azure and Adobe questions. It's super fun to see that we can get an idea from Ingram Micro, turn it into real actions and give our customers more value.”

Simplified Management

With the Cloud Marketplace, House of Service can control and manage all the licenses from different providers such as Microsoft, Adobe, and Acronis in a single place, in addition to giving end-customers a software portal to manage their own licenses. House of Service can also view Azure consumption, while the Microsoft online management extension provides an overview of customer Microsoft Security scores, which are used in review meetings with customers to prioritize policies that need to be configured to make Microsoft 365 better and more secure.

“It's a fantastic platform that you created, enabling us to work so much faster with all the licenses from different providers,” said Stoltz. “We will continue working with the white label solution and the software portals where our customers can manage their own licenses—saving us and our customers time as well.”

Time-Saving Integrations

According to Stoltz, they worked with the Microsoft online management extension in the past, but the speed they get now is “fantastic.” This makes looking into the marketplace integrations a logical next step.

“We have an ongoing dialogue with Lisa from the PST team to integrate with the license portal with our ERP system,” said Stoltz. “This will allow us to match unassigned and assigned licenses to agreements with the customers automatically.”

With invoicing being a key pain point, automating billing and reconciliation processes will ensure timely, accurate payment, as well as time savings. House of Service’s plan is to move all customers, including infrastructure customers, to Ingram Micro Cloud and take advantage of the platform’s full capacity. 

Upskilling and Expertise

Another special benefit of partnering with Ingram Micro Cloud is the certifications and training offered to partners. 

“The team has been super useful in suggesting the different certifications that we should have, and other educational programs by Microsoft and other vendors that we can take through Ingram Micro Cloud so our staff can continuously learn and become better,” said Stoltz.

Currently, Ingram Micro Cloud is working on launching the MS Expert program in Sweden.

Achieving Success

House of Service has been a textbook example of an engaged partner who wants to learn, listen, and offer their customers a comprehensive portfolio. They know what metrics to follow and track their performance in revenue growth and increase in customer base. They have almost doubled their ARR since the last licensing partners, and they have seen 34% quarterly growth in software last quarter. The gross retention rate for net new customers is an amazing 98%, demonstrating very little churn or downgrades! Ingram Micro Cloud enjoys being an extension of their business and looks forward to their continued success.