When it comes to consulting, some people simply want to access expertise in areas such as SharePoint, productivity, online services and new technology.
"Because we are always looking at new products and how they can be applied, we can help a business really shortcut their research time," he says. "A good example is Twitter. Most resellers we know of simply pooh-pooh it but, if implemented correctly, it can be a very effective business tool.
"Our experience can help a business better decide on a Twitter strategy for their business."
Crane says his company is radically different from other IT businesses in regard to its staff.
CIA operates as a virtual business, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across the globe by outsourcing.
He finds people with the skills he needs, tells them what needs to be done and they manage the process.
"In this world these days you only make money being really big or really small," he says. "Using technology I can have a global reach, I can access experts from any field in any location - why do I need staff and offices?
"The secret is building good relationships with people who you trust to do the job - and that will always be the challenge. But why do I want the hassle of everything that traditionally goes with running a business?"
Robert Crane has a degree in electrical engineering, is a master of business administration, and is a small business and SharePoint technology specialist.
He is studying for a degree in philosophy and previously worked in both small and large businesses, and spent time working on Wall Street in the US for a major merchant bank on Y2K issues.
Until 10 months ago he was a partner in a traditional infrastructure business but decided for personal reasons he needed a change. "That's when I began down the path on which I am travelling with my business now," he says.
CIA's market is anyone running a business, whether they want training on improved email productivity or the implementation of an onsite SharePoint solution.
"Our greatest advantage is the ability to fit between the cracks in what customers may have already received from traditional suppliers.
"We can bring their disparate systems together and show them the power of their existing tools like Microsoft Office. We can implement simply and cheap technology like SharePoint or those available online to solve business problems."
Customers include infrastructure resellers, distributors, registered clubs, not-for-profit organisations and more because technology is ''in just about every business these days and we figure that many of our solutions will appeals to businesses so we don't necessarily focus on a single vertical''.
Crane admits he is still in the growth phase of fielding for customers. He works hard at generating new business in this climate and says after much trial and error his focus is on building a network of contacts and trying to offer as much information as he can in his field.
"I have not had much success with traditional marketing methods and as such am tending to experiment with less traditional methods," he says.
He has a blog http://supportweb.ciaops.net.au/blog that focuses on business productivity and technical information on the technologies he specialises on.
Crane believes ''we are witnessing a demographic change in technology right now''. He says there are no longer people like him running businesses - the trend is toward the iPod generation who find their answers on the internet.
"After reading The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman I realised that to survive I needed to move up the food chain and improve my skills," Crane says.
"Sure I could still sell PC hardware but why should I compete in that market when there is a vast untapped pool of opportunity over here? Taking that leap is always hard but to stay relevant you need to move with the times because it is the iPod generate who are signing the cheques these days."
The main problem he has found is that traditional technology is becoming commoditised.
Customers think technology is an essential service. This means they come into the office, switch on the gear, use it and switch it off when they have finished.
Their expectation is a simple monthly bill based on their usage. They don't want to worry about patching, updates, security.
"There is still money to be made providing this but, like electricity, it's made only by large businesses able to achieve economies of scale.
"If you are a smaller operator doing general networking work you need to be across everything, Windows, security, virus updates, ISPs, ADSL, etc, and that's simply too much these days," says Crane.
Of all technology, his biggest challenge is Google because out there somewhere on Google is the answer for almost everything.
Crane says it is the first place many people consult - so why do they need to improve their technology skills when all they have to do is learn how to search better?
"As a business I need to provide something that a business can't find simply by Googling. I need to provide something that either generates them profit or reduces their expenses," says Crane.
"Finally, you need to realise you have so much information to wade through every day yet you may not appreciate that you have to ignore 80 percent of that to find the 20 percent that has value.
"The trick is developing a good filtering system to find that 20 percent as soon as possible."
Crane says he has learnt that you must either increase profit or decrease expenses.
"This is how any solution is judged by a customer and to be successful you have to look at it from their point of view," he says.
"Technology is fun to play with and a challenge to implement but at the end of the day customers pay for a solution and you always need to keep that in mind.
"The same applies to your own business - to be a success, you need to run at as a business and not as a hobby. I admit that took me many years to appreciate but it is one of the most important lessons."
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