Commercial Integrator January 2023 - 34

EXECUTIVE TALK Going Inside Diversified
Diversified is exceptionally qualified to handle the large, complex, showpiece projects, often involving hundreds of line items, that
A-list clients seek it out to execute. These projects represent such a core competency that, according to Hutto, Diversified now tends to
screen out lower-margin projects in favor of these grander-scale endeavors.
must take good care of our people, even
if macroeconomic challenges like high
inflation and lingering pandemic effects
make it difficult.
As a seasoned executive leader, Hutto
knows that every company - big or small
- needs a three-year plan, and he's bringing
that intentionality to Diversified. But he
also acknowledges that business trends,
technology and the world can change
quickly, making longer-term planning
hard. Ultimately, Hutto and his leadership
team have been looking at how to grow
the billion-dollar company with the right
mix of revenue, creating a healthy company
and allowing it to continue to innovate
and invest in its people.
Growth Projections
Ever the " numbers guy, " Hutto forecasts
that, over the next three years, Diversified
will grow at a compound annual growth
rate (CAGR) of 9.5%. For those who've
been watching Diversified as of late, that
percentage might seem slower that the
company is currently growing, but Hutto
emphasizes that it's a healthy growth
rate. " You can't change the wheels while
the car is moving, " he analogizes. " Even
34
NASCAR stops for six seconds. We have to
[slow down] our own car - do it the right
way. And then we can speed up. "
The " change the wheels " analogy refers
to Diversified's ongoing business transformation.
" We're changing the operating
model, " Hutto explains. " We're moving
to three business units. We're addressing
skill gaps in areas in cloud security since
software-defined networks are all around
us now. " And, as he has made clear
throughout the conversation, he is focused
on building and sustaining one Diversified.
" [We] need to bring it together as one
company, " he declares. " Create a structure
to scale; have a consistent customer
experience; get the right tools, systems
and metrics in place so that we're productive
and our people enjoy the work
that they do. "
We've already alluded to the ascendance
of software, but it's worth
exploring in greater depth. Hutto sees
customers opting for more software-centric
approaches to replace long-soughtafter
hardware amid continuing supply-chain
snarls.
The supply chain has been a significant
challenge for Diversified, just as it has been
Commercial Integrator JANUARY 2023
for every integration business. Like most
integrators these days, Diversified's backlog
is substantial. What Hutto is seeing now,
though, is more willingness among clients
to embrace alternative approaches. He
says that, unlike standards-driven global
enterprise clients, which might be willing
to wait nine months to get a particular
SKU, the average client is saying, " I'll take
the alternative. " But he adds, " [They] want
integrators to test it, prove to them it works
on their tech stack, and [show] it doesn't
create a security issue or a communication
issue. " The bottom line, Hutto says, is that
integrators and clients alike must recognize
that there are other ways to solve problems.
Software-Driven Approaches
Hutto recognizes and respects longstanding
vendors relationships, referring to,
in some cases, working with the same
company and product for 20 years.
" [They] have been great partners and still
are great partners, " he acknowledges.
There's clearly a level of comfort there.
Nevertheless, he says, other than for large,
standards-driven enterprise customers,
Diversified is leaning on its team of creative
engineers to explore software-driven
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Commercial Integrator January 2023

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