In a bid to transform itself from an audio/visual integrator to an IT services powerhouse, CRN Solution Provider 500 staple AVI-SPL has been investing in cloud and managed services for years. But, according to the Tampa, Fla.-based company, it’s push toward services - and the recurring revenue streams that come with it, is far from over.

Last year, AVI-SPL, No. 49 on CRN’s 2013 SP500, said services represented about 14 percent of its total systems integration revenue, up from roughly 10 percent in 2012. Moving forward, the company told ITbestofbreed.com it would like to see services represent about 30 percent of its overall revenue mix, with the target of reaching the 17 percent to 18 percent range in 2014.

In addition to AVI-SPL’s professional and managed services, the company’s growing cloud services portfolio will likely catalyze that growth. At the forefront of that portfolio is AVI-SPL’s Virtual Meeting Room (VMR), a cloud-based videoconferencing service that AVI said lets customers leverage their existing networking gear. The service, launched in June, is hosted by AVI-SPL, and allows end customers to work across a variety of video endpoints and codecs, including those from Cisco, Polycom and Avaya.

“[VMR] allows us to talk to those customers who have challenges, but don’t want to abandon the investments they made in their infrastructures,” said Mike Brandofino, executive vice president of video and unified communications at AVI-SPL.

VMR is based on Cisco's Unified Computing System (UCS) and also leverages Pexip's Infinity software. According to AVI-SPL, the service has it made it one of six Cisco partners around the world to receive Cisco’s Telepresence-as-a-Service partner certification.

But where AVI-SPL really stands out is in its recognition that building out a services portfolio isn’t enough; a sales team needs to be motivated to sell it.

To do that, AVI-SPL last year changed its sales compensation structure to offer higher payouts to sales staff that attach services sales to their deals. That new structure, put simply, means sales reps that sell services make more money than those that don't.

“It was the first year we ever included a requirement that a portion of the sales person’s attainment had to be service-related and, if they got that, it impacted their top number. So we tied it directly to compensation, said Brandofino. “Then we further enhanced it with an attach rate where if there is a service attached [to the sale], they get a higher percentage on the deal.”