MSP veteran Paul Cissel, CEO and founder of Internet & Telephone LLC (I&T), runs a tight ship. A big part of that discipline is the use of Kaseya VSA, a next generation RMM that helps the 14 year-old company tightly manage clients – doing such a great job Cissel’s I&T now dramatically exceeds MSP KPI norms.
Kaseya recently spoke with Cissel to learn more about how he uses VSA to drive operational excellence. Continue Reading…
MSPs live and die by technology. An increasing percentage of MSP revenues is derived from the services that MSPs sell to clients. And these services are based upon the software solutions MSPs choose, implement and exploit. Continue Reading…
There are three cornerstones to any kind of successful business – building a business plan, executing on that plan, and measuring your results. Oh, I forgot. You also have to be able to change course mid-stream, even in some fundamental ways.
In this piece we’ll assume your MSP business is up and running, so business planning isn’t so much about creating a new business as it is expanding one.
Before we get started, let’s start with a bold statement. The biggest mistake too many MSPS make?
They don’t have a business plan. Continue Reading…
Among the many MSP solutions, there are two core types that really stand out. The RMM is the center of much of the MSP universe – and a key revenue-producing engine. A PSA is likewise a key, but unlike the RMM, does not produce revenue directly. It does however improve your business and customer relations and can drive efficiency. That said, you don’t want to spend too much on your PSA, nor do you want to sacrifice features and quality just for the sake of affordability.
Many of the major vendors that serve the MSP market have PSA solutions. Recently Clarity Channel Advisors, an independent consulting firm focused on MSPs and cloud service providers (CSPs) analyzed the pricing models of the leading PSAs. Continue Reading…
Remember the old saying “you won’t ever get there unless you know where you’re going”? This is true for MSPs attempting to craft a high-level strategy.
Many times MSPs focus on short-term financial and business planning, which are often done in quarterly and annual increments, rather than taking the time to create a longer-term strategy. Having a higher-level view of where you want your business to go often makes the shorter-term decisions easier. Knowing your destination greatly increases the chances that you will end up where you want to be.
This section will outline critical elements of a high-level strategy, including:
Continue Reading…
Many new MSPs start their business with an accounting product, a calendaring tool and a prayer, but they soon realize that they can do more – much more – in terms of managing the health of their business with a solution that gives them control over and visibility into their entire business process from prospect to invoice.
Unfortunately, many MSPs feel that once they select their PSA tool that they are then locked in with that selection for all eternity. But like any technology decision made 5, 10, or even 15 years ago, it should be routinely re-visited in light of developments in technology, your business needs, and the MSP market dynamics as a whole. Continue Reading…
Managed Service Providers (MSPs) spent the last decade or so making a major transformation ― moving from a focus on break/fix to true managed services ― and at the same expanding their list of offerings to become more complete providers.
Now they are going through an arguably even more significant change ― becoming cloud leaders to the SMB market. To do this effectively, MSPs also need to work with clients on a higher level by acting as a trusted advisor and even offering Virtual CIO (vCIO) services, including partnering with clients to conduct in-depth IT consulting, budgeting, and planning projects. Continue Reading…
Cloud storage is an everyday thing for many consumers, what with Google Drive, Apple Cloud, Microsoft OneDrive and more. On the backup side, there’s an array of consumer services, and some of the more primary storage solutions can be maneuvered into serving as backup.
Businesses looking for backup need heartier solutions. And for years that answer was tape backup. Continue Reading…
ChannelE2E covers the managed services space like a glove. Its writers talks to top MSP vendor executives and MSPs of all shapes and sizes most every day.
So when the influential web site talks, we listen.
Recently ChannelE2E polished up its trusty crystal ball and peered into the future – and came up with a set of predictions for MSPs in 2017. Make sure to check out the full article, but we were struck by these particular predictions. Continue Reading…
The end of the year is filled with lots of last minute work – and plenty of employee time off. Not a good combo. So it’s easy to let things slide. But one item you should not neglect is a year-end IT audit.
Maybe you do this every year and are only now putting it off. Perhaps you’ve never done one and aren’t looking forward to the effort. In either case, we hope you reconsider. While it seems like a lot of work, the time you put in the next few weeks will pay dividends. And with the right technology solution, the time spent can be inconsequential. Continue Reading…
