Managed services are only as good as the solutions that underlie them, and an MSP business is only as good as the PSA that helps drive, manage, and measure it.
While it can be difficult to move from one toolset to another, there are massive opportunity costs in not doing so. If you let this inertia rule, you are leaving money and efficiency on the table. Few businesses are as dependent on specific software solutions as MSPs. Leading edge next generation tools fundamentally change an MSP’s operations, creating an unparalleled competitive advantage.
At the same time, MSPs often struggle with discrete solutions with little to no integration. As a result, technicians switch from screen to screen, facing multiple interfaces, to get even a simple problem fixed.
Even more worrisome, technicians spend the bulk of their day staring at these separate screens.
It may be time for a total solutions rethink, starting with an MSP’s core tool – the RMM, which drives the bulk of MSP services.
The RMM Problem
Most RMM solutions show their legacy past. Older architectures cannot scale, interfaces are clumsy, they are not cloud-centric, and their proprietary natures makes integration a nonstarter. Too often these RMMs are so complex and hard to use, MSPs devote a full-time admin just to run the darn thing.
Other drawbacks include less than robust automation and weak reporting.
The Answer – a Next Generation RMM
A next-gen RMM corrects the flaws of today’s generation of solutions in these ways:
- Scale. Ambitious MSPs are always looking to grow, and smart providers are already dealing with increasing client loads. Their RMM must scale to handle all these endpoints – and clients to come. Today’s MSPs must prepare to serve thousands of endpoints without servers crashing or the network slowing to a crawl. A next-generation RMM lets MSPs add servers with little cost due to scalability and superior automation, and need not fear performance problems that threaten service levels.
- Big time automation. A next-generation RMM is all about automation. To achieve the best results, the RMM must offer automation that is deep and easy to set up. The better the automation, and the easier it is to manage, the more endpoints each technician can easily and effectively manage.
- Top technician experience, with fast and modern remote control. MSP techs spend most of their day staring at an RMM console. The efficiency of each technician determines the profitability of MSP services. The remote control must be fast, and perform at high speed from wherever the technician happens to be – even working over a high-latency network.
The PSA Problem
MSPs are turning to professional services automation (PSA) solutions to improve the efficiency of their operations, solve problems more quickly, track work hours and expenses, and improve the bottom line. The problem is legacy PSAs do not scale, do not integrate with the RMM, which holds the data PSA users need, and fail to provide the efficiencies that increase productivity and profit. In addition, nearly none of these PSAs are built from the ground up to serve the distinct needs of MSPs.
The PSA Solution
Fortunately the PSA, at least in one instance, has evolved, leading to the development of a next-generation PSA solution with better cloud capabilities, a richer feature set, and integration with remote monitoring and management (RMM), accounting software, and other applications.
BMS by Kaseya is built from the ground up for the cloud, making it easier to manage, more affordable, and having greater flexibility, scalability, and speed. The BMS solution boosts revenue through the smooth introduction of new services, such as departmental billing or project management, and profitability by making the use of admin and techs’ time more efficient and capturing all hours spent.
Kaseya BMS is the first next-generation PSA built specifically for MSPs. With it, you can free staff to focus more attention on strategically selling new services, scoping and deploying these service, then running them in a profitable way. At the same time, you will spend far less time dealing with non-revenue-generating work such as project management and billing.
The Integration Problem
When MSPs buy what they think are best of breed solutions they often fail to realize that solutions working in unison create synergy. For instance, if your RMM does not feed data into the PSA, what are you really automating? At the same time, technicians are bogged down in multiple interfaces, the MSP owner grapples with multiple vendors for licensing, negotiation and support.
Overcome the Technology Catch-22
We talked about solution inertia where MSPs fear change because it will disrupt their organization, create a hassle for implementers and operations, and cost too much money. As a result, they make do with older, installed technology.
But next-generation technologies offer significant advantages over their predecessors, and failure to adopt them out of fear or reluctance means you are missing out on crucial opportunities. This is what we call the technology Catch-22.
A better answer is to be on the lookout for technologies that purposely disrupt. These technologies should transform the business in an eminently positive way – thus driving strategic revenue and more than paying for themselves quickly with an impressive ROI.
To learn more, download our eBook, “End the Compromise: Moving Beyond the MSP Tech Dilemma” and be sure to sign up our upcoming webinar “Overcoming the ‘Technology Catch-22’ to Fuel Strategic Growth”.
