Post COVID-19. What's next?

"New Normal" a phrase you will not hear me repeat again during this article....well what does it hold for MSPs?

Every year plenty of industry vendors release MSP Benchmark Surveys, and for the most part they are useful reading. Recently however one has really clawed my attention away from the day to day.

ITGlue (a brand we all know) conducted a Benchmark 2020 MSP survey. What really differentiates this one is that results were captured and shared from before COVID-19 and mid COVID-19. The results are very interesting and provide evidence to predictions both Uptime Solutions and I have made years ago.

The survey can be seen here, in case you want to make sure I am not making all the stats up :) https://www.itglue.com/blog/it-glue-2020-global-benchmark-launched/

Right onto the nitty gritty.

First thing to note, is only 5% of the participants are from United Kingdom. Disappointing in my opinion as it seems incredibly low, but worth keeping in mind.

77% of MSPs have added revenue or stayed the same in the last 2-3 months.

What a staggering statistic that is. Such positive news from a time when uncertainty is manipulating the years plans. Reading this genuinely brought a smile to my face. Not just for personal reasons, but we are TRULY in such a great industry, at such a GREAT time. Despite what it may seem.

Stack analysis: Are MSPs wanting to change PSA or RMM?

This is really interesting...

64% of MSPs asked, expressed that in the next 12 months they are not looking to change their RMM tooling. Which is great, clearly vendors are continuing to demonstrate the value to existing MSPs. This is a number that has risen year after year, with more and more MSPs less likely to change RMM.

Surprisingly though, PSA is a very different story.

34% of MSPs asked, said they are considering changing PSA in the next 12 months...

Arguably, PSA is the far more complex tool of the two to change, assuming you use it for billing and ticketing. Yet MSPs are not put off at the thought of moving. Is this because of a lack of demonstrated value? Or maybe frustrations with current products?

For the many MSPs we work with, talk to and support at Uptime Solutions, I am starting to lean towards the opinion that MSPs are wanting to change due to seemingly slow roadmap progress with their current offerings.

Kaseya, Datto (Autotask) and Connectwise. The three giants of the MSP space, all have their own niggles and required improvements. Going into them would cause me to take up the rest of your day. But this is somewhat to be expected which such a comprehensive platform and rapidly developing industry, right?

So now the onus is on one of them to step up and bring out something game changing, that will allow for a market share shift.

For me the new Kaseya and ITGlue integration is a wonderful step towards bringing unity to a platform of separate tools. Read Here.

My opinion: The grass isn't always greener. Make sure you have invested time and efforts into understanding the value of your OWN platform, before you look at others.

There are some great business' out there that will help you get the most from your platform.

Every PSA needs time spent. It needs nurturing.

If moving still seems the best option, use a Product Comparison Matrix. Templates are widely available across the web. I know/work/have met plenty of PSA/RMM salespeople in the space. They are phenomenal at demonstrating the value of their products. So don't get foggy glasses, ensure you get the eye test first to make sure you need the glasses!

Top 4 Challenges MSPs Faced (based on survey)

COVID Lockdowns

Not much to say here. Apart from I do truly hope that your team, family and friends are all safe and well. It is so easy to overlook that right now, our health is more important than our rapidly growing industry.

Cybersecurity Threats

Oh well, there is a topic that really does just continue to pull in webinar viewers. Obviously the real solution here is using something like Uptime Solutions SOC, so you can remove the headache. No but really, the only thing you can do and I can do, is continue to educate ourselves on the evolving space. A few things we have done that you should consider:

Security Council

Every two weeks, a group meet to discuss emerging threats that we should be aware of. As well as discussing current weakness' that we have found in the existing customer base. This forum has been in place for some time, but I strongly believe it is invaluable to everyone within the business.

Security Champions

Alongside the Security Council, individuals with cybersecurity skills and a passion, have been nominated as business Security Champions. They champion high levels of security in their teams. From a password reset all the way through to a pro-active consideration. If no one feels responsible, will anyone?

Customer Churn/Hiring Good Employees

For me these go hand in hand. Given how challenging Sales and Marketing is for almost every MSP, we would expect churn to be lower. After all, if you aren't selling as much as you would like, you are trying to make sure you don't lose any (obviously sometimes this is unavoidable).

Demonstrating YOUR value is becoming more important than ever before.

Whether it be pro-active reports, vCIO or some value add service. COVID has allowed MSPs to look internally to see how they can improve. No one is perfect and the future remains open for you to write.

The key part is, your SERVICE DESK is no longer something that differentiates you. So we need to be looking beyond that. Your team may get on very well with the Office Manager, but when the director signs the cheque, does he know just how much you are helping them?

Obviously, you have to be providing good support. That is a given. But focusing on business as usual activities are taking most MSPs time away from the overlays, the bits that differentiate you.

I am biased. I understand. Uptime provide outsourcing.

Outsourcing is not for everyone, I completely agree. But why not deliberate the exact idea that you are selling to customers?

Anyway enough of the plug and biased thinking.

Post COVID-19

Many are expecting a V shaped response within the economy. But what would happen if we had a recession?

Statistically, during recessions, the technology companies that survive the turmoil end up thriving significantly in the long term. As cuts are made and budgets are reviewed, technology is looked upon to provide the competitive advantage they need.

Either way, our market is on the up. The stats don't lie. Just make sure you have a plan of attack for either option, a recession or an immediate bounce back. Obviously having significant detail within it will be hard. But if a recession happened, are you going to continue as normal or shift slightly to ensure you can steady the ship temporarily.

Onto my final point.

Technical assistance is now required, almost as much as Sales assistance.

Sales and Marketing have always been something many MSPs need assistance with. Companies like Datto have built entire platforms to help their partners do so more effectively. So to see these decreasing as a requirement is fantastic.

What is really, really interesting is the rise of technical assistance.

With the growth of technology seemingly outweighing the number of new people joining the industry, this is surely going to continue to rise?

Not bad for Tech Salaries I guess :)

So how is this fixed. Well I wanted to write and highlight something I thought was really fantastic.

Back before COVID, I had the pleasure of attending a Comptia UK Community Meetup in Manchester. One of many events that I get to meet so many of the wonderful people that make this industry great (I suspect you are one if you got this far down).

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Manchester, informed the room of the plans for a Manchester Tech Apprenticeship scheme that they had curated. Seeing more and more people paying attention to the apprenticeship scheme if something I absolutely love.

We have had the pleasure of giving many apprentices their first chance in the industry. They have always turned into great engineers.

Apprentices?

Have you had or ever looked at an apprentice? If you can afford the time and your business is mature enough, it is a no brainer. Highly recommended by me and many other folks in the industry.

Key Takeaways....

Hey Jason, you have talked about a lot, but a lot about nothing. Well here are some key points that I am seeing successful MSPs action.

Get your house in order (Tooling and Organisationally)

Take business that aligns with you (e.g. a customer that adds significant complexion is going to detract from your service to other customers eventually)

Find a niche and expand slightly around it - Often people don't want to specialise in one area due to risk

Work with your customers to turn them into evangelists

Make every decision with scale in mind. Ask yourself. Would that scale? Would that be possible if we were 3x the size?

Finally.

Build a roadmap. Whether you outsource or have internal staff, the more direction that the business has, the more your staff can help you man the ship.

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