Common Pitfalls That Managed Service Providers Must Avoid
As a managed service provider (MSP) you’re held to many standards — even if many of them are unspoken or informal. You’re expected to keep the IT “lights on” around the clock, provide sage advice, and keep everyone secure. One misstep, and you can find your MSP business in serious trouble.
Running an MSP that services budget-minded small or mid-sized business isn’t as easy as it’s made out to be. Because you’re expected to deliver exceptional service while keeping costs down, the temptation to focus on profit margins often leads to issues down the road.
But not all MSP pitfalls are centered around money. We’ll take a look at a few common mistakes that MSPs make that frequently lead to issues.
1. Failing to Provide Value
Not all problems center around costs, but many certainly do. If your clients believe that you’re overcharging, you may find your book of business dwindling before too long.
It’s important to provide service and solutions in line with what you’re charging. Underqualified and overhyped MSPs often charge an exorbitant sum without the service delivery to back it up. They’re often propelled forward by marketing and high SEO ranking, using their prominence to close deals rather than their IT expertise.
The steadfast MSP will take a different approach, making sure they can cash the checks their marketing is writing. The key word here is “value”, meaning that there’s nothing wrong with charging higher prices as long as you’re delivering service to match.
2. Weak Security Stance
Without a doubt, a key responsibility of every MSP is cybersecurity. Unprofessional MSPs can often be identified by their lackluster approach to this challenge.
As focus increases on security, you’ll want your MSP to adapt to demand as well as the changing threat landscape. Firewall and AV aren’t enough any more, and modern threats are making endpoint protection, cloud security, and awareness training all but necessary.
3. Poor Communication
Your client–MSP relationship hinges on clear communication. Most unprofessional IT providers fail to maintain lines of communication and transparency.
Your clients should be able to call your MSP and get immediate support. Tracking your SLAs is essential and can become a great way to sell against other MSPs when the time comes.
Unprofessional MSPs tend to take on more clients than they can handle, so much so that they can no longer provide individualized and timely support to each of them. Rest assured that end users who begin to see a communication breakdown with their MSP will start to look elsewhere for service.
Running a top MSP is no easy task — we know from our previous experience doing just that. When it comes to cloud projects and cloud security, the challenges and risks often overshadow the possible return. That’s why we recommend turning to a cloud provider for MSPs like Technolify to take on that risk, handle the cloud and ERP projects, and help you maintain your margins while providing top-notch service.
