Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a type of IT service provider that offers server, network and specialized software to end-users and organizations. The applications are hosted and operated by the service provider.
Managed service providers tend to be web hosting or application service providers that require users to outsource their network and application resource processes under a distribution agreement. In most cases, MSPs own the entire physical back-end infrastructure and provide remote end-users with on-demand self-service services over the Internet.
Communication is of critical importance
It is vitally necessary at this time to maintain lines of communication with your customers. Be empathetic — Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and IT consultants are in a good position because we're more than ever in demand. But we should note that some of our customers are not in the same place. We are worried, and others are looking at the collapse of their companies after several years — no fault of their own. And they can also address more basic needs, such as family care and adaptation to changing schedules.
Communicate directly to your customers — and your social media feeds — that you are open to business. Offer them the trust that you're coping and that your own plans are in place and working. Leverage the technologies that we have been urging our customers to use and, if you can, throw extra money at it. We may use this disruption as an example of how cloud-based technology may help solve challenges in challenging times.
Within your own businesses, it really should be all hands on deck. No one is above answering a call, even if it’s just to log a ticket.
Speaking of tickets, it's probably the best way for the team to know who's dealing with what. They also make it easy to see which parts of your business are swamped and give you a history of all that has been done. This history is going to be really useful later. If you don't already have a ticketing program, get one.
Taking a balanced approach to
Although it is important to be mindful of customer balances and the possible risk to your company if they are not paid, be balanced in your approach to managing invoices. Consider removing the complete automation of invoices and reminders right now. It's easy to irreparably harm your relationship with the customer when the stress levels are too high.
One of our suppliers made an administrative mistake in an automatic alert program, which sent aggressive payment notices to customers who had already collected the money via direct debit. It may be achieved in good faith under normal circumstances, but these are not normal conditions. Customers should recall their understanding of the actions of their suppliers and partners during this period.
Remote control is more critical than ever before
From a technical point of view, we need to pay careful attention to on-premises infrastructure. It's going to be difficult to physically access these for reboots, and hardware failures will take longer to resolve with warranty providers. If you’re not already using remote monitoring to pick up issues before they occur, you should implement this as soon as you can.
Security must be top of mind
MSPs had to deal on some fast fixes to get consumers up and running remotely. People communicate from a wide range of devices — and a lot is not under the control of a corporate network. Some of them are also shared with family members. This endangers the credibility of these networks and increases the potential risk. We need to ensure that these remote devices are kept at arm length. At the simplest point, a quick reminder of basic cyber knowledge will yield immediate benefits.
Although more people already know their Office 365 credential (because they're new in their minds) they're still using outdated systems. As such, they are more likely to crash because of scams. There is an opportunity to provide consumers with extra layers of security It is more necessary than ever to enforce items such as link scanning inside email messages, antivirus given at the user level (not at the system level) and network scanning to check for unauthorized and unsafe devices.
Yet note, this incident is generating a series of future security issues — when the world returns to some sort of normality, all of these "fast and dirty" fixes will have to be undone. It is another justification to log everything you're doing now, so you can look at stuff you're going to try to remove later.
Looking to the future, remote work isn't going anywhere. Now that the market is showing what is feasible, I expect a 20-30% rise in the number of users who will work from home for at least some of their hours. All the problems we're seeing around defense, management, and monitoring are not going away any time soon.
Consider taking the extra time saved on your journey to explore gifts and deals that you should plan. Let's get ready to create new business and new relationships to make both of us stronger when it's over.
Thank you for reading, feedback is always welcome. Stay safe, stay at home if you can, and be kind.
