In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, businesses increasingly rely on managed service providers (MSPs) to maintain, optimize, and secure their IT infrastructure. As MSPs play a critical role in the success of modern organizations, the need for a structured approach to their selection becomes paramount.
This checklist can serve as an indispensable tool for businesses getting into the managed services business to understand if they have covered all business nuances that they should have as an MSP.
In any business, it is essential to have your business plan chalked out. The same rule needs to be applied when you are starting an MSP business.
Managed Service Providers should have a business plan in place, considering the demand for MSP services in the chosen market, as well as the competition present.
After analyzing the target market, MSPs should have a business model in place, along with the appropriate pricing for the services. Some MSPs also provide packages with varying service bundles and price ranges. The business model can include the number of contracts needed to ensure that the services are adequate. Having an idea of your clientele’s interest will help you deduce your stability in the market.
As a good Managed Service Provider, have all your documents in place to chronicle the processes, the plan, the growth, etc. of the company, thoroughly. This will not only help you understand your business trajectory but will allow you to explain what you do to your employees as well as future investors and define the target market and the industries you plan to serve.
The MSP should be able to explain the nature of its business and the services it will offer. Whether you’ll be providing cloud services and cybersecurity, or your service offerings will include remote monitoring, helpdesk, data backup, and IT infrastructure consulting, all the details should be documented clearly.
The MSP company must establish the costs and capacity needed to validate its business model based on the number of users or endpoints it can manage. Proper Service Level Agreements (SLAs) should be established, and the preferred tools and vendors should be mentioned.
It is always a good move when MSPs emphasize and render a unique value proposition to its services that sets the MSP apart from competitors.
A business that is compliant with industry standards and properly licensed helps increase its credibility and add value to its services.
Various certifications like ISO, ECMA, CMMC, etc. help your customers understand your products and management quality standards. Multiple vendors like Amazon, Cisco, Google Cloud, and Axelos provide these certifications.
A good MSP should have the appropriate insurance coverage, including general liability insurance, professional liability, property insurance, and cyber insurance in place. You can also offer cyber insurance to your customers as an additional service. Your insurance coverage will help your customers understand how you will handle cases like ransomware attacks or major outages of cloud-based services affecting their businesses.
A business is as good as its employees. And this is especially important for an MSP.
Another essential ingredient for a successful Managed Service Provider business are the tools at hand. The company should have the necessary hardware and software tools for service delivery and ensure that the quality is impeccable and constantly upgraded and updated.
An MSP depends on distributors to provide it with the software and hardware as well as for a lot of services it provides. Thus, you need to have a reliable set of software and hardware distributors to expand your business. Some vendors like Acronis specialize in security and will provide the best software in the cybersecurity market. And others like RackNap will arm you with a marketplace and subscription business management software for automation of complete customer lifecycle.
You should also be an active participant in communications and training activities by distributors. This will help you to stay informed about new opportunities and skillsets needed to stay updated on the latest technologies.
It has been long established that the customer comes first. Making sure that all the needs of your clients are met is a sure-shot way of ensuring customer retention as well as business growth.
Marketing is essential to all businesses.
Competent MSPs will not only have an online advertising setup but also consider offline marketing channels, join local business communities, attend relevant events, host webinars or events for small business owners, and encourage customer referrals to stay relevant and stand out in the crowd of competitors.
A person’s net worth is their network, and the same concept applies to businesses as well. MSPs should have a network of partners to deliver services that it doesn’t offer, establishing a referral network with other companies. A good MSP will join industry associations, attend conferences, and participate in local business networking events.
The evidence of the success of a business lies in its expansion and growth. Look out for partnerships and mergers that will amplify your services offering and allow you to tap into various markets and specializations.
Having timelines and deadlines for the business is an indicator of a company that likes to stay on the right track and is driven to give its best to the operation.
Lastly, all businesses come with risks, be it the market, the country’s economy, war, or even natural disasters, having a risk mitigation plan in place is a sign that your MSP business will weather most storms.
For a business to thrive, it needs to constantly evolve, accommodating all the changes the current market is going through, as well as preparing for future possibilities. An MSP too needs to constantly review and update its plans and offerings to assist the growth of customer business.
It is also a good idea to seek feedback from industry experts, clients, and mentors. This will help you streamline and refine your MSP business plan thereby improving your chances of long-term success as a managed services provider.