The technology space changes quite rapidly. The days of value-added resellers being the only business in town was not that long ago. Managing an MSP requires a hunger for education. Most recently, a challenging labor market, evolving threat actors, and new tools with improved capabilities, have created more competition than ever within the industry. MSPs that refuse to adapt to new market conditions, will ultimately be replaced by others that do.
Now that is easier said than done. New tools, specialists to properly work those tools, and managing risk is expensive. Rather than focus on how to afford all these items, let’s instead turn our attention to how we can save on costs by utilizing the support of the companies that provide outsourced labor. The term “outsourcing” has historically received a negative stigma. But just like the MSP space, these technology outsourcing companies (Master MSPs) have also been evolving.
When ProVal Technologies (a Master MSP) first started back in 2008, we were like any other company that provided outsourced labor or a dedicated resource. You would give us a call, tell us what kind of resource(s) you were looking for, and we would pair you up with an individual consultant for a cost. Sounds great in theory, but the feedback we received was all over the board. We found that the service level received was directly linked to that individual resource we provided to the MSP, and as we all know some employees excel in different areas compared to others. We knew there had to be a better model.
Fast forward to today and our business model has become a lot closer to the MSPs we support. We have become a group of highly specialized technologists that perform operations exceptionally for a fraction of the price. We no longer provide a dedicated resource but provide you with a solution addressing the original issue. This transformation has made our service more consistent, and predictable, and has given us the ability to solve highly complex issues due to utilizing the knowledge of the whole team. Outsourcing groups like ProVal Tech work extremely well when the scope is well-defined and there is limited variability. That is why we stay incredibly focused on our three main service lines, continuously dialing them in to improve effectiveness. You can find our three main service lines below:
- RMM Virtual Administration: we manage everything RMM related including best practices implementation, custom scripting, monitoring, reporting, patching etc.
- Backup Administration: we manage and remediate all backups. Provide best practice reconfiguration, daily reporting, and assist in establishing and documenting business continuity standards
- 24×7 Critical Alarm Monitoring and Remediation: we monitor your systems 24×7, remediating critical alarms and triaging others.
Ultimately, it is important to know your strengths and outsource your weaknesses. Now more than ever, you must be exceptional at every aspect of your business, otherwise, another firm will be.