Category: Better Business
How MSPs can find cloud pricing bargains
Years ago, Filene’s department store in Downtown Boston had a “bargain basement” where clothing and items that weren’t selling in the main store got deeply discounted to move them out. It worked beautifully as people loved digging through bins for...
Email? That’s free, surely?
The task of hosting and selling email is often regarded as a thankless one. With the likes of Google mail offered as a free service and many hosting companies providing free (or massively discounted) email accounts with the hosted domain...
Ask an MSP Expert: How can we be more efficient with our time?
Q: As we continue to grow our business, it seems like we have less time in the day to accomplish everything we need to get done. What can we do to save more time? No matter what type of business...
The magical power of labelling for MSPs
IT Professionals – imagine this scenario. A client reports to your Helpdesk that their PC has died. Your engineer visits the site to confirm the issue. Bringing the PC back to your workshop, the engineer concludes the Hard Disk Drive...
MSPs: Before adding new solutions, consider asking your current vendors for advice
The MSP ecosystem is a relatively small and collegial space – and I’ve long believed that the most successful companies within the MSP ecosystem are typically among the most collegial. Many of us know one another from the industry events...
Ask an MSP Expert: How do I create service level agreements as an MSP?
Q: We recently transitioned to the managed services model, and want to make sure we’ve covered our bases when it comes to monthly contracts. Are there any best practices you can offer for creating a Service Level Agreement (SLA)? Service...
Overcoming obstacles with selling security
From “Insecure platforms are a threat to your business!” and “There are millions of malicious people trying to break into your systems!” to “State-sponsored security attacks are a threat to you!”, the “Chicken Little” approaches to selling security never seem...
Ask an MSP Expert: How can we effectively manage project workflow?
Q: We’re experiencing some challenges in managing project workload, which has become more challenging as we’ve added more customers and vendors over time. How can we effectively manage and organize projects when we are working with more than one vendor?...
Eliminating IT services competition through differentiation
How many times have you lost an opportunity to a competitor? It’s happened to me countless times over the years, and it never feels good. It’s even worse when I’ve invested hours—sometimes way too many—into crafting the perfect proposal, sometimes...
Ask an MSP Expert: Over the years, how has marketing changed through the internet?
Q: Things are always changing, especially in technology. Looking back, the internet has changed almost everything we do. What are the most significant roles the internet has played in marketing goods and services today? For managed service providers, protecting and...