The MSP change train is rolling along with or without you. It’s time to get on board if you haven’t already purchased a ticket and found your seat.
Every day a TruMethods member shares another letter from an insurance company outlining security requirements to be followed. The letters include not just cyber policies, but errors and omissions insurance (E&O) policies, too.
These letters have got me thinking: MSPs should be telling insurance companies how to secure SMBs, not the other way around, right?
Why does a third party have to tell us that our customers need multi-factor authentication (MFA) and an incident response (IR) plan that’s regularly tested? Don’t we already know that? We’re the experts after all.
Examples of MSP change to prepare for
A journalist recently asked me about what I felt the biggest risk to MSPs would be over the next few years. I said it’s that MSPs need to change their business model. The current roles, prices, and results no longer match up with the needs of SMBs.
Unlike the last time this happened, when we moved from break/fix to managed services, the timeframe is dramatically shorter. MSPs don’t have the luxury of time, and many are already behind the eight ball. Insurance companies and government regulations are beginning to dictate what we need to do.
We’ve never had third parties to deal with, so I want you to zoom out. You’re not in the support, projects, or tools business anymore, although you have to deliver those things really effectively.
You’re in the roles and processes business. You can no longer just say that you’re proactive, even though the reality is that everyone is just working on tickets, alerts, or projects all day long.
This means building these roles into your offering. It means having the right prices, having customers who understand the value the MSP brings to the business, and building a firewall around proactive roles to adapt to an environment that has already changed.
Your business model needs to change and the change train is leaving the station. Are you on board?
Photo: Nopphon_1987 / Shutterstock
