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As modern companies scramble to stay ahead of the competition in the rapidly evolving digital world, they require someone to guide them into and through the cloud. Enter Managed Service Providers (MSP). These experts are the cutting edge in leading these businesses to proverbial waters and helping them drink at the proper pace. The public’s appetite for cloud computing is rapidly increasing in scope and complexity, so MSPs are subject to equivalently growing pressures. As the industry moves toward as-a-service provision en masse, support and infrastructural integrity are paramount. Furthermore, dealing with the volume of data generated through scalable monthly recurring revenue streams can be a challenge, even for fully staffed accounting departments. Somewhere between management, migration and support, MSPs are weathering the storm generated by growing cloud marketplaces. The demise of on-premise IT and the rise of cloud computing are certainly opening new doors, but closing others, too.
Here are some of our expert’s views on the challenges that modern MSPs can potentially face:
- Shrinking Margins: Many MSPs compete primarily based on their pricing models, driving profits down for everyone as services are universally sold for less than they’re worth. If a service is undervalued from the beginning, it is unlikely that that price can be renegotiated at a higher rate without driving the customer away.
- Standing Out: How can new provider distinguish themselves from their competitors? As many MSPs provide similar tools, solutions, and options, standing out becomes more difficult. As such, a distinctly tailored strategy must be utilized that attracts customers and rewards their attention.
- Cloud Application Modernization: Moving a customer’s application to the cloud is an intensive process. As the operational environment changes, this can result in significant lifecycle changes if the allocated infrastructure is insufficient.
- Employee Churn: Retaining competently trained operatives is a priority in managing customer expectations and staying ahead of weighty workloads. While migrating a client to the cloud, speed is in short supply. The demands on staff are huge, particularly if the system is inefficient, poorly managed, or is subject to other internal difficulties.
- Managing Multiple Accounts: As more customers opt toward using multi-cloud business models, overlapping fields can generate massive quantities of data. This makes organization, consolidation, and updating more difficult for both the MSP and customers if not managed appropriately.
- Cloud Evolution: Technology is always updating and changing. Remaining knowledgeable regarding these transitions is a consistent necessity.If a customer asks for an explanation of a technology that a salesperson is unable to provide, that customer may look elsewhere for a more knowledgeable provider.
- Service Quality: If internal systems are run by overwhelmed departments, human error and a lack of timeliness can result in unhappy customers, particularly if there are errors in payment services.When customers pay for a product, they expect to get what was agreed upon. Any issues on behalf of the provider can quickly snowball into a missed sale or cancellation.
As demand for cloud services increases, this means that MSPs will need more robust infrastructure and support bases to provision customers. Using a business plan that exhibits your company’s unique skill set is imperative for sustainability. The concern is combining applicable strategies with an understanding of customer needs and goals, producing a winning model. With a quality automation infrastructure, the tedium of billing, invoicing, and customer management all fade, allowing more effort to be put toward scaling, growth, and making sales. Most importantly, MSPs thrive when they provide exceptional service while maintaining transparent, trusting relationship with customers.
We’d love to start working together. Please schedule a meeting with one of our MSP experts to start a discussion of how we can grow together.
