Remote Monitoring and Management

Most managed services providers (MSPs) are no stranger to the struggle of finding qualified candidates for technical jobs. Especially those who are running a lean operation—every hire and every team member is critical. But in order to scale and support the needs of your clients, how can you right-size your team without breaking the bank?

In this partner spotlight, Tandem Systems, an MSP based just outside of Manchester in England, shares how they have more confidence going out to market because they’re backed by Continuum’s Network Operations Center (NOC) team.

Our team occasionally encounters questions from Continuum partners about the difference between our network assessment tools that are available to them from Continuum, and the reports available through Continuum’s RMM software. While both systems are looking at a wide array of network and machine data and activity, the way they collect and report on that information is very different.

In this post, we’ll cover how network assessments work, and how you can leverage them as a tool for prospecting new clients and retaining your existing ones.

When your profession is managing IT for your clients, you’re expected to know the ins and outs. You’re the expert, right? You’re the thought leader, the support system. But “IT” is a broad term.

Apart from your job title, how do you actually showcase your IT expertise to clients in a way that gets their buy-in, their trust, and their business long term? It’s all in the way you communicate.

Last week, we introduced the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Essential Eight and helped you understand what it is and why it’s important for your conversations with end clients.

The Essential Eight provides a baseline of mitigation strategies that organizations can use to protect their systems from cyber threats. This week, we’ll dive into a couple of these key strategies, specifically those around patching.

Being proactive is one of the service pillars at the heart of the modern MSP business model.

But, similar to other vital concepts like responsiveness, flexibility, and business enablement, proactivity can mean something different to every MSP. In our view, it means knowing about problems before your clients do—and it’s an attitude that can help you align every aspect of your offering.

As an IT service provider, your customers are relying on you to minimize technology disruptions and ensure smooth performance for their business. While this is made possible through remote monitoring and management (RMM), there’s a core focus on maintaining the business’ most vital asset: the network.

This is why it’s vital to offer some sort of network monitoring service—but you can’t have complete monitoring without visibility, and you can’t have full visibility without monitoring. So, what’s the difference and why is it important?

In honor of today officially being Star Wars Day, May the 4th (not to be outdone by Revenge of the Fifth), we decided to put together a list of all the ways that MSPs are just like characters in the Star Wars saga. There’s a lot that the galaxy far, far away has in common with managed IT services, and just like the Star Wars franchise is perpetually growing at scale, we want your business to do the same.

So, grab your BlasTech E-11 blaster rifle, a hydrospanner, or that trusted lightsaber, and let’s take a look at the characters that are most similar to MSPs!

When it rains, it pours. In the IT industry, this is often the rule rather than the exception. The constant putting out of fires or buildup of tickets can put a lot of strain on your business—especially on your team of technicians.

Technicians are the backbone of your managed services business, and your success relies on the quality and caliber of this team. Yet when their value is being barred by menial tasks day in and day out, it can create inefficiencies, cause you to miss out on revenue-generating projects and ultimately, lead to technician churn.

Despite these challenges, some MSPs have found a way to maintain a happy technician team; and the secret lies in offloading project work. I recently sat down with Eddie Phillips, chief operating officer at Shield Networks, to discuss how he uses Continuum Tech Advantage to offload project work to the NOC and create a healthier work-life balance for technicians.

Networks are more important than ever. A recent RightScale 2018 State of the Cloud report surveyed 997 tech pros and found 96 percent of respondents use cloud services, and 81 percent have a multi-cloud strategy. And, the report indicated companies are now running the majority of their workloads in the cloud.

With more data and systems in the cloud, there’s an opportunity for you as a managed services provider to boost your clients’ efficiency and scalability, but this can also increase risk. If the network goes down, your clients can’t function. As their MSP, they expect you to keep their network constantly running in the background, kind of like electricity. So how do you make sure clients can reach the cloud and stay productive? The answer is you own their networks—you take full responsibility for keeping them connected.

I started my IT career as a technician, originally working in a high volume call center-type help desk, and then later moving to a desktop support/system admin position for a local IT company closer to home. Within a few years, I found myself at a dead end with no vertical movement within the company. I was not learning anymore, as each person had a niche and refused to train anyone else on that product, which left me and my fellow technicians feeling rather bored with large gaps in our trainings. I enjoyed my job, but my growth was stagnant, and I wasn't being challenged with any new issues. Can any of you relate?

As cited in TSIA’s The State of Managed Services 2017 report, managed services now represent 22 percent of services revenues, and overall net-new revenue for managed services continues to grow at a healthy average of 42 percent. It’s evident that the demand for managed services shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, a survey by Clutch.co shows that 69 percent of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) hire at least one type of IT service provider. So, what is fueling this impressive level of adoption? Why are so many business owners fans of your business model? 

The following research illustrates the top reasons SMBs work with MSPs and IT solutions providers. As you build your 2018 sales strategy, pay attention to these main market drivers.

Convincing prospects to first conclude that they need a managed services provider (MSP) to help fight the good fight means you have shown them the value you provide as an IT solutions provider. They know they need to outsource support to a capable team. But in your conversations with clients, you should be discussing the importance of your remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform and how leveraging this preventative technology will provide them with much-needed peace of mind.

So, here are five signs that show when business owners of the small- and medium-sized businesses you're engaged with may be ready for your remote monitoring and management solution.

In order to deliver world-class IT services to your clients, your technical team needs to be set up for success. Having a great team dedicated to delivering high-quality support is essential, but not having the right tools in place to manage service requests and quickly resolve issues is going to hold your team back.

Over the years, I’ve worked with and spoken to many managed service providers (MSPs), and I’ve found that the ones who are thriving are all using well established tools to do things smarter, quicker and achieve a higher standard than those who don’t. Would you like to be among these successful MSPs? Keep reading to discover which tools you can leverage to make your tech team more efficient and your business more profitable.

An important part of managed IT services is network assessments, which give managed services providers (MSPs) the ability to perform scans of their clients’ entire IT environments. Today, many MSPs use one-time network assessment tools, such as Network Detective, as a way to convert prospects into new clients and uncover new projects for existing clients. However, an even bigger opportunity exists with IT assessments in developing a long-term program of regular, ongoing assessments.

A single assessment is only the first step to a comprehensive and effective program, one that will help you mitigate ongoing risks for your end-user companies, establish more consistent streams of revenue, and strengthen client relationships. Here are the benefits of performing ongoing network assessments and why MSPs should work to incorporate them into their overall strategy.

Technicians play an absolutely critical role in every Managed Services Provider (MSP) organization today—but finding, hiring and retaining the right talent are often difficult and expensive processes. And while MSPs do need an in-house team to conduct onsite work and meet with customers, they can further-extend their capabilities and remain cost-effective by leveraging an outside Network Operations Center (NOC). 

Over the past few years, we’ve been making the move from the traditional break/fix model of providing IT support to the managed services provider (MSP) model. Moving from a reactive business to a proactive one means you end up doing a lot more chores for your clients in the background. However, there comes a point when managing and executing these tasks in-house can become a burden for your business.

From the smallest one-man-band to the largest of MSPs, there are always things we wish we didn’t have to do ourselves. Let’s take a look at the most common tasks every IT provider wishes they didn’t have to do in-house. 

With the first half of the year coming to a close, it presents a great opportunity to start reevaluating the products, services and contracts for your technology, to decide if they are still the best fit for your business. If you’re a managed services provider (MSP) looking to accelerate business growth and success this year, you might want to consider the benefits of leveraging a remote monitoring and management (RMM) solution that is fully integrated with a network operations center (NOC).

Don’t want to take my word for it? Let’s hear from three Continuum MSP partners who have been able to increase efficiency, enhance service delivery and embrace scalability with the help of Continuum’s integrated IT platform.

Have you considered changing your managed IT services business model to cut and smooth labor expenses, thereby growing profit margins? If you have, you've likely thought about the advantages of working with a Network Operations Center (NOC), a team of highly certified technicians and engineers that you pay a monthly fixed cost for. This all sounds good, right? Unfortunately, not everyone at your company may be as easily sold. Your technicians may feel threatened that they'll be let go and replaced with this new team of experts. So, how do you get past this? Luckily, I've talked to many partners who've found remarkable success by leveraging dedicated technical support!

When offering network services to your clients, managing servers and endpoints—and managing them well—is important. That pretty much goes without saying. Of course, this is all possible with a proactive remote monitoring and management (RMM) solution that helps you automate your server and endpoint work. Without the help of automation, running antivirus programs, software upgrades, patching and more just wouldn’t be feasible.

But that’s only half the story of network management.

Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up in the morning to find out that a major client issue was proactively identified—and resolved—while you were counting sheep? Or if your technicians were able to spend less time monitoring alerts and focus on more strategic, revenue-driving projects? Fortunately, this isn’t a fantasy scenario—it’s all possible when you leverage Continuum's Network Operations Center (NOC) technicians in conjunction with our IT management platform.

No matter what the size, structure or specialties of your MSP business, you should always be evaluating the solutions you use to ensure they’re helping you achieve success. Your RMM solution is a key technology that you build your business around and can directly impact your profitability. Consider your growth goals for the year ahead and ask yourself, “Am I using the right RMM solution for my business?"

Here are some things to consider when looking for the best RMM software in 2017.

"My technology is much too 'noisy,' which amounts to costlier, inefficient service delivery."
"My staff can't support additional new clients and I can't afford (or find) qualified talent." 
"I'm not sure how to organize my team if I partner with a third-party Network Operations Center (NOC)."

No matter the size or scope of their business, MSPs' inner monologues typically center around any or all of these three legitimate financial and operational concerns. Frustratingly enough, there hasn't been one go-to piece of content designed to guide you through the staffing and profitability dilemma that's holding you back from achieving real, manageable growth. Until now. 

If you want to increase your margins, there are two main ways to do so. Option 1: you can increase your prices, which may lead to tough conversations and/or client churn. Option 2: you can decrease your costs, which can be much more effective because it gives you more control over your margins and isn’t client-facing.

In this blog post, we’ll outline some key considerations and strategies to decrease your remote monitoring and management (RMM) support costs to help you optimize your profitability and grow your business.

Business challenges are inevitable, but figuring out how to effectively identify and overcome these obstacles will mean the difference between scaling profitably and stagnating.

If I were to ask you to name your biggest pain point, you'd probably say "cash flow," "lack of time," or "not enough bandwidth," but dig deeper. Is the primary issue that you can't simultaneously generate new business while supporting your existing client base? Does your clunky technology stack eat up valuable staff time and talent? Perhaps you have a talent problem and struggle to hire or retain qualified personnel.

There's no shortage of challenges, but to adequately address each you have to tackle the root cause. To help you paint a clearer picture, we’ve outlined 14 common problems that MSPs face daily. Read on to see if any sound familiar and check out a new tool we created to help you overcome each!

The end of the year presents a great time to start reevaluating the products, subscriptions, services and contracts for your technology, to decide if they are still the best fit for you business. Often, it becomes apparently clear over time when your technology is not aligned to meet the current needs of your business. However, when forecasting for greater growth in the future, the outlook can become murkier.

Users must regularly maintain, patch and update software, applications, plug-ins and more, but just how many businesses are overlooking this important security concern? In our latest chart, we reveal the percentage of users running outdated browsers. As you know, cybercriminals continually look for vulnerabilities to exploit in frequently used programs. Proper patch management, however, helps prevent devices from becoming compromised. So how do you have this conversation with potential clients, and which questions should you expect to answer?

Microsoft has recently updated their decades-old standard patching process, which amounts to what some have called a “seismic” shift in the process. Now, windows patches will be deployed in a cumulative patch, without giving users the option to select and choose (or reject) individual patches throughout the process. This changes how end users, MSPs as well as software vendors and partners approach patching, leaving the entire channel to reassess their internal processes as a result of this shift.

As CEO of DCG Technical Solutions, Inc., I've been providing IT support in Los Angeles since 1993. Central to our managed IT services solution for almost 10 years, Continuum's IT management platform has helped us transform our business growth. After being recognized among the Top 10 Fastest Growing MSPs in North America by MSP Mentor and featured in Fast Company, CNBC, Network Computing, Reuters, and Yahoo Business, partners are always asking me how we do it. In fact, the topic is so popular it was one of the top 10 rated sessions at Navigate 2016! Well, the secret to getting more out of your Continuum partnership really all starts with applying the following five best practices: 

There are a lot of PSA software choices on the market. It can be confusing to know what to look for and which option is best for your company. Here are 10 key considerations when picking out a new PSA platform:

In the business of remote monitoring and management (RMM), it seems like there are new options in the marketplace every year. Solutions, platforms, features, and integrations are released, re-named, re-aligned and re-branded to increase adoption in the channel. However, if you’re an MSP who’s in the market to choose an RMM provider (or switch to a new one), it can be overwhelming to sort through it all.

If you're an MSP and you’re not providing 24x7x365 IT support, you're cheating your clients out of services they really need to keep their businesses afloat and stay productive.

Still, many MSPs only offer 9am-5pm Monday-Friday coverage over round-the-clock managed IT services. Why? More often than not, MSPs favor extending the support window, but simply don’t have the bandwidth or internal resources needed. Rather than stretch yourself and your technicians thin, you’re forced into only providing coverage during normal week day business hours.

When I speak to business owners and leaders about managed services, I'm often confronted with the argument that they are perfectly content with their current "we call when we have a problem" (also known as a break/fix) model. Many incorrectly believe that they're already receiving managed IT services. 

As MSPs, you and I already know why this model is so problematic. Break/fix models present several problems, but there are a few key points you can make to successfully counter this line of thinking. 

Remote monitoring and management (RMM) technology is an essential component of any modern MSP portfolio—but managed IT services doesn’t exactly sell itself, and it can be difficult to convince some prospects of the value you’re bringing to the table as a provider.

In this edition of The Weekly Byte, we outline three important considerations to keep in mind when bringing RMM and managed services to market. Tune in now to learn more!

As an MSP, you need to be able to do and offer it all, in order to keep up with your clients' ever-increasing list of IT needs. That's why many solutions providers turn to Continuum's IT management platform, enabling them to experience high margins and profitability by leveraging Continuum's integrated, 24x7x365 Network Operations Center (NOC), remote monitoring and management (RMM) and backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solution.

Let’s talk about those dreaded service-level agreement (SLA) terms you agree to with your customers. You know, the topics and terms that can lead to very heated discussions in industry peer groups. This is such a contentious issue because everyone views them differently and has a different and usually strong opinion on them.

The shortstop is the captain of the infield. The center fielder is the captain of the outfield. But the manager of a baseball team is the captain of the ship. When baseball's Opening Day kicked off, there wasn't a single player that filled out the lineup card. That is the job of the manager. Without the manager, the players would be left to make crucial decisions that would force them to spend less time focusing on what they do best, playing the game.

Spring is in the air, folks! Although most of us won’t miss the icy weather and all that snow, let’s take a look back on the month of February to recap our most read MSP blog posts. We covered a lot of topics this past month, including how to protect clients against Locky ransomware, a breakdown of the three main pricing packages and the difference between a fully-managed help desk and a network operations center (NOC). We even put a managed IT services twist on some of our favorite romantic comedies!

So without further ado, here are the top 5 MSP blog posts our readers couldn’t get enough of this February!

It can be difficult to manage technical support and front-line user support inhouse, so many MSPs look to third-party options and offerings to help absorb some of these tasks. When doing so, it's important to know the difference between an outsourced Network Operations Center (NOC) and Help Desk in a fully-managed - meaning support is integrated with your IT management platform - business model. So what is the main difference? A fully-managed help desk is where all the end-client interaction takes place, whereas a fully-managed NOC provides back-end maintenance, problem resolution and support for the MSP.

Let’s examine both solutions more closely.

While no one would want to experience the ongoing living nightmare Phil Connors (played by Bill Murray) did in the 1992 film, Groundhog Day (I know you watched it Tuesday), a lot of the businesses I work with express a strong desire for predictability when it comes to IT services and support. Many times they just want to know when to expect a return call, when they can be back up and running, or when their projects can be completed. My team and I work hard to make our managed services support as predictable as possible every day, but we know it's a constant challenge.

With the first month of 2016 already behind us, you should hopefully have already made headway on your 2016 business plan. In order to reach these goals, you can't just have vendors. You have to have true business partners. Whether you are searching for the right IT management platform provider or evaluating if your current solution is right for you, here are 10 red flags to look out for in any third party business relationship.

In our last “Better Call an MSP" post, Ray discussed how to mitigate the damage when malware and viruses attack. This time, let’s discuss something that too often has had a negative connotation surrounding it—outsourcing. I really think this is an area that many MSPs are overlooking, as I argue in this post. Here are some of the most common myths about outsourcing and why you should consider this approach as you continue to grow and scale your business.

People use tools to make their jobs easier. A carpenter might use a SKILSAW to more easily complete a project, a director may take advantage of an Arri 35mm camera to shoot a movie and you might seek out remote monitoring and management (RMM) software to more easily monitor your clients' endpoints. When these tools work properly, you are able to complete projects much more effectively than you would be able to without them. But what happens when things go wrong?

Alright, you have RMM monitoring all of your clients' servers, but maybe you and your techs are the ones managing every alert and ticket. Alternatively, you've recognized the value of people-powered technology and have backed your IT team with a Network Operations Center (NOC), but you're still burdened with low value tasks that prevent you from acquiring and supporting new business, your employees from realizing their full potential and your clients from maintaining uptime and profitability. Any of these scenarios describe you? Read on.

When providing end user support either remotely or onsite often times, your end users encounter similar troubles day in and day out. It's just a different set of circumstances - the names have been changed but the problems remain the same.  

As your client base increases and you continue to encounter these recurring issues, time becomes more of a premium. To be a successful managed services provider, you have to offer quick remediation. 

(and one case of a well-known brand that failed to stay relevant with the changing times)

Does your business model make sense? Just because it did at one time doesn't mean it still does now. No one understands this better than these five companies that went back to the drawing board to reestablish their claim on their respective markets, or those markets they broke into as a result of recognizing a different need that their products or services could solve. As MSPs, it may be time to rethink the way you do business.

As MSPs and IT Solution Providers, you're in the business of providing peace of mind. If client systems go down and your customers can’t get any work done, it’s your reputation that’s on the line. That’s why a powerful and proactive Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) platform is such a critical component in any modern IT services model. But what makes a great RMM tool? Which features and capabilities are most important, and how should you go about finding the right RMM provider?

Have you ever thought to yourself, I wonder what the movie Jaws would be like if it were about a virus and not a shark? So have we. To celebrate Shark Week, we decided to recreate the film's iconic town meeting scene, but with an IT twist. Join us as Chief Information Officer Brody Rhombus struggles to keep his office afloat after a horrifying virus attack endangers the livelihood of his clients' devices. In a role heralded by critics as "an unparalleled display of true acting grit," Glenn Barley reprises his role as Blake Break-Fix (Quint), a down-and-dirty Break-Fix type with a big head and a bad attitude. How will Brody handle this summer's scariest threat? Will the attacks continue? What will become of the end users of Amity Island?

Check out our latest cinematic masterpiece, and add "leverage the expertise and efficiency of a Network Operations Center (NOC)" to your MSP Summer BuckIT List!

Now that summer is in full swing, we thought this would be a perfect time to put together a bucket (or “buckIT”) list to help you improve and expand your IT services this season. To make your summer even more worry-free, we’ll be providing you with your MSP Summer BuckIT List, a series compiling 15 tasks you can check off to help your business thrive this summer and into the end of the year! What better way to kick off our summer buckIT list than with the services you provide your customers. So without further ado… the first item on our buckIT list is to take advantage of and increase sales for Remote Monitoring & Management (RMM).

Today, RMM lies at the heart of any managed IT service because it’s a proactive and easy way to monitor, troubleshoot, and maintain desktops, servers, mobile devices and other endpoints for your clients. Summer is the season for fun in the sun, so even when your clients are on a long vacation, or taking a day-trip to an amusement park, they will be at ease knowing that their network is constantly looked after and managed with RMM.

Continue reading to find out how RMM can benefit your business and those of your clients.

Let’s say that your client gets new equipment and software for their company’s network, expecting to see a boost in performance. When everything is tested, they see no change in performance, which understandably bums them out. In a situation like this, your client's network is likely bottlenecking, and they might not recognize that. That's where you and your managed IT services come in!

Are your 2015 revenue goals baring down on you, seemingly unreachable? How are you tracking for MRR so far? 

If you're not growing as fast as you'd like, take a deep breath. We may already be three months into the new year, but there's still plenty of time to take your MSP business to the next level. The solution may be simpler than you think: expand your portfolio of service offerings! 

If there's one thing we all strive to be, it's the Godfather of IT. This enviable MSP would break free from break-fix, measure his KPIs carefully, and keep his family close, but his enemies closer. In a returning role of the decade, actor Brody Rhombus returns to the big screen, offering a first hand look at exactly how an MSP can grow from a simple break-fix shop to a powerful and influential MSP for all techs to look up to. Take a look at this exclusive trailer for "The Godfather or IT!"

Over the past few months, we’ve seen the monthly ‘Patch Tuesday’ release several patch updates that have been rated ‘Critical.’ Whether you deploy your patches manually or automatically, it’s important for MSPs to stay up-to-date on recent 'Critical' patching updates. Your clients are depending on it!

Here are 11 of the most notable ‘Critical’ patch updates since December. 

Do you remember that one teacher that went above and beyond to make sure you understood material? One semester in college, I didn't exactly ace my first Principles of Microeconomics exam, but my TA believed in my potential so much from the weekly discussion section of the course, that she reached out and volunteered to tutor me outside of class. After working with her, my exam grades improved dramatically, and I went on to major in economics a year later.

Expect this level of attention and dedication from your Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) platform provider. There are many ways that your vendor can show you the love, but when seeking out your RMM valentine, pick one that's invested in your success. Are you receiving assets designed to help you grow and scale your business? Is your vendor taking the time to educate you on their various products and services by offering a FREE online training and certification program? If not, it may be time to graduate on to the next big thing...

Managed service providers (MSPs) have many technology options to choose from in order to run their business, and these solutions run a full spectrum of costs and features associated with each. As a business, you need to make a margin on the technologies you choose for your clients; however, many MSPs think that the best way to do this is to choose the technology with the lowest cost.

This is the wrong way to think about making margins. Almost all low-cost solutions offer just software, which can lead to many on-going, unforeseen costs. Let’s discuss some of the drawbacks of a software-only solution.

In business as in life, cutting out unhealthy relationships and taking the time to strengthen ones with those who are a positive influence is a necessary practice. That's why it's also your next IT resolution challenge! You want to surround yourself with people that have your goals and interests at heart. That's why I urge you to invest in an RMM or Software as a Solution (SaaS) vendor that's invested in your success, a true business partner. That's step 1, but you can't ignore your client relationships.

Concentrate on finding a managed IT services platform with the following 3 qualities. You can then turn it around and pay it forward for your profitable clients. When you do, expect customer satisfaction and revenue to soar!

The Super Bowl is this coming weekend! Hopefully you’re as pumped as I am (although I doubt it unless you’re a fellow Pats fan). But even if my team wasn’t playing in the big game this weekend, I’m still a football fan and always enjoy watching the games. 

So in honor of the Super Bowl this weekend, I asked some of my other football-fan co-workers the question: What if each of this year’s playoff teams were IT Solutions?

Here’s what we came up with.

So, how are those resolutions going? Hopefully you've stuck with them to this point... Today, we continue our "10 Day IT Resolution Challenge" with a goal that should be on everyone's beginning-of-the-year list, to give back - not just to charities, but to your clients and employees as well!

We're five days into the new year, and let me guess? It's business as usual for you. Gone is your determination to stick to the lofty unrealistic expectations you've set for either yourself or your business. Well, forget your IT SNAFUs of 2014! Let 2015 be the fresh start you need!

For the duration of the month, we invite you to "Take the 10 Day IT Resolution Challenge." Ten blog posts, ten common resolutions with an IT spin. Today, we kick off this series with a goal too many of you try unsuccessfully to meet, cutting back on caffeine and getting more sleep...

Happy New Year everyone! As we head into 2015, many of us, both individuals and companies, use the New Year to evaluate our values.

Whether you’re a Continuum partner or not, you may know that Continuum is a channel-exclusive company. We toss that term around a lot, but what does it really mean to be channel-exclusive?

It’s one of our core values and something we’re very proud of here at Continuum. So we thought we’d take a minute to explain what it means to us (and what it means for you) to be channel-exclusive.

As an MSP, choosing your solutions vendor is an important decision. It might not be like getting married, but it’s sort of like buying a house. You’ve got to spend time researching your options and finding one that fits your needs. While you can always move if things change down the line, it’s costly to jump around each year to a new vendor.

Once upon a time, we didn’t have to worry about patching or software updates. We’d simply buy a computer, use it until it stopped working (or became obsolete), and then upgrade to the next model. And while this approach wasn’t particularly cost-effective, it certainly helped keep things simple.

Just in time for the Holiday season comes the managed IT services game of the century! Make sure to get your hands on NOCkem Sockem Robots while you still can. Keep your fingers crossed that you'll have the power of the NOC on your side. Without it, you just might get REMEDIATED!

Being elite is something that everyone strives for. Whether you’re a middle-of-the-road quarterback trying to fit in with the Tom Bradys and Peyton Mannings of the world (I’m looking at you, Flacco), or an MSP looking to scale business and increase recurring revenue, being “elite” has a nice ring to it. Before you can call yourself elite, you’ve got to make sure that you’re equipping your business to succeed. By partnering with us, you already understand the value of our integrated Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) and Network Operations Center (NOC) solution.

Still, our platform isn't one-size fits all. There are ways to get the most out of your NOC; ways to scale your business while getting the most “bang” for your buck, long after NOCtober. Unfortunately, many people aren’t taking advantage of this option.

Feeling tired? Can't make friends at the office? Never have time to relax? If you anwered yes to any of these questions, there's a serious chance that you're a NOCless Monster. Don't be a NOCless Monster.

BOO! Of all the things that go bump in the night, you should be most afraid of Frankenstein IT haunting your MSP business. Are you stitching all of your IT services together, hoping to create the ultimate solution? It can be a real monster to manage! Instead, opt for an integrated business model to grow and scale your managed IT services.

Feeling drained from a long day of remediating easily solvable tickets? Are your eyes heavy from working multiple overnight shifts? Have no fear, the NOC is here! Take part in a hearty game of NOC, paper, scissors and find out why the NOC always wins!

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/78855484@N03/

If there’s one thing that all business owners have in common, it’s that they want to make money. When it comes to MSP businesses, making money means taking on more clients and managing more endpoints. This can be difficult to accomplish when you also have to minimize costs. Of course, Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) allows you to oversee these growing endpoints, but who is resolving the issues? Who is remediating the tickets and monitoring the alerts? Surely the same technicians that were expected to oversee 500 devices can’t be expected to oversee 5,000! Are you coupling your RMM software with a Network Operations Center (NOC)?

Claude Computing (Brandon Garcin) was doing everything that he could to keep his MSP business afloat. But with a growing number of endpoints to manage and a lack of in-house technicians, Claude was fighting an uphill battle. Sleepless nights and early mornings brought Claude to the breaking point. That's when it happened. All of Claude's problems vanished when he became...The NOCtopus.

This film is rated RMM...

Image Source: http://marilynmonbro.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/wicked-smaht.gif

As a business owner, your business means everything to you. Giving up control over any portion of your business can be very difficult, especially for MSP owners. It’s one of the main reasons that many have started MSPs, and is why MSPs don’t like the idea of outsourcing any part of their business – because it means giving control to someone else.

However, in order to be successful, sometimes we need to let go of control. Here’s why.

As the world becomes even more technologically advanced, there is push to automate anything and everything. The prospect of automating tasks is exciting for sure, and there is most definitely a place for automation within many industries.

So where does the MSP space fall in this new-found model of ‘efficiency’? RMM technology has advanced to allow for many IT tasks, both simple and complex, to be completely automated.

Yes, that's right. We're delighted to announce that we've expanded our Mumbai engineering office, increasing our workforce to 120 engineers since January, with 30 more engineering hires planned, bringing the total team in India to 680 people! 

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Managed IT services providers in their natural habitats are well-known workaholics, though it’s hard to say whether this is a product of their environment or their general nature. The idea of any feral MSP letting go of issues long enough to sleep through the night, allowing work-related phone calls to go unanswered for an entire meal or taking off an entire work-free weekend is virtually unheard of. That is, until a recent study came back with some startling revelations.

Growth for MSPs can be elusive. There are many reasons for this and they are often tied to very specific reasons that apply to each MSP individually. That makes sense because every business is unique, however there are a number of common challenges many MSPs face, and with those challenges, a number of steps each MSP can take to increase their profitability.

They say that numbers speak louder than words, so here are a few numbers we think shout volumes. We think it’s pretty clear that the need for managed IT services isn’t going anywhere. Check out these stats and let us know what your predictions are for the MSP industry. 

Does anyone who works in the IT space (or any industry, for that matter) not think it is essential to have 24/7/365 coverage? How would you respond to a tech support company that only responds from 9 am to 5 pm EST? Would they last long? Most likely not!