Managed services providers (MSPs) today face an increasing number of challenges as they endeavor to keep pace with evolving technology, changes in business practices, and the constant advancement of security threats. This article will outline the major challenges MSPs are likely to encounter and how software designed for them can help tackle these challenges.
The challenges MSP companies face
Providing efficient customer support should be a priority for every business—but especially MSPs. Customer expectations of support services are becoming increasingly sophisticated, as many organizations now offer remote support, instant chat services, and the ability to rectify the vast majority of issues in a matter of minutes.
To stay competitive, managed services providers must be able to meet these expectations in a way that is convenient for the clients they serve. Due to advances in technology and the nature of an increasingly competitive market, MSPs are continuously challenged to offer a variety of support methods. For example, offering remote IT support is common nowadays and can be an extremely effective way to resolve customer issues from afar.
Another challenge faced by managed services providers is the need to simplify the ticketing experience for customers. This involves ensuring customer support tickets are managed quickly in a way that minimizes friction. To achieve this, MSPs should find a way to prioritize tickets in various levels of urgency, as well as rely on robust documentation to drive efficient customer interactions. Many organizations also work to provide customers an easily accessible knowledge base to minimize the number of tickets submitted.
Creating backups to prevent data loss is another ongoing challenge all companies face—but it is especially important for MSPs. These companies are likely to manage data on behalf of multiple clients, and customer data loss can have a critical impact on your customer’s bottom line—not to mention your organization’s reputation. Your MSP may even be liable. To mitigate the risk of data loss, using reliable MSP backup software is crucial.
On a similar note, as cyberthreats have become more sophisticated, effective password storage and secure IT documentation management has never been more fundamental. Employing a password management and documentation solution that keeps pace with the evolution of cybercrime is a notable challenge for managed services providers. The same is true of email security, which—when improperly managed—can make your company vulnerable to attack.
Finally, as more companies take advantage of cloud-based technologies and storage solutions, cloud security is a growing priority. Given the rapid and widespread adoption of the cloud, it has been challenging for MSPs to ensure cloud security is appropriately accounted for.
The software you need to face MSP challenges
The following business management software programs were chosen because they are best able to help you tackle the major challenges faced by MSPs today.
✔ All-in-one MSP monitoring software for small MSPs: N-able RMM
As a relatively small company, you want an all-in-one monitoring solution that allows you to hit the ground running—and that will scale with you as you grow. N-able® RMM offers a comprehensive set of RMM tools in one consolidated dashboard so you have everything you need to start serving your clients right away. From patch management to managed antivirus and risk intelligence, RMM folds multiple tools into one solution so your company can immediately begin offering standardized support to customers. A 30-day free trial of RMM is available here.
✔ All-in-one MSP monitoring software for larger enterprises: N-able N-central
For larger MSPs with a diverse portfolio of clients, it’s essential you have a solution that allows you to offer customized support. As networks grow in complexity and scale to thousands of devices, IT service providers need powerful tools to match. N-able N-central® gives you both power and flexibility with a wholly customizable solution. Automation capabilities enhance efficiency and free up technician hours, while features like Network Topology Mapping and NetPath™ increase network visibility for improved performance. Remote monitoring, backup management, remote support, and more are all consolidated into a single intuitive dashboard for you to cater to your customers. A 30-day free trial of N-Central can be accessed here.
✔ For cloud-based email security software: N-able Mail Assure
N-able Mail Assure is one of a number of reliable N-able cloud-based email security tools. Mail Assure uses 24/7 email continuity solutions, collective threat intelligence, and long-term email archiving to provide secure email protection for inbound and outbound email. The tool uses proprietary email filtering technology that incorporates input from processing mass volumes of email data, all of which feeds into the unique Intelligent Protection and Filtering Engine. With real-time pattern threat recognition and machine learning technology, this is one of the most sophisticated cloud-based email security software tools available. A 30-day free trial is available for you to test it out today.
✔ For remote access software: N-able Take Control
Take Control was designed to help MSPs provide faster, more secure, and more intuitive remote support services to their customers. This tool gives you access to deep diagnostics and allows technicians to simultaneously connect to devices in a matter of seconds—while also maintaining top-notch security protocols like automatic clipboard deletion, AES 256 encryption, and multifactor authentication. It is extremely cost-effective and fits in well with technician workflows. A 14-day free trial is available.
✔ For backup software: N-able Backup
This all-in-one, web-based backup solution is easy to use and very versatile. This tool supports backups for servers, documentation, workstations, and Microsoft 365™ (formerly Office 365®). It includes virtual disaster recovery and bare metal recovery for rapid restoration, letting you check backup statuses, recover data, and schedule backup jobs in advance. Backup can save work and prevent data from being lost in the event of a disaster, helping ensure your customers are protected. You can try this tool free for 30-days here.
✔ For password and IT documentation management software: Passportal
N-able Passportal is a highly efficient password and documentation management solution designed specifically for managed services providers. This software offers credential injection, auditing, password change automation, reporting, and privileged client documentation management capabilities—all rolled into one tool. It makes it easy for MSPs to adhere to password management best practices, with credentials and key information stored in an encrypted password vault. For added security, the vault can only be accessed for those who have the correct role-based permissions and successfully pass through its layers of multifactor authentication. Request a demo of Passportal today.
✔ For MSP help desk software: N-able MSP Manager
N-able MSP Manager is a help dek tool for managed services providers that supports you in delivering optimum customer support services. This tool reduces the amount of time technicians spend on resolving customer issues by providing intuitive and lightweight ticketing, batch billing exports, customer and knowledge management capabilities, reporting dashboards, and a fully branded customer portal. You can access a free trial here .
Choosing the best MSP software
Business practices are changing, cloud adoption is on the rise, and IT technology is becoming more advanced with every year that passes. As we enter a new decade, MSPs face a variety of new and developing challenges. To tackle these challenges, MSPs need access to reliable, scalable, and sophisticated tools that can help them deliver services that are secure, supported, and monitored. Their brand reputation and customer satisfaction depends on it. For whichever challenge your MSP is facing, there’s a quality product that can help.
Find out more
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