Master MSPs and Network Operations Centers Offer Growth Options

When building a managed IT services business, the technology and service options are almost as numerous as the number of MSPs currently in the market. From multiple RMM (remote monitoring and management) software alternatives to an ample supply of online data storage solutions, the possibilities available for MSPs are exponential. When you add email management, IT security, VoIP, and other technology services solutions, it can be very complicated selecting the proper portfolio for your customers. There must be an easier way to dive through the myriad of options, using some industry best practices.

As a matter of fact, there is an express lane for making a selection of proven solutions to offer to end clients; Master MSPs. These companies typically select a variety of managed services and cloud/SaaS tools that they can provide through subscription for a number of MSPs. Don’t assume these companies will commoditize your offerings by taking a cookie cutter approach, as their portfolios can be very diverse and comprehensive.  This allows you to select the services (or parts of their portfolio) that make sense for your customers. Most of these companies provide a “white label” service format, so everything they provide looks like it’s your own solution, when in fact you have the support of a much larger team.

Perhaps the largest benefit of partnering with a Master MSP is the variety of service offerings you can select for your customers, without a large investment with any of them. For example, many RMMs require a minimum purchase of licenses to start, which can sit in inventory for months if they are implementing them slowly. With a Master MSP, you typically pay a monthly fee for each license, so it’s a pay-as-you-go plan that provides better flexibility and improved cash flow options for IT providers. That means you can better employ your operational funds, for necessities such as employees…or heat and power.

With some Master MSPs, partners may have the ability to leverage business and technology systems that have already been built, such as communications, technology integrations, marketing and sales programs. Like any investment, look around and find the program that can best support your business, as well as your clients.

When an MSP’s IT services portfolio is complete, a difficult decision for most is how to provide 24x7 customer support. In managed IT services, it’s crucial to provide round-the-clock assistance to meet the SLAs (service level agreements) and ensure the customers’ uptime is maximized. This leaves a new MSP with two choices; build their own NOC (network operations center) or contract with another provider to provide off-hour support services. Since building your own requires a large amount of time and resources (which is a commodity most businesses don’t have when they start out), the most common path for MSPs is to partner with an established support center. In addition to Master MSPs, some distributors and solution providers have built NOCs that IT service providers can contract with to fill in service gaps.

With the current ticketing systems and workflow options, a NOC supplier may provide seamless support for your customers, with some answering the phone just as if they were your employee! Using email and web-portals, as well as API integrations to PSA (professional services automation) platforms, employees of a NOC can triage your support and address only the most critical needs during the off hours. Tickets for the less critical requests (or remote alerts) can be set up for your team to manage during regular support hours. When your team is over capacity (not always a bad situation), having the ability to switch to the off hours support desk is another great option NOC suppliers offer.

Realize that there are several options for a new MSP when constructing their technology offerings and support, without the need for a major money infusion. While you’ll likely still need to put in plenty of time honing your technology and building a customer base, the process has become less complex with the Master MSP model and NOC services.