Windows Virtual Desktop is a service hosted on Azure which allows clients to consolidate their workflow like a traditional RDS server, but with a Windows 10 VM instead which is more intuitive to most users. This is a powerful technology for MSP’s which can cut both you and your client’s costs, reduce technical overhead, and increase security. It works out to a large win for everyone involved for most workflows.
Azure has become one of the biggest virtualization and cloud platforms with a medley of offerings and services which meld together into a Windows administrator’s sweetest dream. Let’s see exactly what Windows Virtual Desktop is, what it does well, how to get the most out of the platform if you’re not used to the cloud, and the security and backup features you get as well.
What Is Windows Virtual Desktop?
Windows Virtual Desktop boils down to a solution which allows you to manage a cloud Windows environment without having to manage the tedious parts of infrastructure, maintenance, or the pain of licensing. It is the natural evolution of RDP. We previously wrote about the more technical aspects of what makes a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure work. Let’s look at the features Windows Virtual Desktop offers to get a taste for what it does in practice rather than theory. Microsoft lays their Windows Virtual Desktop offering out with the following features:
Set up a multi-session Windows 10 deployment that delivers a full Windows 10 with scalability
Virtualize Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise and optimize it to run in multi-user virtual scenarios
Provide Windows 7 virtual desktops with free Extended Security Updates
Bring your existing Remote Desktop Services (RDS) and Windows Server desktops and apps to any computer
Virtualize both desktops and apps
Manage Windows 10, Windows Server, and Windows 7 desktops and apps with a unified management experience
You get the ability to use a multi-user, multi-session version of Windows 10 which means a more simplified changeover and an easier licensing situation. You also have the option for Windows Server or an up-to-date version of Windows 7. Desktops and apps alone can be virtualized with this solution.
Windows Virtual Desktop makes it easy to get users virtualized cheaper and more efficiently than other solutions. You handle the setup, they handle the infrastructure (Azure AD) and maintenance (mostly). Microsoft also makes it easier than RDP, you don’t need a gateway server and RDP setups deployed to each desktop, your users just use a simple native app or an HTML5 webapp.
What Makes Windows Virtual Desktop Amazing?
This solution basically provides you a way to make virtual desktops for clients to work off of (which are especially important with work from home), but that isn’t all it does. It also allows support for Windows 7 which is compliant (i.e. it is patched and up to date from the vendor), and it allows porting over existing RDP setups. You get everything a traditional Windows virtualization solution could provide, plus an easier way to administer it and use it. It offers an easy line for clients to move over as well.
If you have clients with old Windows 7 desktops or Windows Server 2008 R2 boxes, you know how painful they can be to manage. The extended support on its own is far too expensive for most companies to realistically consider, so they take their chances with VM’s or trying to isolate the machine from the rest of the network. No matter how it’s done, it’s either expensive or painful for everyone involved.
The Azure setup streamlines maintaining a domain environment. Domain costs can become especially costly per user in smaller traditional setups. Ease of use is a general feature across the board for Azure. That being said, Azure can be hard to get going with since there are just so many features and options.
Augmenting Azure
We offer project services for migrations to help our partners focus on business while we focus on the boring parts. We partnered with both Crayon and Nerdio to augment our Azure offerings. Azure is complicated and can be difficult to navigate, but solutions like Crayon and Nerdio both have different offerings which fill in the gaps. They help handle translating the client’s need into something which can be cost effective with Windows Virtual Desktop (among many other Azure services).
Transitioning to Azure is easy if you’re somewhat technical and can follow directions, but you can end up with 10 different solutions which do the same thing and vary wildly in cost. The cost all depends on how well you understand the platform and what you need to satisfy the client.
Any MSP can handle the technical side, but the platform requires knowledge and experience to leverage it as efficiently as possible. It can be hard to find the time to maintain your business obligations while staying ahead of the dizzying number of XaaS platforms. Paying for a project to migrate or working with a vendor to simplify Azure and Windows Virtual Desktop setup can ensure your first migrations are a success and stay on track for cost and expectations.
It’s easy once you understand it, but it takes a lot of time and effort to get to the point it all comes together naturally. You can choose to learn on your own slowly, or you can get a jumps jump-start with expertise to immerse you in Azure and learn as you go. Neither solution is the right answer for all MSP’s or businesses, but if it gets overwhelming, there are options to get through the most mundanely challenging parts.
Azure Backup and Security
Azure offers a backup service which makes recovery and backup administration trivial if you’ve already bought into the Azure platform. Azure Backup doesn’t just work for devices hosted on Azure, you can also run it on traditional on-premise setups. It isn’t always the most cost effective solution outside of Azure however.
You also have a simplified network interface which abstracts your networking away from supporting a virtual appliance. Some providers still require you to support virtual firewalls and similar if you want the service to work and be secure. Azure makes it easy in general and keeps it easy enough that some power users can even administer it.
Azure Backups running as a cloud appliance rather than an on-premise machine or similar provides an advantage for security as well. Some crypto and ransomware variants are known to target HyperV machines or certain backup solutions to make recovery more painful. It’s a lot harder to do when it’s a one way transfer into the cloud rather than a machine sharing the same network.
I mentioned compliance earlier with Windows 7 with Windows Virtual Desktop, but this is a huge selling point to some clients. They need a legacy OS and they need to do things right or else have a hugely inconvenient network isolation project. We’ve had vendors suggest clients with applications on Windows Server 2008 R2 literally isolate and spin up a full, separate domain (intentionally using different credentials and user structuring), maintain a jumpbox (or two) which is at least partially isolated, and then suggest users transfer data by moving it from their system to the jumpbox, and then to the secure server to try and remain secure because extended support was too expensive. Or, they could just use Windows Virtual Desktop.
Conclusion
Windows Virtual Desktop won’t fit every client or every workflow, but it is a powerful offering and an efficient tool for many companies. Windows Virtual Desktop expounds on the possibilities in Azure with virtualization and creates the natural evolution to RDP and similar tools and technologies. Understand what it does and how, and you can understand when to use it, or when to not.
Services from Nerdio or Crayon can give you a shortcut to getting the most out of Windows Virtual Desktop and other Azure offerings. Windows Virtual Desktop is powerful, but it can be complicated if you are not familiar with the sheer volume of options. You can make the same basic system a dozen ways with a dozen different prices that all work the same; understanding how the options work and are billed is essential to making the right choices. It’s not hard on its own, but it can be when you’re trying to balance a business and selecting technology.
Sometimes it just works out cheaper long-term to rely on another expert to make the best choices and build the best experience the first few times. It’s important to remember how much your time or obligation is worth. We enable our partners to make use of these technologies to get the most bang for their buck.
Windows Virtual Desktop can provide an easier to manage environment which can be cheaper to operate for many clients. It abstracts away many security and infrastructure concerns, as well as unexpected costs. I’m yet to hear of a client moving to Azure or Windows Virtual Desktop and deciding to move back due to anything other than poor planning. The advantages are too great once you understand them.
Meet Joe Martinez of KITE IT Pro!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
KITE IT Pro’sheadquarters are in Tucson, AZ. In 2014, we started off as a consumer/business break-fix company and made the decision to primarily focus solely on managed services in 2018.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We have been a member of The 20 for a little over 4 months.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
The size of our company really forced us to look to partner with The 20. Scaling our service delivery was a huge issue for us. We were not in the position to hire technicians or take on clients over a certain size in fear of service overload. As we added new clients, we were essentially growing ourselves out of business.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
CONFIDENCE. We knew that we delivered our clients great IT service, we just lacked confidence in scaling. Partnering with The 20 has allowed us to discover the difference between scaling our service and scaling our business.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
We love the community of The 20. The engagement between partners is priceless. In this industry, every company holds their secret sauce under lock and key. As members of The 20 community, we are learning from seasoned industry veterans on how to successfully grow and protect our business.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Hard work. The 20 is designed to alleviate growing pains. Everything you need to grow your business is in The 20. Hard work is not just defined on the hours you put into delivering service, hard work is also defined by the ability change who you are as an owner, partner, and as a company. Change is the hardest work you will ever have to do.
What are your biggest business challenges?
The biggest challenge we face is lead generation. It is always the principal challenge for each IT service company.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
Lead generation and building a sales pipeline. Now that we can scale our service delivery, we can “get out” in front of potential clients and develop our business. The ability to get out from “behind the console” has been invaluable. We can make more effort towards focusing on lead generation and sales which is paramount to our success.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
If you are looking to grow your MSP, join The 20. Stop wasting effort in hiring help desk technicians or getting yourself stuck “behind the console”. The 20 gives your company the freedom to focus on lead generation and sales…the scaling is provided. We wish we would have done this back in 2018.
Interested in becoming a member like KITE IT Pro? Click here for more information!
Meet Trent Milliron of Kloud9 IT!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
Kloud9’s headquarters are in Cleveland,Ohio and we have offices in Cleveland, Akron, and Columbus Ohio. We started in 2006 as a break-fix company and began all inclusive services in 2010, as a way to assist businesses in budgeting but also as a way to have better control over tier infrastructure to prevent problems from occurring instead of getting calls because something is broken.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
Around 6 years
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
Buying power with vendors, also done for you integration with the vendor tools as well. Meaning you are buying into a set of tools where everything is working together as it should. Going further on this, also buying into sales and operations processes as well that work. And a community.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
We have been able to streamline our service offerings and present them in way that increases revenue.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
The camaraderie with likeminded individuals who want success.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Always work on increasing revenue. If you are not growing, you are shrinking.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Developing Processes and Employees.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
Expanding our service offerings in order to increase opportunities for our sales team. Also adding a defined cyber security service
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Delegate, Use Metrics, and Spend Money on Marketing.
Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson, Dennis Prager, Candice Owens, Dave Rubin
Interested in becoming a member like Kloud9 IT? Click here for more information!
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be a daunting task for anyone who doesn’t have a background in marketing. SEO is how you get your site or business found. While following the basics will almost always be the right choice, there are tricks which can help an MSP get an edge over the competition. Let’s look at the 13 easiest things you can do for your MSP (though a lot of this advice applies to most businesses) to improve organic SEO.
Keywords
When someone performs a search, they use keywords or important terms to try and find a specific result. This is the foundational concept behind how a search engine works. Keywords used to live in special tags or be derived from the title, but computing has grown and search algorithms have gotten exponentially more complex. Almost everyone is familiar with keywords, but how they work has changed substantially. Keywords don’t just live in a title or a tag, they live in the content.
1. Targeted Keywords
What does your page or solution provide and how would a prospective client find it? This is the most important question to answer before even starting to create content. Once you have an answer, you can begin planning keywords which are relevant. For instance, if you’re writing about backups, you want to target the core keywords for backups, but also the specific keywords which help qualify your article.
We use terms like backup, BDR, and disaster recovery to cast a wide net for generic information on backups. This isn’t enough though, we want to get some of the long-tail searches even if they’re tangential. We work in terms like cloud, on-premise, virtualization, tape, etc. to make this content more appealing to more search users (and ideally anyone reading as well). Target keywords, but make sure they’re relevant to your content. This is the foundation to everything you do with SEO for any content.
2. Use Synonyms
You may have noticed that a lot of those keywords I mentioned seem a bit redundant. Backups and BDRs are arguably the difference between rectangles and squares. A search engine algorithm might use synonyms to help a user direct their search, but an exact match is still worth more. Pepper in synonyms and similar terms where they fit to cast a wider net.
This is especially important for MSP’s since your client may not always know what to search. They don’t necessarily know what DRaaS is before they talk to you, but they do know what they want (or at least have an idea) when they search (and it may be as vague as “to have backups”). The more generic or simple terms you can work in (especially early on) the more likely you are to get and retain a prospective client. Spicing up terms benefits more technical content as well.
Links
Inbound and outbound links can influence search rankings. Who you link to, and who links to you will impact your search engine ranking. Links are still important, but link farming (arbitrarily putting links on sites, or link farm sites to manipulate search rankings) is a quick way to get dropped. How can you squeeze an extra ounce of link juice (the value of a piece of content based on inbound links) out of your content without crossing a line?
3. Internal Links
The quickest and easiest way to increase link juice (which improves your SEO) is to link to your own content. You can’t just spam the same links or random links; they have to fit the content. Internally referencing your own blog or assets (in a way which contextually fits) is an extremely easy way to get an edge without any real downside.
Got an article explaining what something is? Link to it on other pages where you use the concept. Don’t be afraid to edit older content to add links to newer articles. This gives clients (or peers) a way to dig deeper and stay on your site while (ideally) deriving value.
Content
Modern search engine algorithms don’t just look at keywords and titles, they look at the entirety of the content and everything on the page. The main “trick” to good organic SEO is to just make better content. What question does your content answer and for whom? While good content is the main key to good SEO, that doesn’t mean there aren’t things you can do to improve the odds or make content shine even more.
4. Clearing Assets
Any asset which you use needs to be legally obtained or applied (the license matters). You can’t just download an image off the internet and use it. This seems like it would be common sense, but there are countless people who don’t follow this rule. If you used to do it before you knew better, fix it now.
It’s arguably content theft, but to top it off, it will hurt your SEO. It can also get you dropped entirely or even a DMCA takedown notice. Clear all assets you plan to use and make sure you have them licensed or use something with a free or public domain license. Attribution is also important depending on the license.
5. Subheadings and Organization
Headings, subheadings, and their organization can also impact SEO. The “ideal” at present is between 100 to 300 words per subheading for most content. These little changes in organization can enrich the keywords a search engine picks up on and in turn increases your SEO.
Most search engine algorithms give preference to content which is emphasized in some way. The most common way to do this is via test markup like em or strong tags, or h header/title tags. Make sure you highlight things which are important. You don’t even need to rewrite the whole thing. A little extra organization of content and subheadings leads to a boost in SEO.
6. Content Consistency
A bad verse in an otherwise great song can ruin the whole thing. Likewise, inconsistent quality can be as bad as consistently bad quality. Having poorly written content and keeping it for a misguided attempt at optimizing keywords or similar hurts your SEO. This can be a paragraph or a page.
This isn’t a judgment on your writing, but what content do you have which is (or has since become) wrong? An article about Windows Server 2003 won’t hurt anything, but an article about best practices for wireless security from the days of WEP will. It isn’t just dated, it can be harmful.
If everyone who Googles “best MSP near me” clicks your page and jumps to the next result because the content sucks, Google’s algorithm takes notice. If some of your content is bad, it can tarnish the rest too though. Where a reader lands can be as important as whether they even click. If content doesn’t work anymore, pull it. Make sure that the content you have stays consistent with the message you’re trying to broadcast to your clients without confusion.
Content Length
A long article has a different impact on SEO than a short article. A short article weekly has a different effect on SEO than a long article sporadically. You can create countless comparisons but the rule of thumb is that more is usually better. More content more often, or more words on a single article.
7. The Magic Word Count
Most search engines hit a soft SEO plateau around 1,000 to 1,500 words. The bigger ones tend to favor a bit more, usually 1,200 or more is ideal. Google, Bing, and basically any other modern search engine is going to reward you for longer content, you just hit diminishing returns from it.
The one thing to take of note of though is that substantially less than 1,000 word articles (say around 800 or less) tend to be worth less for SEO. Some content doesn’t need to be that long and trying to force it just harms it (like a contact page). SEO rules, especially this one, tend to be a bit like English spelling rules. The rule applies until it doesn’t.
Conclusion
SEO is SEO in any industry, the difference is how valuable a specific factor is over another. These tools and techniques work as basic tools for all kinds of specific SEO. A local business will benefit less from a global presence. One of the big differences for SEO for an MSP is the focus on both local and general reach.
You want your company to be the first result locally for prospective clients, but you also want vendors and other businesses to be able to find your site. These give you opportunities for growth and development of your business.
Thank you for making Virtual VISION 2020 a success!
The 2020 Virtual VISION Conference featured an impressive speaker lineup, best-in-class thought leadership, actionable content sessions, channel trends, interactive peer panels, and virtual peer networking – all focused on growing your IT services business. Keynote speaker Gary Vaynerchuk, prolific entrepreneur and 5-time New York Times bestselling author, shared business growth strategy and marketing tactics. The speaker roster also included Walter Bond and Mark Manson. Hailed as the most important MSP event of the year, VISION brought together top MSPs and IT service providers for two impactful days of speakers, sessions, and networking focused on business best practices, thought leadership, and growth.
Virtual VISION 2020 Featured Sessions:
The New MSP Landscape | Tim Conkle
The Only Thing Stopping You is You | Walter Bond
How to Build a Sales Pipeline That Closes Deals Consistently | Mark Elliott
Top 3 Strategies for Engaging Remote Customers | Eric Townsend, Dell
The Law of F*ck Yes or No | Mark Manson
Security in the MSP Space: Threats, Opportunities & Strategies to Position Yourself for Success | Matt Solomon, ID Agent
Tightening Up Your Security Stack To Avoid MSP FUBAR | John Hammond, Huntress
Panel Discussions: MSP Marketing 101, Making the Jump to AI, Shadow Channels
“The 20’s model is poised to dramatically disrupt the MSP market, and a critical piece of this strategy is expanding and enabling the right type of partner base in order to accelerate nationwide growth. With Virtual VISION coming to a close,we are excited for the continuous growth and to see you all in 2021.” – Tim Conkle, Chief Executive Officer of The 20 MSP.
Thank you to all of our sponsors! We had an amazing time in the virtual world with all of you and can’t wait to see you all in 2021. Stayed tuned for VISION 2021 dates at the20.com.
Meet Lance Keltner of UNI Computers!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
UNI Computers was established in 1993 as a computer repair store in Lawrence KS. I took over ownership in 2006 after working there for 7 years. At that point, business managed services was a very small part of the business, but I knew it would be the future and where I needed to focus growth. I continued to put time and effort into growing the business services side of the company and today it accounts for more than half of our total revenue.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
We joined The 20 in 2018 and are a bit past 2 years of being a member.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
The selling point for me was two fold and equal in importance: #1 was the pre-curated stack of tools and security with the foundation already set and process in place to use, sell, and manage it. #2 was the community. I know enough to know what I don’t know, and having a large community of people just like me with all different experiences and skillsets is ultra-valuable. Whenever I need an answer or solution to something, chances are someone has it and already knows it works.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
The biggest change for us is having a solid process that I didn’t have to invent from the ground up over the course of years that’s already proven to work. I sell with supreme confidence backed not only by me, but also vetted by scores of other businesses around the country doing it the same way as I do, every day.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
What I like most is definitely the community. I’ve formed life-long friendships here, which is not something I always do easily. Everyone is here to help out. No one is afraid of someone else stealing their stuff. That’s rare in the world where everyone generally keeps their cards close to the vest. I also like that if I need to get top leadership of The 20 on the phone for a call, it’s easy to do, and they are ready and willing to help with anything. Our suggestions are taken seriously and more often than not brought into practice and used. We are part of the process that makes The 20 better today than it was yesterday.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
The biggest quality for success is the willingness to change and adapt when it’s shown that you can do something better than you were doing it previously.
What are your biggest business challenges?
My biggest challenges personally are marketing and sales, which The 20 has helped with immensely but also the community and the people I have met have helped equally as much. The collaboration I’ve been able to do with other members has been priceless.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
My biggest areas of focus are getting in front of prospects and keeping the pipeline full. COVID brought about a lot of instant change, but we were fortunate enough that our base of clientele was very stable and so we haven’t suffered like some MSPs have. Reaching new customers and bringing them the security and support they need has definitely been more challenging, and is the key area I’m working on as it dictates our overall growth.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Join The 20! Seriously. Tim says the three most important things you can do are 1. Lead Gen, 2. Sales, 3. Scale. That’s what The 20 is built on and what its focus is. If joining isn’t possible, then those three things are still what you have to do, anyway you can. They will decide how successful your MSP can be. Period. I’ve doubled my MRR since joining The 20. This is the way.
I haven’t been much of a podcast guy as I usually like reading more, so for blogs/sites it would be:
1. The 20’s Teams community!
2. Chris Wiser’s marketing program communities
3. Cyware’s security daily email
4. Recorded Future’s daily email
Interested in becoming a member like UNI Computers? Click here for more information!
The 20, a leading consortium of managed service providers (MSPs), is excited announce keynote speaker Gary Vaynerchuk.
Entrepreneur and social media influencer, Gary Vaynerchuk, better known as “Gary Vee,” is set to deliver a keynote address on October 1st at Virtual VISION. GaryVee got his start over 13 years ago after starting a web series called Wine Library TV. After slowly building a following and an audience, Gary Vee started VaynerMedia, a full-service advertising agency that has grown to work with some of the most recognizable brands in the world.
Today, Gary continues to be an influential figure in the marketing and entrepreneurial spaces. He is a highly sought-after public speaker, a five-time New York Times bestselling author, as well as a prolific early angel investor in companies like Facebook, Twitter and Uber.
GaryVee will give a keynote address to everyone at VISION, followed by a Q&A session.
“We are so looking forward to GaryVee’s keynote at VISION,” says Crystal McFerran, CMO of The 20. “The 20 is thrilled to share this incredible slate of content with the MSP community. If you’re looking to take your MSP to the next level, you don’t want to miss VISION 2020!”
Joining Vaynerchuk will be a powerful speaker lineup including Mark Manson, author of New York Times bestseller “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” and Walter Bond, former NBA player and success coach.
What can you expect from VISION this year? A full roster of sought-after speakers, innovative disruptors and business-focused visionaries sharing their knowledge with likeminded MSPs who are seeking to level up.
Virtual VISION will take place Wednesday, September 30th and Thursday, October 1st. The two-day event also features a full slate of leading channel partners and industry experts. Hailed as the most important MSP event of the year, VISION 2020 will bring together top MSPs and IT service providers for two impactful days of speakers, sessions, and networking focused on business best practices, thought leadership, and growth.
Keynote presentation and Q&A by Gary Vaynerchuk
Business and life lessons from Mark Manson and Walter Bond
Hot topics such as AI, the new MSP landscape, shadow channels and sales/pipeline creation
Technology moves at a breakneck pace. New standards pop up, old technologies lose support, novel threats are revealed, and the wheel just turns and turns. Nothing has really changed with the pattern, but it feels like it’s moving faster than ever before.
Things are changing at the same individual rate, but there are more things changing to account for. You used to only need to worry about the basics like networking, servers, and workstations (or similar), now you need to fight the choice between software suites, hosting types, security suites, advanced networking capabilities, etc. The choices have gotten endless for each one, and very rarely is there a clear-cut case of objectively better once you hit a certain minimum. Salespeople have no qualms embellishing claims and the spec sheets may not always be apples to apples for comparisons among similar suites.
Technology comparisons can get downright onerous if you don’t know how to find the right resources to make sense of claims and features. Billing gets even crazier unless you have the market to pull special treatment. It’s the difference between a flat $0.50 an endpoint per month, and a billing scheme with unclear tiers, fixed and/or variable fees, or even variable price per month. When looking at technology we look at what they promise, what they can show, and how it fits the model for our clients.
What Does It Promise?
What features does an offering have and what claims do they make? The adage of “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” usually holds true here. But, sometimes you get pricing by buying in early, as a way to expand business, or even as part of a partnership. Striking one of these deals can make your offering that much more amazing if you know how to negotiate a new promise out of the sales team. Pricing may not be the first thing you figure out, but it is one of the biggest deal breakers for a promise.
What have you been promised it can do? This can even be spec sheets and “raw data”. How well does it actually work out? If you can’t easily weigh the individual promise, how well have they held up their previous promises? Don’t look too far if the company has been through substantial change unless you want to be extremely cautious. If the entire C-suite and management was completely changed out and it’s been a few years with the new management, you may want to just look at the promises in that period. Don’t look too far if their track record is bad either.
AI excites me but also scares the bejesus out of me. Promises get a lot vaguer with Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI and ML are computing black boxes. You have an input and (ideally) an output that fits what you want, but you have no real insight into how the process works. The people making it can understand what they’ve put in, but the actual process is still a mystery.
You have to know how to make sense of their promises and claims for them to mean anything. How many promises are vague and loaded with empty marketing speak and how many can actually be quantified? Buzzwords are fine if they actually mean something contextually, but they’re less than useless otherwise. How many of the promises make sense? Now, how can you turn their promises into something verifiable?
What Has It Shown?
Where does it stand in comparison to its competition? What rates is this measured from and who sponsored the research? What have they shown they can do consistently well? Are there features which stand out which you can actually benefit from? Look at what they have shown they can do for you.
Even if something is possible to do, it doesn’t mean it’s practical. That cheap consumer router may say it works great for a business and someone used it for a day when their expensive equipment went down, but does that mean it’s shown anything useful if you’re buying for business? I’ve been in that spot, and they usually work for a day or two at a larger place before having to be continuously rebooted. There’s a reason a commercial or enterprise router costs more and works better in a commercial setting; it’s made to do so. You have to know how to apply the same filters for promises or else you get sold on a different bill of goods.
Benchmark the results you get. What can they show you they can actually do and how can you measure the data? A product might work great in a virtualized environment, but how does it work on real life hardware? You have to put the promises you can actually show into the context of how it fits you and your business needs. If you know what to look for, you might get in on something exceptional which is just marketed poorly, or avoid the inverse.
How Does It Fit?
A great product targeted at a different market may not be a great (or even good) fit. Your business continues to change (just like the businesses we support). What do you need and who is the product targeting? If you’re a Managed Service Provider (MSP), you’ll probably have multiple clients in multiple industries. How do you find the common denominator that can get you better pricing while satisfying all of their needs?
A product is going to have an associated cost. I keep coming back to cost, but cost is one of the most important factors for a product being a good fit or not. It doesn’t just matter what a client needs, it also matters what they can afford and are willing to spend. While a single service isn’t going to break the bank, 10 of them will. Technology continues to expand and more and more things become necessary to just run a business. You have to focus on the bigger picture which combines risk, need, desire, and support.
You have to take into account compliance, security, accessibility, maintainability, scalability, etc. and all of it costs money. While it’s not ideal, some businesses just don’t have the money to solve certain problems the best way possible. Other times, a certain technology may not have something financially accessible or practical which fits what the client is willing to do. You have to pick something which makes your life easier in some way as the IT professional as well, but sometimes that comes at a cost too, and that cost can be a deal-breaker.
Measure each factor and compare it to what you or the client need. If something really simplifies their business, it can be worth the extra cost, but you have to be able to show them. Clients will hold you accountable for your decisions to push a product, so you have to do your due diligence. Make sure it can deliver on its promises and can back up its claims. This helps you determine whether it’s the right fit, or if you need to go a different direction. Not every choice will be a home run, but if you focus on the right factors, you make informed decisions instead of blind gambles.
We use our ability to negotiate and our expertise to keep with and stay ahead of market trends. You may not always want to be the first early adopter, but you don’t want to be late to the party either. Where is the market going and how do you get ahead without getting lost?
Interested in finding out more about The 20? Click here.
Virtual VISION 2020 – Why You Don’t Want to Miss Out!
Virtual VISION 2020 provides two days of compelling speakers, educational sessions, and networking focused on MSP business best practices, thought leadership, and growth.
Join world-class MSPs and ITSPs for two days of non-stop learning and a wealth of insightful sessions. The conference is supercharged with content catered to every member of your MSP team, from tech to exec.
Connect with IT professionals and experts from around the world. Exchange best practices and share tips, tricks, and secrets for success with a powerful network of MSPs.
Here are the top 10 reasons you don’t want to miss #VirtualVISION:
Agenda
Great content with killer strategies on how to grow your MSP
Speaker Line Up
Amazing speakers including, Mark Manson, Walter Bond, and Gary V.
Breakout Sessions
Great speakers lined up that will be teaching technical skills, sales, and everything in between.
Event Platform
The event platform is a fully immersive, 3-D technology that feels like a game!
No Mask + No Social Distancing
The entire event is virtual, so there is no need to wear a mask!
Networking
Join top MSPs and network with like-minded business owners.
Party
Virtual party with fireworks and a special guest performance.
Sponsors
Full slate of industry-leading vendors.
Cash giveaway
One person will receive $5,000 in cash, and five people will win $1,000 each!
Never have to leave home
Join us at Virtual VISION 2020 and network from the comfort of your own home. Register here.
We can’t wait to “see” all of you there!
Meet Chris Kimbell of WOLFGUARD IT!
Tell us a little about your MSP…
In 2010, my family moved from Texas to my wife’s hometown of Bozeman, Montana. I was unable to find a career in my field, so I decided to create my own career and started the company from the basement of my in-laws home. WOLFGUARD IT has since grown considerably and now has clients over Montana, Wyoming, Texas and even Ireland and China. We push toward continued growth and this year we even made the MSP 501 list for 2020!
How long have you been a member of The 20?
3 years
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
We were having difficulty with scaling and needed a unique sales model that works. Some groups had their “golden goose” but didn’t help you get there. I needed a group that would help you get from point a to the end goal.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
We dove in with the The 20 model. This changed every aspect of our business. It was a lot of work, but has paid off big time. We now have scalability, a better business model and a great sales model that easily makes sense.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
Number one would be the knowledge that The 20 provides as well as the resources and other members.
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
Hard work and the right business model.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Marketing and brand awareness.
What are your areas of focus for 2020?
Marketing, marketing and marketing. We have been in business for 10-years now and we haven’t worked on our band awareness until now. More people need to know our brand and what we do.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
It is extremely difficult to scale your business while staying profitable. But that is only part of the fight. Work with a group that can handle your marketing and sales models too. All of these items make a big difference in your overall success.
