07.26.07
Making IT Simple
From its inception, ByteSmart’s slogan and one of the points of our value proposition has been “making I.T. simple.” Small businesses owners typically have little interest in focusing on keeping their technology running properly. Computers are just a tool to get the job done. And unless you’re a non-profit, that job is to make money!
All too often, however, those owners and managers are forced to spend too much of their precious time and resources struggling to make their IT (information technology) investments work for them – that is, unless they are fortunate enough to find a trusted computer service provider who can whip their systems into shape and help direct all those bits and bytes to work hard to support the organization’s direction and goals.
One of the powerful ways we are “making IT simple” for our clients is through flat-rate service plans that provide different types of unlimited amounts of support. Through the use of powerful software and processes, we can now keep a pulse on the health of our client’s systems 24/7/365 and act proactively to resolve issues, as most problems have early warning signs before they become show-stoppers. This new model is a significant, forward-thinking shift from the traditional hourly rate support model that has been in place for decades. It is such an extraordinary win/win service model that we believe it is the destiny of IT service delivery.
Our clients sleep better at night, because they know their information is safe and their systems are reliable. They have less cash flow worries, because their IT support expenses are fixed, regardless of how long it takes to complete. They are positioned stand out in the marketplace as they can now take advantage of technologies that streamline processes, reduce overhead, and generate revenue. These are strategic and competitive advantages, all available because the “plumbing” is finally stable.
If you are interested in finding out if what we offer is a good fit for you, then contact us for a complimentary consultation. For more information, visit www.byte-smart.com.
07.25.07
How To Get A Human
Tip of the day:Have you ever called a company for information or help and gotten lost in the maze of phone tree options? The age of automated, multiple level phone systems and long hold times has become so ubiquitous that we now need “cheat codes” to cut through the red tape and get a human on the other end of the line.
07.12.07
AutoTask and MSPSN for the OMS
This article is intended for industry peers, so it’s written in the Techno-Speak language. All others proceed at your own risk. J
Recently I had a peer in the industry contact me with questions regarding MSPSN membership and AutoTask, a “practice management” app for IT service providers. Given that the questions were good but common these days, I decided to share points from the conversation and what has worked for me.
Q: Can you tell me a bit about your company and what made you decide to purchase AutoTask even though you’re just a one man shop (OMS) right now?
A: A cursory background was written here in my first blog. Beyond that, my company has chosen to pursue the MSP (managed services/flat-rate) model for support and maintenance, as I believe it is a true win/win for the client and service provider and the future of IT service delivery. Currently my PSA (professional services automation) of choice is AutoTask.
Why AutoTask while an OMS?
- No plans to remain an OMS. My opinion is that disconnected, manual, redundant processes and their islands of data are hard to train others to use, many times not reproducible, and can’t provide information across the areas of business that I have, even as an OMS. Creating the systems and outlining “the ByteSmart way” now will make my life much easier and support growth much more effectively.
- Being an MSP requires a PSA. After going through the process of speaking to the top handful of MSP vendors, talking it up with peers, reading the equivalent of a dumpster full of articles, white papers, magazines, attending seminars, webinars, conferences, etc, what I found was that the successful MSP model really requires a PSA of some kind. Maybe there are some companies delivering MSP services while getting by without one, but the profit potential is much higher with one.
- The value of my time. It may be true that there are 3 fundamental sources of power- time, energy, and money. In that light, how much of one of my most valuable possessions would be spent learning 18 different “free” tools versus a few apps that provide a cohesive system that run my business? Another point here is “free” tools aren’t free when you factor in the time involved.
Q: Since MSPSN + AutoTask is roughly the monthly lease for a decent car, how did you justify the high cost?
A: The way I see it is that the MSPSN Premiere membership cost is roughly equivalent to 1 hour of billable time and AutoTask equals about 1.5 hours. Given my experience with these two, that is not a high cost at all.
The biggest reason I joined MSPSN Premiere was for the business transformation support for moving to the MSP model. It continues to save me between a few to many hours every month.
- Example – The Masters groups and related monthly conference calls are very valuable, participating in active conversations on subjects directly impacting our businesses, saving me countless hours of research, learning, and mistakes. (Imagine having Karl P in your group!)
- Example – I had trouble implementing and learning AutoTask when working with the vendor directly, but MSPSN’s AutoTask setup is customized specifically for the SMB IT MSP, along with their training. Let me just tell you – BIG DIFFERENCE!
- Example – The documents at MSPSN are invaluable, among them the sales documents. They provided what I needed to launch a cold call sales campaign. I never would have attempted this without their targeted, outlined process.
AutoTask makes me money and saves me money. For the money I make and value I receive, there is no high cost to justify.
- Example – AutoTask has helped me capture and bill for at least a few hours each month that had been falling through the cracks before. The reason is because I didn’t have a workable, consistent system of capturing billable time. Using AutoTask is like found money.
- Example – AutoTask saves me hours each month when invoicing, as it centrally stores ticket details as well as ties the helpdesk system to the time & billing module and reporting and exports to QuickBooks.
- Bottom line – Find a system/solution that works for you instead of cobbling together disconnected tools. Sounds strangely familiar to what we strive to do for our clients…
Q: What alternatives did you look at before choosing AutoTask? Were you unable to come up with a good solution by using Excel/Word for monthly reports, and Outlook (maybe with BCM) for tracking sales leads, etc.
A: My focus was on assembling the MSP structure, so research was limited to the tools to do so. To deliver IT services using the MSP model, at a minimum the core system needs to have…
- service desk
- ticketing
- scheduling
- reporting
- RMM (remote monitoring & management)
- Remote monitoring
- Remote control
- Patch management
- Automation
- Service Agreements
BCM for Outlook doesn’t really apply because I was looking for a RMM-aware service desk and IT “practice management” software. CRM was just not a deciding factor for me. As it turns out, AutoTask does have a robust CRM module that I have been starting to use.
Word/Excel – Manually typing up summary reports for clients each month on AV engines updates, status of MS patches and other updates, hardware inventory, backup reports, network intrusion attempts, etc is not something I want to do. That’s what the reporting in the RMM and PSA tools are for. For that function, Word and Excel just don’t fit the “standardize, process-ize, and automate” goal of the MSP.
I also looked closely at ConnectWise, among others. It seems to be a great product with lots of happy customers, but it was simply out of the ballpark price-wise for me as an OMS, unless I had around $12K+ to dump upfront into a PSA tool. The last time I checked (fall of 2006), even their hosted model, with stripped out features, is over twice what I’m paying for AutoTask. When comparing features and value to the price difference, for this OMS, there seemed to me to be only one option.
While there was a fair amount of talk regarding planning and assembling systems, that doesn’t mean that it has to be expensive. I walked into using a powerful set of MSP tools that talk to each other, without any significant upfront investment, using the brokered licensing and hosted infrastructure models available today. That means paying only for what I need on a month-to-month agreement.
For what it’s worth, the move to the MSP model is not for the faint of heart. As it has been said, MSP is not just a new technology. It’s a fundamental change in business model. And that means business transformation support is a CRITICAL component. Get it from somewhere and with it, the OMS can make the leap and provide legitimate MSP services in a responsible fashion.
Care to comment? Different viewpoint? Your feedback is welcome.
Ben Ahlquist, SBSC, MCP, MOS 2000, A+
07.06.07
My First Blog
For the sake of introductions, my name is Ben Ahlquist, an IT Specialist working with small and medium businesses in the tri-state area (DE, PA, MD). I have had a varied range of experiences in the computer industry, from selling business machines, to teaching computer classes, to installing cabling infrastructures and upgrading networks up and down the east coast, to working at a biopharm as a tech support analyst, to… you get the point. A little over three years ago, I launched my own company, ByteSmart.
To those in the computer industry, ByteSmart is an OMS SBSC’d SMB IT service provider, recently turned MSP. How’s that for a mouthful of acronyms? J
To the rest of the world that doesn’t live, eat, sleep, and breathe all things IT, ByteSmart is a computer services provider that supports small and medium businesses in the greater Delaware Valley. Essentially, we do support and maintenance of computers and networks. We also provide solutions directed at meeting our clients’ needs and matching their business direction. For example, data protection solutions keep their information secure, messaging solutions help them communicate in the 21st century, and mobility solutions get them access to their data while away from the office.
Put another way, ByteSmart is the virtual IT department and trusted advisor for organizations that use computers in their line of work. “Virtual IT department” is another way of saying that our clients outsource their IT needs to us. We provide the type of technical and business support that an IT department in a big corporate company would deliver, but scaled to the size and needs of small and medium businesses. “Trusted advisor” is a position that is earned. We strive to fulfill that role in several ways, including helping our clients develop an IT roadmap, which is a strategic plan that outlines expenditures in the upcoming year, aligns their IT usage with the organization’s goals and priorities, and helps resolve their particular pain points.
While I have thought about starting a blog for a while, what finally stirred my blood to action was reading recent articles written by a titan in my industry on the subject of community (hats off to you, Vlad). I have benefited greatly from the wealth of resources available in the IT community and hope to be able to participate for whatever measure of help it may bring to others. I imagine that my blog will be articles written for small business owners and managers, peers in the industry, and sometimes chronicling my journey of experiences. I can’t promise that it will be perfectly accurate or politically correct, but it will be real and practical and hopefully meaningful and applicable.
Until next time,
Ben Ahlquist, SBSC, MCP, MOS 2000, A+
