MSP Business
A day in the life of an MSP
4 September, 2013
At MAX-IQ we believe no one knows what it’s like to be an MSP better than MSPs themselves! So to help shine a light on what it’s like to work in the Managed Services industry here is ‘A Day in the life of an MSP”.
To get us started Chris Pallett of Bespoke Computing Ltd has agreed to tell us a bit about his role as Managing Director and what a typical day can be like in his MSP business:
Describe your job, what is it that you do?
On paper my role is Managing Director but my day-to-day function is doing the sales; listening to clients, servicing their needs, and finding new business. Being both MD and technically orientated does also mean I have to get my hands dirty from time to time.
When and how does your working day typically start?
My day starts between 6 and 7 via the mobile, checking email and RMM for any major issues. If I’m going to have to deal with a problem or co-ordinate my team around a problem I want the drive to the office as thinking time.
It’s rare that we have a major issue so a normal day then means fuelling up on coffee, making sure the team has everything they need, and getting on with my normal role.
How would you describe a typical working day?
Working in a service industry looking after the needs of your clients, there isn’t really such a thing as a typical working day. Every time the phone rings your day can be turned on its head, sometimes several times in a very short period of time.
What are your toughest challenges and frustrations on a day to day basis?
One significant frustration right now is consumerisation and the opportunity it provides for the non-IT people to throw in two pennies on IT matters they don’t really know anything about. Everybody has an opinion and talk is cheap, but when it comes to delivering a viable solution that is value for money and stands the test of time, you cannot afford to get caught up in the smoke and mirrors of somebody looking to make a fast buck at your expense.
How many clients do you deal with? What scale of clients do you handle?
The diversity of our product portfolio means we currently services approximately 200 clients with the smallest being a residential or sole trade, scaling right through to corporates like TalkTalk Business.
What tools could you not live without and why?
RMM is first and foremost the one tool that we could not live without, knowing what is going on and often before our clients know what is happening is perceived as really big brother stuff. Having the ability to spot and deal with issues before they become massive problems is powerful.
After that it has to be the huge whiteboard in my office; whether you’re visualising a solution you wish to propose to a client or thrashing out a problem that has you stumped, the whiteboard is a friend for life.
What do you love most about your job?
Delivering customer satisfaction – I get a kick out of having happy customers.
What are your goals as an MSP?
Mostly importantly it is about being responsive to the customer, if you’re not servicing your clients then somebody else will. After that it is about customer satisfaction because a job that is worth doing is worth doing well.
How did you become an MSP?
We’ve always been a managed service provider since we started out in business ten years ago. The difference between then and now is that we have more grey hairs and have learn from one or two mistakes along the way.
Do you have any advice for ITSPs who maybe considering the move to MSP?
Be transparent with the value you provide to your customers, you’ll do more business and better business.
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