Skip to main content
SolarWinds MSP
  • Login
  • Support
  • Partnerships
    • Partnerships Overview
    • Solution Provider Program
    • Technology Alliance Program
    • Distributor Program
SolarWinds MSP
  • Products
    • Monitoring & Management
    • N-central Automate. Tackle complex networks. Get remote monitoring and management built for efficiency and scale.
    • RMM Start fast. Grow at your own pace. Try this powerful but easy remote monitoring and management solution.
    • Backup
    • Backup Get data protection for servers, workstations, applications, documents, and Microsoft 365 from one dashboard.
    • Security
    • EDR Defend against ransomware, zero-day attacks, and evolving threats with endpoint detection and response.
    • Mail Assure Leverage mail protection and archiving to keep your users safe from email threats and downtime.
    • Passportal Adopt and enforce best practices for password and documentation management with ease.
    • Tools & Services
    • MSP Manager Increase helpdesk efficiency with a robust PSA, ticketing, reporting, and billing management solution.
    • Take Control Help support customers and their devices with remote support tools designed to be fast and powerful.
    • View All
  • Solutions

    Solutions

    • Security Protect your customers and expand your business by offering layered security services without the complexity.
    • Monitoring Choose the right remote monitoring and management solution to meet you where you are and grow with you.
    • Operational Efficiency Boost profits by improving efficiency via automation, resources and training, and time-saving products.
    • IT Departments Keep your organization productive by easily managing IT from a single, easy-to-use, web-based dashboard.
    • Remote Monitoring Solutions Comparison Compare SolarWinds RMM and N-central side by side. Sign up to talk to a specialist to find the right fit.
    • View All
  • Resources
    • Download
    • Resource Library
    • Product Information
    • Free Tools
    • Learn
    • MSP Institute Webinar Series
    • Daily Live Demos
    • MSP Advice Project
    • Ask the N-central Experts
    • Upcoming Webcasts
    • Connect
    • Blog
    • Security Resource Center
    • Events
    • RMM Foundations Training
  • About
    • Company
    • About Us
    • Leadership
    • Careers
    • News & Press
    • Awards & Recognition
    • Support & Policies
    • Customer Success
    • Customer Support
    • Legal
    • Security
    • Get in Touch
    • Contact
    • Get a Quote
    • Worldwide Sales & Support
  • IT Departments
  • Contact Sales
    • Contact Sales
    • General Inquiry
    • Get a Quote
    • Worldwide Sales & Support
    • Talk to Specialist
    • Security Solutions
    • Monitoring Solutions
    • Operational Efficiency
  • Try Now
    • Monitoring & Management
    • N-central
    • RMM
    • Backup
    • Security
    • EDR
    • Mail Assure
    • Passportal
    • Tools & Services
    • MSP Manager
    • Take Control
  • Request a Quote
  • Try Now
    • SolarWinds RMM
    • SolarWinds N-central
    • SolarWinds Backup
    • MSP Manager
    • SolarWinds Mail Assure
    • SolarWinds Passportal
    • SolarWinds Risk Intelligence
    • SolarWinds Take Control
Request quote
Filter Blogs
  • Filter by:
  • MSP Business
    • Automation
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • Security-series
    • Best Practices
    • Business
    • Business Growth
    • Business Risk
    • Cloud Computing
    • Customer Service
    • Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity Awareness Month
    • Data
    • GDPR
    • Internet of Things
    • IT Support
    • ITSM
    • LOGICcards
    • Machine Learning
    • Mail
    • Managed Services
    • Marketing
    • Mobile
    • Networking
    • Operations
    • Podcast
    • Product
    • PSA
    • Remote Management
    • Research & Trends
    • Risk Intelligence
    • Security
    • Security Vlog
    • Service Desk
    • Services & Support
    • The Head Nerds
    • Tips & Advice
    • Training
Home Blog MSP Business Automation Should You Have an Automation Team? 
Automation

Should You Have an Automation Team? 

By Marc-Andre Tanguay
29 October, 2020

In the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to take part in several webcast, peer group meetings, and automation panels. Some great discussions came from those events so I thought I’d write a series of articles to share the main points from those discussions. I hope you’ll find them helpful as you work on growing your business.

In the first of these, I’ll look at whether you should invest in an automation team, a full-time employee to work on automation, or simply dedicate a few hours per week or month for a technician to build automation policies. 

To start, choosing how to invest in automation is not a one-size-fits-all process. I’ve seen very large managed services providers (MSPs) build a full-blown automation team almost overnight. I’ve also seen MSPs dedicate one hour per month toward automation to see if it’s worth investing more resources. 

How do you determine if it’s worth it for you? 

Putting some time in automation is always worth it. Investing one hour to self-heal a disk cleanup on laptops and workstations can remove several calls per week, saving you more than one hour per week in technician time. Alternatively, if you charge for all your services, you can automate the cleanup process when the customer calls—allowing you to provide reliable value to your customers without doing everything by hand every time.

So no matter your size, I typically recommend dedicating one of your technicians to automation for a few hours per week to start. Have them focus on automating some of the most common items you do on a recurring basis, such as checklist items, common customer requests, PC builds, user onboarding, etc. Once you’ve done that, you’ll see the value of automation and start investing more and more time. 

Feel free to ask for help as you get started. If you’re a SolarWinds customer, you can ask questions during Automation Office Hours, join a bootcamp, or watch a recorded automation course at the MSP Institute. Alternatively, you can go on the Success Center Forums and ask for help there. 

Once you start, don’t lose momentum. Invest more and more time. You’ll see how much time you can save and how much value it will give you. 

 

If you’ve created an automation policy and would like to share it with the community, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

As always, don’t forget to look in the automation cookbook at www.solarwindsmsp.com/cookbook if you’re interested in other automation policies, script checks, and custom services.

 

Marc-Andre Tanguay is head automation nerd. You can follow him on Twitter at @automation_nerd.

 

You might also like...
Automation

Most common automation requests and how to solve them: Ep 2

Automation

Most common automation requests and how to solve them: Ep. 1

Automation

What the Head Nerds Were Up to in 2020

Automation

Motivating Your Team to Work on Automation

Automation

Is It Worth Automating? 

Automation

Introducing Cisco Meraki Monitoring for N-central

Want to stay up to date?

Get the latest MSP tips, tricks, and ideas sent to your inbox each week.

Loading form....

If the form does not load in a few seconds, it is probably because your browser is using Tracking Protection. This is either an Ad Blocker plug-in or your browser is in private mode. Please allow tracking on this page to request a subscription.

Note: Firefox users may see a shield icon to the left of the URL in the address bar. Click on this to disable tracking protection for this session/site

Recent Posts
  • Three things I learned working for an MSP
  • Earning word-of-mouth referrals for your IT business
  • Backup automation part 1: Deploying backup devices
  • Ultimate Guide: MySQL Backup
  • Most common automation requests and how to solve them: Ep 2
Categories:
  • Security (240)
  • Tips & Advice (130)
  • Best Practices (97)
  • Backup & Disaster Recovery (96)
  • Managed Services (89)
  • The Head Nerds (82)
  • Business Growth (79)
  • IT Support (43)
  • Business (41)
  • Automation (40)
  • Operations (38)
  • Cybersecurity (37)
  • Mail (33)
  • Remote Management (30)
  • ITSM (26)
  • Networking (22)
  • Cloud Computing (21)
  • Data (21)
  • Marketing (15)
  • PSA (13)
  • Product (11)
  • Service Desk (6)
  • Services & Support (5)
  • Mobile (4)
  • Risk Intelligence (4)
  • GDPR (3)
  • Internet of Things (3)
  • Customer Service (3)
  • Research & Trends (2)
  • Training (2)
  • Business Risk (1)
  • LOGICcards (1)
  • Cybersecurity Awareness Month (1)
Show moreless
SolarWinds MSP

Products
  • SolarWinds RMM
  • SolarWinds N-central
  • SolarWinds Backup
  • SolarWinds EDR
  • SolarWinds MSP Manager
  • SolarWinds Mail Assure
  • SolarWinds Risk Intelligence
  • SolarWinds Take Control
  • SolarWinds Passportal
  • All Products Use Cases
Solutions
  • Security Solutions
  • Monitoring Solutions
  • Efficiency Solutions
  • Identify which RMM solution is right for me
  • Drive Efficiency with Automation
  • Manage my MSP Business More Efficiently
  • Manage my IT Department More Efficiently
  • Layered Security
  • Cross-Platform Support
  • Data-Driven Insights
About
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Leadership Team
  • Upcoming Events
  • Subscription Preferences
  • SolarWinds
  • SolarWinds Trust Center
  • COVID-19 Response
Support
  • SolarWinds RMM
  • Solarwinds N-central
  • SolarWinds Backup
  • SolarWinds Mail Assure
  • SolarWinds Take Control
  • SolarWinds MSP Manager
  • Solarwinds Risk Intelligence
  • Solarwinds Threat Monitor
  • SolarWinds Passportal
  • SolarWinds Take Control Downloads
  • Backup & Recovery Downloads
  • Service Status

Footer 2

  • Legal Documents
  • Privacy
  • California Privacy Rights
  • Security Information
  • Sitemap

© SolarWinds MSP Canada ULC and SolarWinds MSP UK Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.