3 Ways Free Managed Services Tools Work Against Your IT Solutions Provider Business

One of the biggest trends continuing to unfold in the IT channel is the transition from break-fix to managed services. Unlike the unpredictable income and stressful work environments associated with “putting out IT fires” (i.e., break-fix), managed services provide companies with predictable, monthly recurring revenue and a much calmer work environment.

In addition to developing new business processes and compensation plans, emerging MSPs need to utilize and master two important technologies: PSA (professional services automation) tools and RMM (remote monitoring and management) platforms.

A PSA tool is actually a suite of tools comprising project management, resource management, CRM (customer relationship management), and knowledge management. The PSA is complementary to the RMM tool. For example, problems detected by an RMM tool are entered (or automatically imported if the two systems are integrated) into the PSA as tickets, which helps MSPs track their labor expenses and prioritize IT projects.

RMM technology gives MSPs visibility into their customers’ IT environments and enables them to monitor the health of workstations and servers without having to physically drive to each customer’s facility. These tools are also used to perform patch management, server reboots, and other basic IT troubleshooting tasks. Think N-able, LabTech, Kaseya, and AVG.

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