#asigra

Latest @georgeacrump Blog: MSP Agent or Provider - What Do Customers Want?

In the Lightboard Video below, Eran Farajun, Executive Vice President at Asigra, and I discuss the business of being a managed service provider (MSP). In the video, we discuss how MSPs can build value into their businesses by investing in being a technology provider instead of merely an agent of technology. In the process of building value, the MSP also has to attract customers, so the MSP must…

New Lightboard Video: MSPs Need to Build Value

Managed Service Providers (MSP) are survivors of the reseller purge seen in the early 2000s, or their founders are trying to be careful to avoid the mistakes made in that era. These organizations prevent the sale of one-time solutions and instead focus on monthly recurring revenue. The problem is that many MSPs still follow the familiar reseller model of reselling services instead of “owning” the…

New @georgeacrump Note: Bringing an OpEx Model to the Data Protection Service Provider

A managed service provider (MSP) that offers a data protection service typically provides backup, recovery and high availability capabilities to their customers in the form of a subscription based service. In some cases those providers enjoy a similar pricing model from the data protection software vendors they choose to work with as part of their offering. When it comes to hardware however, the…

Latest @georgeacrump Blog: MSP Requirements of Infrastructure Solution Providers is Different

As we covered in the blog, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) need to choose between being an agent and investing in infrastructure. The agency path may seem tempting at first, but MSPs that want to own the customer relationship and increase the company’s value know that the clear choice, at least for most services, is investing in infrastructure. Even using the agency route to “ramp up” is a risky…

Latest @georgeacrump Blog: The Business of Being an MSP

The business side of being a managed service provider is at least as important as the technology. MSPs need to be careful in who they do business with. They need to take a long term view of their relationships and understand the impact of ending those relationships if necessary.

Whose Customer is it?

One of the most important aspects of any MSP to Supplier relationship is who owns the customer. I…

Latest @georgeacrump Blog: Agent or Provider? The MSP Conundrum

Managed Service Providers (MSP) have a decision to make, should they be an agent or a provider? Both choices have ramifications on the business both short term and long-term. Understanding the pros and cons of each model is critical in making that choice and/or shift from one to the other.

An MSP Agent is an organization that re-sells another provider’s service. In many cases the “other provider”…

Latest @georgeacrump Blog: Selecting the Right Service Delivery Model for MSP Services

IT Services Agent or Provider

Managed Service Providers (MSP) often become MSPs by evolving from a traditional IT reseller to the more services oriented approach. Other organizations specifically choose to start as MSPs after watching the challenges that traditional IT resellers face. The products that an MSP chooses to be the foundation of their services are critical to the organization in…

Latest @georgeacrump Blog: The Evolution of Ransomware - Is Backup Safe?

When ransomware first appeared in data centers, it had a simple attack pattern. Once it landed inside the data center, the malware tried to encrypt every file as fast as possible. If IT didn’t have good backups, the organization was forced to pay the ransom to gain access to their data. Ransomware forced the organization to improve their data protection capability but the ransomware “business…