While the pandemic crisis is still unfolding, MSPs around the world are cautiously moving back to offices, hoping for fast recovery. They are keeping one eye firmly on the here and now but also tentatively looking ahead to what’s shaping up as a great reset. This is the time when you should address the deep changes needed in this new environment, from all perspectives—people, operations, and technology.
1. Maintain robust support services
If adding more clients to your business is not foreseeable, serve your existing ones to perfection. COVID-19 has created new realities. Clients only return to brands they trust simply because now they care more about reliability and stability.
To ensure seamless support, cross-train your staff so that they can work with clients they may not have interacted with before. In times when some of the support members are working from home, there shouldn’t be any single points of failure within your staff.
2. Rethink your offerings
The current public health crisis is an unfortunate opportunity for your business to rethink its offerings or even reset. As cybercriminals take advantage of the pandemic to step up attacks, internally improve and then proactively offer your security services and tools. Think of including SaaS, advanced automation solutions, and monitoring tools that leverage artificial intelligence to spot strange behavior on the network in your “new” service portfolio. You can even think about providing complementary consulting, guidance, and solutions for clients that lack in-house expertise for remote networking and application access.
3. Revisit your revenue model
Today, customers are changing, so their providers must adapt, too. The future is about getting better at predicting demand, being engaged to increase sales, and using agile techniques to sustain hard-won momentum. For MSP—particularly small ones—the way forward starts with new ideas about revenue management—a fundamental rethink of services, pricing, and promotions.
4. Make the most of analytics tools
One of the skills that will help MSPs with that urgent need of scaling back is analytics. Analytics can help you tackle numerous urgent tasks: forecasting demand, identifying potential service outrages, and determining the effectiveness of crisis intervention strategies.
Define input numbers for the critical variables that will affect revenue and cost using analytics. MSPs should model their financials (cash flow, P&L, balance sheet) in each scenario and identify triggers that might significantly impair liquidity going forward. For each such trigger, define moves or think about the strategy to stabilize the organization. This can be anything from optimizing accounts payable and receivable to cost reduction, divestments, and M&A.
5. Think, discuss, and test
Many MSPs do not invest time planning for disruptions until they are in one. This is where roundtables are invaluable. You can use tabletop simulations to define protocols for different phases of response. These simulations should clarify decision owners and ensure that roles for each team member are clear. It’s a great way to engage your team and get everyone thinking out of the box.
Final Thought: The new reality taking shape is made of complexity, uncertainty, and opportunities. To adapt and thrive, MSPs must become resilient and agile, planning for all possible scenarios ahead.
