N-Able On Making The Transition To Managed Services

Derik Belair
Derik Belair

Only about a quarter of solution providers have completed the transition to the managed services model, according to an N-Able by Solarwinds eBook out this week. 

While that number may seem low, Derik Belair, N-Able vice president of marketing and business development, says the transition is a difficult one, and solution providers may be better off, and ultimately more successful if they take the transition one step at a time rather than trying to "eat the elephant as a whole."

Here are five pieces of advice Belair had for resellers looking to make the jump to managed services successfully.

1. Free Monitoring Services Are A Foot In The Door

While no business likes giving services away for free, N-Able says free monitoring services are a great way to "get your foot in the door to more business." Belair said he has also seen mobile management as another great "foot in the door," but said it doesn’t have as high a conversion rate as other services. He said he generally recommends transitioning a general managed program to managed mobility. "They're all ways to get in the door," Belair said.

2. Get The Business On Board

To make the transition to managed services successful, Belair said that businesses need to make sure everyone is on board. All levels of the business need to be on the same page, Belair said, from the employees to the top leadership. "Through the organization, you get varying levels of ownership and interest...Whenever you had a lone person who is championing this – it is a tough process," Belair said.

3. Set Customer Goals

Belair said managed service providers should make sure to set goals with their customers and set intermediate goals along the way. Then, using a customer growth dashboard, customers can get direct insight into the value being driven from the relationship. For example, Belair said MSPs could show clients how much requests for help have dropped since picking up managed services. "The guys that skip the steps tend to lag in certain pieces. The biggest thing is making sure that there is business level ownership there," Belair said.

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