Managed Service Providers (MSPs) face mounting pressure in a fast-changing market. On one front, more software vendors offer cloud solutions with inbuilt automation taking care of routine functions that were once a core revenue stream for MSPs. And then there’s the challenge of relevancy as clients race to modernize legacy applications and service models to drive business transformation. Unless MSPs have a ‘transformation’ offering they don’t have a seat at the table that matters.
MSPs recognize the threat and are responding with reconfigured portfolios offering higher value services. The good news is that a new generation of tools position MSPs to take a top-down approach to improving quality for their clients’ customers, addressing both technical requirements and opportunities to improve overall experience.
But it’s no walk in the park, because clients today show a greater appetite for blended platforms and technology to drive their UC environments. Management tools must have a bigger stomach for rising complexity and a stronger nose for managing transactions across applications, clouds and platforms.
Throwing more people at the challenge isn’t the answer, because additional labor erodes profitability. Virsae Service Management (VSM) presents MSPs with an immediate opportunity to differentiate and transition clients from standard break-fix maintenance contracts to managed services, profitably.
Embracing big data, AI, and cloud, VSM presents a technology-centric view of the quality of interactions between a company and its customers. The approach positions MSPs to help their clients reduce effort and complexity and increase revenue per customer – a result likely to keep them at their clients’ boardroom table.
Consider MSP Intlx Solutions, who use VSM to pinpoint software licenses at play in client Monster’s Avaya UC environment, highlighting unused software licenses and the immediate opportunity to slash maintenance costs.
One of the world’s most trafficked employment services websites, Monster.com runs a complex web of systems to match job seekers, recruiters, and employers. Monster’s corporate communications platform spans layers of technology connecting thousands of corporate employees located in 12 offices across the US.
Avaya’s UC technology stack delivers Monster’s voice and messaging platform, spanning Avaya software, servers, application and session managers, and assorted UC components.
The company’s small UC support team keeps systems running smoothly. Partner Intlx Solutions lightens the load, using a combination of services and a self-service portal for Monster technicians to access monitoring and management tools.
The setup gave Monster its first taste of VSM, with a module called VSM Availability Manager pinpointing faults and fixing them fast. The experience was a steppingstone to additional VSM modules as Monster geared up to negotiate the renewal of a UC maintenance contract.
Eliminating unused licenses helped Monster slash its annual maintenance bill and streamline the number of PRIs in play, delivering additional monthly savings.
But more than simply cost savings, the newly accurate picture of usage helped shape plans to migrate Monster’s UC systems to the cloud. Day-to-day Monster is also making good use of VSM dashboards to fine-tune their Avaya environment.
VSM’s repository of historical alarm information also ensures Monster technicians respond faster to new incidents, cross-referencing new alerts with past incidents to diagnose current trouble and how it should be fixed.
It’s hard sweaty work – and the key to value-add services in the modern age. Your clients will love VSM. Your competitors, not so much.