Working with a Master MSP? Please tell us about it.

Posted By: Mike  Published in Operations Tags: , , , , ,

15

Jul

Welcome to SMBITPros - make sure to sign up for our RSS feed!

A lot of noise has been made recently about the Master MSP model and the number of new entrants in the space.  Bob Vogel from Autotask referred to them in his post here last week, and it isn’t hard to find a number of other articles on the subject, including these at MSPMentor:

Jamcracker’s MSP LaunchPad: Ready for Liftoff?

Dell’s Next Move: A Master MSP Strategy

At Everon, we’ve always worked with partners (that would normally be our competitors) in local markets to provide IT services in the field; we deliver them field work and they help us provide great service.  It’s not a very big leap for us to turn this into some sort of Master MSP model where we integrate all of our services for the good of both parties.

It makes me curious as to how this compares with the models that are currently out there.  I’ve yet to talk to anyone that is actually working with a Master MSP, so I’m hoping someone out there can give me some insight into their experiences.

MRC

Email This Post Email This Post

Add to Technorati Favorites

6 Responsed To This Post
Subscribes to this topic Comment RSS or TrackBack URL
mygif_alt
» What is working inside the Dell PartnerDirect Program smbITpros.com : a resource for managed service providers and other small business IT professionals Says, on 7-24-2008 at 00:47:48     

[…] note I am surprised that none of the master MSPs out there or anyone working with one commented on Mikes post from last week - let us know your thoughts if you are out […]

mygif
Mike Says, on 7-24-2008 at 16:29:31     

I guess the Master MSP model is not as prevelant as I thought it was. Either that, or they don’t ready our blog!

Mike

mygif_alt
David Schrag Says, on 7-28-2008 at 00:53:32     

Or we just don’t feel like talking about our experiences with our business partners in public.

mygif
nvossburg Says, on 7-28-2008 at 13:49:24     

David,

You could always post anonymously and not mention the partner by name.

I think its important for us to have open conversations as an industry. We need to start pulling together and having discussion about the direction were all heading. If we dont, we’ll be that much easier to defeat when the major players (which they will very soon) come to town.

I think what Mike and Josh are doing here is awesome, and very valuable to every MSP out there.

We dont use a Master MSP, we dont see how we can continue to make our margins by outsourcing to them. We also have not been able to come to terms with outsourcing the day to day interaction and quality of service to our clients. At least if we screw up, we’re the ones to blame.

Being smart enough to realize I’m far from being the smartest guy in the room, I’d love to hear from the industry players that have adopted this model and how they were able to overcome our initial objections.

mygif_alt
Josh Says, on 7-29-2008 at 04:41:56     

I could not agree more that an open conversation is exactly what our industry needs but then again I suppose you would expect me to say that.

As nvossburg points out, there are a lot of questions about quality, accountability, and margins that quickly come to mind when running a MSP business and I would also love to hear from the industry players how these things are overcome in the master MSP model.

David, by the looks of your blog you are a pretty smart guy but I have to tell you, if you do not back fill the mote that surrounds your little IT kingdom you will be toppled when the big dogs arrive, and arrive they will. Together we can build something that will allow us to stand up to the big players as the month roll on.

JC

mygif
Mike Says, on 7-29-2008 at 05:51:43     

Interesting conversation…I agree with both Nick and Josh. And of course I wouldn’t expect any of our readers to discuss something they didn’t feel comfortable discussing.

Nick makes a critical point about the Master MSP model. Everon has been considering a model like this as we evaluate growth options, but we can’t get past the margin and sales issues.

1. Not enough margin to go around for both parties to make a good business…other than our MSP partners essentially remaining solo operators.

2. Small IT pros typically stink at sales, which means we would eventually see very little growth from the partners we sign up. David actually has a great post in his blog about this. All of his clients are from referral. That’s great for a solo operator, but is not sustainable if you want to grow a larger business.

One thing are Partner Summit made clear is that just about every IT firm out there dislikes and struggles with sales.

Mike

Leave A Reply

 Username (*required)

 Email Address (*private)

 Website (*optional)

Inform me when someone post new message here

Please Note: Comments Moderation maybe active so there is no need to resubmit your comment

Categories

RSS smbITpros Feed

Spread the Word:

Recent Comments

  • Jim Van: Actually, I just attended a Glazer-Kennedy meetup as part of Logiomm’s participation in our local...
  • Mike: Glad to hear it!
  • omiba: Thanks for the recommendation, read it immediatelly after talking to JC. Great book! The cover doesn’t...
  • ccarrigan: Very well put. It’s much easier to do this when you think of the good it will do. Focusing on the...
  • Joe Panettieri: #7: Innovation - sell when you’re running out of innovative ideas, or right when you’ve...
July 2008
M T W T F S S
« Jun   Aug »
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031