ON THE HORIZON

It ’ s no secret that the work arena has changed drastically for many businesses over the last few months . Practically overnight , COVID-19 forced businesses of all sizes to become enabled for remote work as safety protocols were put in place and stay-athome orders were mandated . Now , thousands of companies all over the world have been scrambling to figure out ways to ensure that they stay in business when , even now , many brick-and-mortar offices remain closed .

MSPs are no exception to this scrambling . In fact , the work they do for their customers is more crucial than ever because the landscape of where and how work is being done has shifted . MSP customers are so overwhelmed by the new steps they have to take to ensure their business continues running remotely that they ’ re likely not always considering the risks they ’ re creating by doing so .

What does this drastic shift in business mean for MSPs ? What should they be doing to make sure they ’ re still serving their customers the way those customers need ? How do they stay viable when the landscape for how they do business is changing ?

Navigating A Business Through A Crisis

The push to at-home work is a productive reaction to crisis . It came about rapidly , but MSPs should use it as an opportunity to help their customers successfully set up their businesses to survive this shift . The best way to do that is to break the process down into a three-phase system :

Pushing To Remote

The first phase is pretty self-explanatory , and many have completed the transition . MSPs should continue to work with their customers to help them figure out how to optimize their employees ' setups to work from home . For many businesses , this process involves setting up new equipment like laptops and signing up for services that make working remotely possible , like VPN access and videoconferencing apps . Even though it can be a lengthy process that ’ s brand-new for many customers , completing the setup isn ’ t the most daunting part of the process .

The hardest part is making sure the business is still operating securely . That ’ s where the importance of the services an MSP can ( and should ) provide really shine .