MSP TITANS CONT ...
the route of bringing in private equity was largely a strategic play to give his employees an upward career path so he could keep them . “ I got to a point in my organization where we weren ’ t going to be able to grow organically fast enough to provide our best people with the opportunities they deserved ,” he said . “ I was faced with either losing them or finding a way to grow , so we brought in private equity to fuel that growth , and it ’ s been a game changer for us .” Bryan Fuller , CEO of Contigo Technology said " When I lecture the smaller guys , I tell them point blank , they will not attract the best talent if they ’ re not growing . Who ' s going to want to work for a company generating only $ 700,000 in sales with no plans and no growth ?"
Flexible Workplace .
Allowing employees to work from home or to work hybrid — where they work in the office a few days and from home other days — is another trend the Titans talked about . This is being driven mostly by the fight for great talent . Yes , some core staff must be in the office , but your next great engineer or programmer might be in another state , far away from your main office and not in your backyard . Ryan Vestby , CEO of VC3 , said , “ We are hiring adults . I want professionals who I don ’ t have to micromanage when they are clocking in and clocking out . We give them a framework for success and the flexibility they want to work remote .” This was a recurring theme from a lot of Titans who felt that offering remote work , or the flexibility to do that , allowed them to keep their top talent from leaving .
Another Titan , Adam Eiseman , CEO of The Lloyd Group , instituted a very liberal work-from-home policy with unlimited PTO . “ We ’ ve rolled out a number of concepts that were focused on giving the people in our community the ability to make their kid ’ s soccer game , to have dinner with their partner , and enjoy their hobby and their life ,” he said . “ Because of this , we ’ ve seen a lot of boomerangs , which are people who left for other opportunities coming back because they missed the organization .”
Culture .
Great people have choices of where to work — and many will take a pay cut to work in a drama-free workplace where they actually enjoy the people they work with . All the Titans commented on the importance of cultivating and protecting their work culture .
To be clear , culture doesn ’ t mean allowing employees to bring their dog to work or having premium snacks in the lunchroom . Those are perks — and perks are not an adequate substitute for a great culture . Culture is how employees interact with and respect one another . Culture is “ how we do things around here ” when it comes to work ethic , taking care of clients , and how we handle disagreements . People want to work somewhere with people they enjoy working with , can learn from , and feel valued by . If they don ’ t get that and they have to deal with a toxic , backstabbing , dishonest , slackers-allowed workplace with no leadership or direction , they ’ ll leave to find a place where they are respected and appreciated . It ’ s that simple .
SECRET # 3 : They Aggressively Advance Their Security And Compliance Offerings To Attract ( And Keep ) High-Value Clients
Without a doubt , the two biggest drivers of growth and opportunities in the MSP world are being fueled by a growing demand for advanced cybersecurity protections and a need to meet burgeoning compliance standards . This demand is also making the proverbial IT services pie bigger by driving sales of co-managed IT in midsize companies with one to 10 IT personnel as well as downstream to smaller companies that , in the past , might not spend any money on cybersecurity or compliance but are now being forced to due to the risk of losing the ability to operate their businesses , get insured , and keep clients .
“ Right now , compliance is the biggest opportunity for us ,” said Tom Glover of Responsive Technology Partners . “ We specialize in companies that have complexity in security and compliance needs and have doubled down on our focus in those areas . Right now , being able to help clients meet regulatory compliance standards is driving more business for us than anything else .”
All the Titans I talked to agree with Tom Glover and feel we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg of opportunity for all MSPs . Valeo Networks ’ Travis Mack believes that MSPs are entering into a new era of operational maturity and are being forced to evolve to security-focused MSSPs or go out of business . “ Security is where it ’ s at right now ,” he said . “ Every day it ’ s changing . It ’ s migrating . You see new threats . Security continues to be our # 1 priority and our # 1 opportunity .”
Ryan Vestby of VC3 said , “ Smaller MSPs are going to have a more difficult time being able to take care of their customers , from a risk perspective .” He continued , “ If you ’ re a smaller MSP , say under $ 5 million in revenue , you ’ re going to have a hard time being able to afford the tools and talent you need to deliver advanced cyber protections . Then you layer in compliance , and it becomes a very expensive service to deliver , requiring special skill sets that smaller MSPs just don ’ t have .”
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