“ ProfitFuel can identify that most likely you ’ re not charging the right amount according to the market .
It provides you that kind of intelligence .” – Javier Dugarte
The Tools Sprawl Problem
MSPs are not only managing an increasing number of endpoints but they also have an average of 10 – 20 disparate tools in their stack from multiple vendors , with new solutions continually coming onto the market . “ We were spending four hours , on average , per month to demo new products and find trends , and we were managing nine different vendors at times ,” says Moore .
That added up to about nine hours a month just for vendor management and another four or five hours a month to demo tools .
For TekConcierge , an MSP in Dallas , Texas , they were going through a manual evaluation every time a tool came up for renewal “ to see if there is something better than what we ’ re using today and to reduce costs ,” says Aaron Garcia , director of operations at TekConcierge .
Make Smarter Decisions
Enter ProfitFuel , which “ provides you with the visibility to make smarter decisions when it comes down to products ,” says Dugarte . “ ProfitFuel provided me with a better vision on ... the analytics behind cost versus what the product can provide .”
After going through that process , Go Cloud moved from a best-in-class approach to Kaseya 365 , a bundled and integrated solution for endpoint management , security , and backup . This move has resulted in a 73 % cost reduction compared to purchasing the related products individually “ and allowed me now to go out and create a more aggressive strategy for growth in the marketplace ,” Dugarte says . The time savings for Go Cloud ’ s technicians have also been significant as “ it frees them up to do other , bigger tasks .”
For Xonicwave , the ProfitFuel audit found a direct correlation to seven products Kaseya offered that Xonicwave was using from other vendors . During the product demos , “ we found there were several other tools that would help us that we weren ’ t currently using or were more efficient than an archaic method we were using ,” Moore says .
Moore used these metrics for selecting Kaseya tools : Does the tool help its clients ? Does it increase efficiency ? And does it help save money ? “ The tool had to hit two out of three metrics ,” he says . “ On every tool , they hit two if not three out of three .”
In addition , he says , “ Pricing was very , very attractive , and we thought it would not only make us more efficient but more profitable with future clients .’’
No Pain , No Gain
While a ProfitFuel audit is free , an MSP does have to put the time into the analysis process . That varies depending on how big your company is , the number of employees , and how many tools you have , Garcia says .
“ It took weeks to vet out each of the products they wanted us to move over to ,” he recalls . The process included demonstrations and talking to team members of each product . “ We have about 40 employees and $ 8.5 million in revenue , so we don ’ t flippantly sign things . I had to take the time to make sure what we were moving to made sense for us and our clients .”
After several months of discussions and work , TekConcierge shifted its PSA to Kaseya Autotask , a huge undertaking , Garcia says . “ The hard part is moving over — but I knew that going in . It helped us get better within our service delivery , for sure .”
Now that TekConcierge is using Autotask ’ s integrated billing feature , he knows they are billing clients correctly , “ and that is an obvious time savings . Previously , we were doing it the old-school , manual way .”
TekConcierge is also using the KaseyaOne customer portal , which offers single sign-on and the ability to see all the modules they are using under the Kaseya umbrella , Garcia says . Although he was “ skeptical about it and the widgets ... I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the dashboard and widgets in Autotask .”
Overall , implementing the ProfitFuel recommendations has saved TekConcierge 32 % in annual costs , Garcia says .
Shake The Tree
Whether you choose to use ProfitFuel or examine costs on your own , the exercise is a surefire way to boost profits . “ Any MSP who doesn ’ t go through this free exercise is really a fool because they ’ re either not worried about what they ’ re spending or they ’ re so used to it , they become numb ,” says Moore . “ Sometimes , you ’ ve got to shake the tree a little bit .”
Scan The QR Code To Book A Discussion With The ProfitFuel Team And Learn How You Can Save 20 % Or More On Your MSP Stack .
Esther Shein is a longtime tech and business writer and editor . Her work has appeared in a variety of publications , including TechRepublic , FierceMarkets , Network Computing Magazine , and The Boston Globe .
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