In recent times, the world of MSPs has evolved from a relatively new, burgeoning market to a highly competitive field—a field in which time is very much of the essence.
Due to the large administrative undertaking required of MSPs, everyday tasks can quickly pile up, resulting in a seemingly insurmountable workload. This is only heightened when an organization doesn’t have the proper procedures, plans and infrastructure for IT management in place. Here are the biggest time drains that kill your time every day.
Project management
Juggling multiple projects
As an MSP, having to juggle multiple clients, or projects, is customary; but this also requires a large investment of both time and resources. As your portfolio grows, so does your workload, and you may often find that you are spending a lot of time on mundane administrative tasks or whittling away the hours sorting your age-old tools and software. You will need to schedule tasks, book meetings and follow up with both existing and prospective clients. This is unavoidable, as are your necessary day-to-day tasks, like assigning responsibilities and establishing targets. And unfortunately, these can be very time-consuming.
IT documentation
Getting documentation right
Managing both your own documents, and your clients’, can be a daunting task. Both need to be finely balanced, as they contain sensitive and important information. Having clear IT documentation is crucial to the success of your MSP and, while it may be a heavy investment in terms of time, it is absolutely essential that it is regularly, and procedurally, actioned.
Asset management
Managing inventories
As well as having to manage your projects and clients, you’ll also need to carry out regular inventories of relevant assets. As your client list grows, the time you will need to invest in carrying out inventories will follow suit. This is, however, integral to the smooth running of your MSP, as information can quickly become disorganized and potentially be at risk without effective asset management in place. This is a common time killer for MSPs, but an avoidable one with the right asset management tool.
Training your team
While training your team to adopt company-wide procedures or new software can initially feel like a time-consuming task, in the long-term, it will prove to be beneficial. As human errors are the cause of most successful data breaches, the success of your business hinges on how well-trained your employees are. This is an essential investment of time, but a large one, as your entire workforce needs to undergo training in areas that are specific to your business needs, such as cyber security.
As discussed, there are a series of time-consuming components within the MSP space, all of which must be navigated adeptly in order to be successful. There are numerous techniques and solutions available to aid in the management of these hindrances, but investing in the right tools, trusting your team and utilising automation, where applicable, can go a long way in ensuring that both time and resources are put to use efficiently
