A Day in the Life of an MSP

The MSP industry is a rapidly growing industry as people are starting to realize the various benefits that these companies have to offer. However, while that expansion is good, there are still so many people wondering about the specific details of an MSP and how they function.

To help shine a light on what the Managed Service Provider industry is like, below are some general questions and answers that give you a look inside of the daily life of an MSP.

What does the owner of a MSP do?

On paper, the role of an MSP owner is Managing Director. While you’d think the director sits in a chair all day, they’re often doing a lot of things like making the sales, listening to clients, servicing their needs, as well as finding new business.

An ideal MD should also have technical skills for the services that they provide. As such it may be necessary for them to get their hands dirty once in a while.

When does a typical day start?

Most MSP owners begin earlier than staff (by an hour or two) for a few reasons. One is to check email and perform small administrative duties. The second is to use that time for thinking time in the event that one needs to coordinate their team to overcome a particular problem.

A well functioning MSP usually doesn’t have any major issues so often times the time is used to ease into the normal role and ensure the team has everything they need.

What is a typical working day like?

When your entire business model is built around tending to the needs of your clients, there isn’t a specific routine that MSPs follow. It changes constantly based upon the problems that the client is running into. It’s easy to have days where your phone rings and your entire day can be flipped upside down. And that can happen multiple times in a short period of time.

What are the biggest frustrations and challenges faced on a daily basis?

The biggest challenge that’s faced in this industry is the consumerisation and the opportunity that it provides to those without a technical background in the service they deliver. MSPs that provide IT services are the predominant businesses here but there are several people offering advice that aren’t in that field.

Everyone has an opinion but at the same time talk is cheap. A big challenge is getting people to understand that delivering a viable solution that is value for money and stands the test of time is more valuable than getting caught up in smoke and mirrors that others have set up to rope people in.

What tools could you not live without? Why?

The most helpful tools are best described as “big brother tools”. They’re tools that lets the user know what’s going on and are used to detect problems well before clients are even aware of the issue. It’s creepy, however these tools – like RMM – enable MSPs to be proactive in their problem solving and prevent problems from occurring.

What advice could you offer to those looking to move to MSP?

The best advice is to be transparent with the value you’re looking to provide to customers. When it’s clear what you offer, you’ll get more and better business.