MSP Best Practices for Succeeding in the Cloud

How many MSPs would like to increase their annual recurring revenue by 5% to 10% instantly? Unlocking the full potential of cloud technology is the way to do that, according to Bill Campbell, CEO of Balancelogic, an MSP based in Maryland.

To illustrate the benefits of effectively utilizing cloud technology, Campbell asked attendees in a ChannelCon 2024 session he led, how long-on average-it would take to upgrade your client's active directory server from 2012 to 2019. The consensus: Four hours.

"That means four hours of potential downtime. You can do it in AWS in 15 minutes with next to zero downtime. It's so much better for the client," Campbell said. "There are so many advantages to the cloud from a cost perspective and a workforce perspective."

Campbell's advice to other MSPs revolves around five best practices to implement with existing and potential customers.

Tailor Cloud Strategy Development to Client Needs

Start with crafting a customized cloud strategy for your clients. You have to be able to meet their needs and requirements or there isn't a valid reason for migrating to the cloud.

"Before you do anything you must conduct a needs assessment," Campbell said. "You have to know what they need the cloud for. Then you have to select the right solution." The next step is implementation of your migration plan. Campbell emphasized that MSPs need to be including disaster recovery plans in this phase.

"I can't stress this enough. Disaster recovery and business continuity are a lot bigger than just backups. A lot of MSPs don't have a disaster recovery plan-especially in the cloud," he said.

Don't Copy/Paste Security and Compliance Policies

While it's impossible to secure anything 100%, MSPs should be able to show their proven track record, their certifications, whatever they have to make their clients feel comfortable.

"If you're an MSP and you don't have any experience in security or compliance , you're doing something wrong. You must have some type of security experience. If you don't, how can you consult your clients," Campbell said. He recommends multiple layers including encryption and multi-factor authentication. And if you have clients in the healthcare or financial sectors, you're going to need to do risk assessments and have frameworks in place. Frequent auditing can also help you ensure things are running smoothly.

"It surprises me that MSPs don't monitor," Campbell said. "Can you tell when your bandwidth is dropping down a certain percentage? You have to perform audits at least every 30 days."

Find Where Clients Can Spend the Least and Get the Most

Clients are moving to the cloud because they can save money. It's the job of the MSP to make sure that cost is optimized. Subscription is a proven sales strategy and your customers will get more value with a server being in the cloud than they would on-premises.

"You should understand pricing models like on-demand, savings plan, paying up front, etc. You pay for what you use in the cloud. You need to understand that pricing model so you can consult your clients accordingly," Campbell said.

He also emphasized the importance of understanding rightsizing resources, which means not over or under provisioning the workloads that you're moving to the cloud. "Use the tools that are given to you. The cloud has many, many tools that are free to use. You can set up budgets, alerts and monitoring to better serve your client and be prepared if something does happen," he said.

Master Cloud Migration by Creating Playbooks

Scalability and flexibility is key. When it comes to migration process planning, you have to have a plan. Campbell suggests developing a simple playbook.

"It doesn't have to be a five-page process," he said. "Come up with the first steps and test them before you do a live migration to make sure it works. Use the migration tools that are available to you, again, a lot of them are free."

When you follow your process, test it, communicate back and make sure you have no downtime. Campbell says the worst thing you can do is migrate a client to the cloud and have downtime, because they're going to lose all faith and trust in the cloud.

Engage with Your Clients Regularly

It's the MSP's job to constantly communicate the benefits of the cloud. You can talk about security, disaster recovery, lower downtime, and lower costs.

Campbell advises MSPs to train their clients. "You don't own the cloud, you manage it," he said. "Their passwords don't belong to you, they belong to them, so train them. Create a knowledge base article and teach them how to do it. We're in the customer service business, we're not in the selling service business."

Additionally, when you conduct monthly or quarterly reviews with your clients, include the cloud in those meetings. Your customers want to know what's working and the value you're providing.

The cloud isn't a big scary place in the sky. It's a place where your customers can benefit from cost savings, optimized operations and improved security. In fact, how your customers view the cloud is really more about how you communicate the benefits and best practices that will make their lives easier and your business more profitable.

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