As an MSP, a Professional Services Automation (PSA) tool is the engine that runs your business. It is one of the most important tools you can use in your business as it is the central location for everything your business does. You have made the important decision that you need Professional Services Automation (PSA) Software in your business. You have decided on which PSA tool you are going to use, you have signed up to a contract and now you have the daunting task of ensuring it is implemented throughout the business, being used to its full potential and all your staff are fully up to speed and trained on the software.
There are so many benefits of using a PSA Tool but some of the biggest issues faced by businesses are linked to lack of understanding of the tool and what it can do for the business, its functionality, difficulties with implementation and finding time to do it all properly. It is understandable that business owners don’t have the time or the resources to focus on implementing their new PSA tool so they often pass the task on to a senior employee within the business. The problem then is that whilst that person does a great job of implementing the elements of the tool in their area of the business, they then falter because they don’t have visibility of the business as a whole. The implementation needs to be assigned to somebody that that has that visibility and knows and understands the entire business, not just the particular area or the department that they’re working in.
Whilst the PSA vendors in the industry are excellent, there’s no substitute for having that concrete experience of running an MSP, being involved in the MSP space and a 3rd party consultant who can have that holistic, objective view on your business, and look at every single department and really understand how they work and are going to use it, and where the handoff comes from one department to the other.
This is where using an independent expert consultant can really help you with implementing the product correctly across all departments in the business and ensure you are getting the most out of your PSA tool. Having previously owned an MSP business, worked at Autotask (now Datto) and continuing to be heavily involved and active in the MSP industry, Chris Timm of Sondela Consulting, has extensive knowledge from both sides of the industry. He understands the requirements and expectations from the PSA tool from a MSP business owner’s perspective, as well as having a detailed understanding and in-depth knowledge of the product. And although some PSA vendors can send people out to help MSPs, many of them don’t have experience of running an MSP business.
If you are feeling overwhelmed at the thought of implementing a PSA tool in your business or have been using your PSA for a while but feel you are only using a small part of it and not to its full potential or you are just generally frustrated with it then Sondela Consulting can help you. To get the most of your PSA tool in the long run, you must be prepared to invest time and energy into getting it implemented properly and this is where Sondela Consulting will methodically take you through each section of the product and be with you every step of the way to ensure that your MSP turns into a well-oiled machine and you get the most out of your PSA tool.
When you hear the name CompTIA, you immediately think of its leading certification programs for the IT industry. CompTIA represents this and so much more, it is a world leading tech association that, amongst other things, conducts relevant and up-to-date research and has engaging member communities and councils. Their unparalleled programs set industry standards, foster skills development and generate knowledge and insight every day. With its members, CompTIA is building the foundation for technology’s future.
But let us focus on CompTIA’s UK Business Technology Community, which brings together technology business professionals from across the UK tech ecosystem to discuss both regional opportunities and global trends. CompTIA has held many successful community events where Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and IT professionals have come together to problem solve, network and find out about the latest vendor products.
Now that we are in lock-down and unable to meet face-to-face at peer groups and networking events, CompTIA is doing its part to support the community with online sessions called “Friday Check Ins” featuring experts providing advice designed to ensure the tech industry can keep businesses running as smoothly as possible. They are also making plans to hold other virtual events over the coming months. One in particular is the Unconference on the 6 May, which is always a popular session. CompTIA has also just opened registration for its flagship, annual event ChannelCon, which will be held online this year in August and features three days of educational content, networking opportunities and thought leadership. Registration is free.
Estelle Johannes, Director of member communities at CompTIA, said: “The UK Business Technology Community is a progressive industry group embracing emerging technologies and shaping the future of the channel. As an open, vendor-neutral forum, we help members build and expand their businesses and connect with others to create a stronger, thriving industry. We offer a continuous programming of regular meetings and initiatives to deliver thought leadership, help and advice through networking, collaboration, peer–to–peer learning, vendor neutral technology qualifications and sharing best practices in order to advance technology businesses and the customers they serve, highlight emerging technologies, and promote organisational diversity to create equality in the workforce as well as help fill the many open roles across our industry.”
So, if you are still wondering why you should join CompTIA or attend and participate in one of its events now or in the future then these are the reasons why:
- Learning best practices and engaging with thought leaders
- Networking with colleagues and making new connections
- Collaboration and problem-solving with peers
Sondela’s Technical Director, Chris Timm, is passionate about the community and is a member of CompTIA’s UK Business Technology Executive Council. Chris sees the value in regularly attending a variety of industry events and peer groups, where he is often seen having lively discussions about PSA, other industry tools and business best practices. If you would like further information about joining CompTIA or attending one of its events, then contact Chris, he would love to have a chat with you about it.
Sondela Consulting works with MSPs to help them get the most out of their PSA and RMM tools, optimise their IT Management Tools and advise on business best practices
During consulting calls, the subject of using a 3rd party tool often comes up. The PSA tools have built–in quoting systems however they are limited in their capabilities. There are many benefits to using a 3rd party quoting tool as it gives more flexibility. One such quoting tool is ITQuoter and we have been discussing this product recently with our clients as we can see the benefit of using it.
ITQuoter is a complete quoting system that can handle anything from a simple one-line quote, to more complex special bids and professional services proposals. ITQuoter does not require any hardware investment and only a small configuration process to get started. It is very easy to use, allowing users to quote quickly and accurately for ‘single source’ IT solutions. It also offers customised branding of quotes, proposals and other documentation, automated price feeds from many vendors updated daily and an easy to create eCommerce portal. The system then integrates with your PSA tool allowing you to manage your opportunities.
Gary Henderson, ITQuoter’s Sales Director said: “Our MSP customers have varying sized businesses, meaning they have different management approaches. ITQuoter offers the flexibility that they can use all features or just the ones they need. It offers a complete lifecycle management system that spans quoting, procurement, implementation, support and renewals. We are also focused on the evolution of the product so exciting updates are in the pipeline”.
So, if you are using the built-in quoting system in your PSA tool, but are looking for more flexibility, then contact ITQuoter as they could be a good fit for you. Contact them for a demo.
Every recommendation Sondela makes is geared towards enhancing profits, efficiency and customer satisfaction. We are committed to making your business a success by taking the time to understand your needs and making the best-fit recommendations which align with your mission, vision, and goals. If you would like to find out more about how we work with clients, contact us, we would love to chat with you about your requirements.
With millions of people now working from home almost overnight, the use of an RMM tool is important, now more than ever. MSPs are currently faced with their busiest period, trying to assist their clients to set up all their staff to be able to work remotely, sometimes on their home computers. For many companies, this is not the norm, and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and their customers are having to be flexible and adjust to the changing environment.
So, what is an RMM tool and why is it such a key product to use within your business? An RMM tool is a remote monitoring software that MSPs use to remotely and proactively manage their customers computers, servers, networks and mobile devices.
Now, more than ever, an RMM tool provides your team with the means to carry out remote access/screen sharing, patch management, management of antivirus, remote software installation, detection of hardware failures, unattended scheduled reboots and hardware and software auditing.
In these unprecedented times, your engineers need the best tools available to enable them to continue to provide the highest level of support to your customers despite a vastly increased workload. There might also be many customers using their home machines connected to corporate networks. This is where RMM tools really come into their own, not only can you remote on to your customers’ home computer and set everything up for them remotely, but you can also set up the same level of security and rapid deployment of software as you would with their company devices.
Sondela Consulting works with MSPs to ensure that all aspects of their RMM tool are set up correctly and it is being used properly and efficiently. We also help them to ensure that their RMM tool correctly talks to their PSA tool so that the right information is being received into the ticketing system and the policies are set up correctly.
So whether or not you currently support your customers’ home machines as part of your managed services, the fact that under these circumstances, you can install the RMM tool onto their home machines as well means it will alert you of any issues, such as a virus, which allows you to quickly address and fix the issue so that it doesn’t compromise the corporate network. You will also be able to ensure that applications and systems are patched and up to date on home machines. Essentially you will be able to provide the same level of service and support that you do on their corporate machines.
If you are wondering if you are utilising your RMM tool to its full potential and would like to find out more about how to set this up to optimise this tool and maximise your efficiency when dealing with your customers’ portfolio of devices, then get in touch with Sondela Consulting. We have a proven track record of helping MSPs get the most out of their RMM tools.
Check out our latest blog about the importance of using an RMM tool
Sondela Consulting works with MSPs to help them get the most out of their PSA and RMM tools, optimise their IT Management Tools and advise on business best practices. Working with many different sized MSPs all over the world, we often get asked during the consulting sessions, about the many different tools that integrate with the PSA tool. There are so many great integrations which help MSPs to become more efficient, too many to mention here, but the real buzz comes when you discover new integrations and tools and how they work that you can recommend to your clients whilst working with them which you know are going to save them a huge amount of time!
Here are 3 great products which integrate with PSA tools that we have been discussing recently with our clients and we feel these are a great fit and can see the benefit of using them:
Invarosoft: Invarosoft® is an ITSM CX Platform designed to front-end your PSA and replace ‘support@’ with Apps, Bots & Automation. Clients get a ‘one pane of glass’ interface to access ‘all’ of your IT Services helping you improve your customer experience (CX) and increase productivity. Invarosoft integrates seamlessly with Autotask by synchronizing your clients, users and ticket types making it easy for end users to log tickets, take screen shots, access a branded ticket portal and interact with self-service bots among many other features.
Jamie Warner, CEO of Invarosoft and Chairman of MSP eNerds said: “Most of our MSP competitors use the same great ‘below the line’ PSA, RMM & documentation tools, but nothing to provide visible value to their clients. Invarosoft provides an ‘above the line’ branded App across Windows, Mac, iOS & Android which clients can use every day to increase their productivity. The platform enabled us to increase our sales conversion of MRR deals to 47%, reduce tickets by 5-10% with our bots and improve productivity by 3-5 mins per ticket by getting the correct ticket and diagnostic information the first time. Our aim is to ensure every Partner of Invarosoft gets these benefits and a quantifiable 10x ROI from their investment in in the platform.”
TRIBU: TRIBU provides productivity improvements to IT Service providers with a convenient integration from Autotask PSA to Microsoft Teams. The system utilises AI to further improve your efficiencies with suggested actions and automation features allowing your team to maximise their technical productivity and customer communication. TRIBU utilises a Microsoft Teams bot (named Talos) to allow you to interact with Autotask PSA tickets. The two key approaches are designed to improve responsiveness and productivity for the team.
Lucas Meadowcroft, Chief Visionary Officer of CROFTi said “Our Vision is to bring businesses into the 21st century by spreading the power of Innovation and modern technology and to enable a stress free, enjoyable and profitable future. Why do we exist? We exist so that you continue to exist! Our team inspire, enable and lead people in business to achieve their life goals, our Mission is to re-position today’s businesses and help advance the thought/understanding of what is possible”.
TopLeft: TopLeft create tools for MSPs. Their premier product is Kanban boards which integrate with PSA tools. Kanban boards help MSPs take back control of their work, to visualise work and understand project progress, accelerate helpdesk dispatch, identify neglected tasks, and crush the bottlenecks that slow down your team.
Wim Kerkhoff, Founder of TopLeft said “As an MSP, we understand feeling pressure from clients, the difficulty of balancing service, project, and internal tasks, and the challenge of understanding work when using PSA software such as Autotask and ConnectWise. The name TopLeft reminds us of the place where new work is found in a Kanban board- the top left corner of the whole board or of a column. The right-facing arrow represents how work moves left-to-right through a pipeline of work when visualised on a board.”
Every recommendation Sondela makes is geared towards enhancing profits, efficiency and customer satisfaction. We are committed to making your business a success by taking the time to understand your needs and making the best-fit recommendations which align with your mission, vision, and goals. If you would like to find out more about how we work with clients, contact us, we would love to chat with you about your requirements.
Sydney, Australia, June 2020 – Invarosoft™, is very excited to announce the launch of its ITSM CX Platform and its collaboration with Sondela Consulting in the UK market. Invarosoft was founded in 2017 by CEO, Jamie Warner, who is also the Chairman of $9M MSP eNerds. This is the natural next step as Invarosoft continues its journey to build upon the huge success it has already seen in the MSP space and to expand its reach even further around the globe.
The Invarosoft ITSM CX platform helps MSPs improve their Customer Experience (CX) and Engineer productivity by front-ending their PSA or Ticketing tool with a modern consumer Desktop & Mobile App experience (ITSupportPanel™). Invarosoft delivers an easy to use branded ‘one pane of glass’ for the client packed full of features including; Ticket & Client Portal, Ticket Forms, Web Forms, Approvals, Push Notifications, Sentiment Analysis, Self-Service Bots, SSO and Automation. The platform enables MSPs to improve their CX by providing better access and visibility of support, increase CSAT & NPS scores, reduce tickets by 5-10% using self-service bots and improve productivity by getting the correct ticket and device diagnostic information the first time – essentially ‘the perfect ticket’.
Jamie Warner, CEO of Invarosoft and Chairman of MSP eNerds said: “We feel proud of what we have achieved so far and are very excited to take this next step. Our decision to partner with Sondela Consulting in the UK is the ideal way to continue to expand our reach and move us further along the road to achieving our long-term growth strategy goals. Invarosoft and Sondela are truly aligned when it comes to working with MSPs to make them more efficient and profitable and so it made perfect sense for us to work together on this next exciting part of the journey.”
Chris Timm, CEO of Sondela Consulting said: “We are very excited about the opportunity to work with Jamie and the team at Invarosoft and bring this fantastic product to the UK market. Our main goal is to ensure that MSPs are getting the most of out of their PSA tools. Using the Invarosoft range of products is a great fit because it is going to save MSPs a lot of time and there are many benefits to investing in an ITSM CX platform. Every recommendation we make is geared towards enhancing profits, efficiency and customer satisfaction. Our clients are going to love the new customer experience that comes from using Invarosoft to show case their brand and offer more visible value.”
Launching into the UK market gives Invarosoft the potential of working with so many great new partners. The Invarosoft team is passionate about helping MSPs improve their CX and Productivity and will continue to focus on building the most innovative and top-class products for the MSP industry.
In Q4 Invarosoft will be releasing some groundbreaking industry first solutions so watch this space for the up-coming announcements.
Have you ever wondered what a PSA tool actually is? You have probably heard other MSPs and Vendors talking about PSA tools and wondered what it stands for and what purpose it would serve in your business.
PSA is Professional Services Automation; it is a business management platform designed specifically for MSPs to manage the entire business lifecycle of their clients’ journey from beginning to end. It is the engine that runs your business and is one of the most important tools you can use as it is the central location for everything your business does. It is also a single tool that can be used to streamline your processes rather than using many different tools to achieve the same outcome.
A PSA tool can be referred to by many different names, but the one that we like to use at Sondela is Business Management platform. This describes exactly what it does, it manages your entire business lifecycle process. Think of it as a window into your business, or a “single pane of glass”.
By using a PSA, you will be able to establish a consistent process for planning, managing and measuring the performance of each project throughout its lifecycle. By having consolidated business processes and data, services can be delivered more predictably, and repetitive manual processes streamlined and automated.
At Sondela, we work with you to ensure you have implemented your PSA tool properly and are getting the most out of it. We will methodically take you through each section of the product to ensure that your MSP business is running smoothly and efficiently. Every recommendation we make is geared towards enhancing profits, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can work together.
ITQuoter is very excited to announce their collaboration with Sondela Consulting in the UK Market. This follows ITQuoter’s recent announcement of the launch of their innovative SaaS quoting platform into the UK Market. It is a complete solution with many advanced features providing a comprehensive, flexible tool for MSPs and VARs. Its integration with suppliers’ data is outstanding providing a unique product searching capability.
Gary Henderson, Sales Director of ITQuoter said: “We are proud of what we have achieved so far and are excited to be working with Sondela Consulting. We are a flexible, agile company which means we are continually listening to our customers and how we can improve the software. Working with a company like Sondela Consulting who has the experience from both sides of the industry, having run an MSP and worked with one of the main PSA Vendors will not only help us to grow our market share in the UK but will also help with our focus on the evolution of the product. We are restless to improve!”
Chris Timm of Sondela Consulting said: “We are very excited about the opportunity to work with ITQuoter in the UK market. ITQuoter is a tool that is carving out a refreshing, easy way of quoting for MSPs. It has been developed specifically for the MSP market and offers out-of-the-box integration with PSA tools. It is our passion to help our clients optimise their software and make them more successful and we love talking to our clients about how ITQuoter can benefit their business”.
ITQuoter’s MSP clients have varying sized businesses meaning they have different management approaches. ITQuoter offers the flexibility for the MSP to configure the software to their requirements so they can use all the features or just the ones they need but still retaining a very easy to use interface.
Founded over 20 years ago, ITQuoter has been around since the beginning of the MSP industry and they know it well. They have taken the time to understand the mechanics of how sales teams work and everything they do is based around helping sales teams to sell more. There are always new developments and integrations in the pipeline with ITQuoter so keep a look out for exciting updates coming soon!
This is something that I hear clients saying often! My response usually is “well that is the most expensive ticketing system you will ever use”. But joking aside, there is so much more to a PSA tool than just a ticketing system. As an MSP, a Professional Services Automation (PSA) tool is the engine that runs your business. It is one of the most important tools you can use in your business as it is the central location for everything your business does.
By using a PSA, you will be able to establish a consistent process for planning, managing and measuring the performance of each project throughout its lifecycle. By having consolidated business processes and data, services can be delivered more predictably, and repetitive manual processes streamlined and automated.
Sondela Consulting can help you with this. We work with you to ensure you have implemented your PSA tool properly and are getting the most out of it. We will methodically take you through each section of the product to ensure that your MSP business is running smoothly and efficiently. The days of you using your PSA tool as an expensive ticketing system will be long gone!
We can also advise on the optimisation of the IT Management Tools that integrate with the PSA tool and suggest business best practices. And all of this can be done remotely! Every recommendation we make is geared towards enhancing profits, efficiency and customer satisfaction.
If you would like to find out more about how we work with clients, contact us, we would love to chat with you about your requirements.