The Hidden Costs of Noisy Technology

Working as a professional services provider by default means you are dedicated to supporting your clients and growing your business. However, you can’t do these things and seamlessly provide your services without the right technology in place. Technology that becomes too “noisy” can make it extremely difficult to carry out the daily functions and processes that keep your business afloat—ultimately leaving providers like managed service providers (MSPs) drowning in data.

There are so many great tools in the market today that aim to improve operational efficiency. Yet, this can contribute to the common misconception that utilizing more tools will automatically make you more successful. This is actually not the case, as using multiple tools at once creates a complicated technology environment. And, where there’s complication, there’s cost. 

When working to grow and scale your business, the last thing you need is noisy (and costly) technology. A complicated technology stack can cause service delivery to decline, drain precious resources (i.e. your tech team) and stunt your growth and scalability.

So, what does the path to becoming more cost-efficient and productive look like? The solution lies in simplifying and integrating your technology. 

What is Noisy Technology Costing You?

The reality for MSPs and other service providers is: the more clients they take on, the more they’re left to manage. When their staff has no choice but to spend their time parsing through tickets to separate the high priority items from those of lower importance, significant time and money is wasted. This process results in higher labor costs year over year and a vast misuse of skill in talented techs that are capable of so much more than just sifting through data. It’s simply not an efficient model.

What are the ripple effects of noisy technology?

1. Decline in service delivery - Service delivery will become costlier, slower and increasingly inefficient as the MSP looks to scale. If the solution stack in place is too noisy and inefficient, the MSP won’t be able to consistently provide the level of service needed to keep their clients happy.
2. Cut into margins - A viable solution to noisy technology or data overload could be hire more staff to perform the same inefficient task, just to meet demand. However, this is not financially viable in the long-run, causing you to pay for more overhead, decrease your margins and put your business growth on hold.

How to Cut Through the Noise

Amidst the hectic daily grind, it’s important to occasionally pause and take a long, hard look at where improvements can be made. When working to simplify and enhance your toolkit, perform an audit! Ask yourself: How can I use my tools so that they augment each other? How do I find the time to manage multiple systems? How am I working to keep costs down?

To hone in on how tools can augment each other, consider the cost-efficient route of integration and automation. When you’re depending on separate point tools that deliver discrete reports, data continuity turns into a manual process. The right tools will allow you to create a seamless and measurable workflow.

For example, Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools are critical to any MSP or IT solution provider looking to create new recurring revenue opportunities and take their business to the next level. Continuum’s RMM solution is designed to let you remotely monitor and manage client endpoints with ease, and with the proprietary IntelliMon software, the ticketing and alerting process is simplified. However, if you don’t have a client work management platform to help you oversee and control these tickets, how can you effectively manage your work?

Luckily, MSPs can adopt a fully synchronized workflow by seamlessly combining Continuum's IT service management platform with Accelo's client work management platform. There are no more headaches when supporting clients, because you’ll be able to easily manage all of your client work from one centralized system and take your business to the next level.

It’s easy to run out of bandwidth before you run out of things that need to be done. The answer to saving valuable time and resources is to leverage smarter tools. You simply can’t sustain profitability if you’re struggling to support your clients and running your team into the ground. A smarter, more cost-effective solution could involve an on-demand center of experts, or Network Operations Center (NOC), that works with you to manage alerts, cut down on inefficiencies and put your tech’s valuable skills to better use.

When it comes down to it, working with noisy technology will only hinder productivity. When you’re able to simplify and integrate your systems and workflow, you’ll cut costs and regain valuable time that can be spent doing what you do best: delighting—and growing—your client base. 

For more best practices on how you can grow and scale your MSP business, visit Continuum’s blog!