H&SAAS for 2008?
August 8, 2007 – 9:07 amI remember a quote from one of the SBS Team Managers, “We can’t make easy, what is impossible.”. Is this the future of H&SaaS for SMB?
Will combining hardware, software and support all into one line item on your customer’s invoice each month be the next wave of managed services for SMB? Is it really possible? I’ve spent a fair amount of time watching for the opportunity to move my little MSP in that direction but around every turn I’ve found another challenge that usually resembles a contract, warranty and financial management nightmare.
You see, offering technical services is easy for most of us. We are good at the techie stuff. Offering those services on a retainer governed by an SLA while leveraging technical platforms designed for MSPs is challenge enough for the average IT Pro turned business owner. Now throw in managing contracts, expectation, deliverables, projects, technicians, a NOC (your own or contracted), customer financing, underwriting demands for hardware rentals, etc, etc… Wow! In the enterprise and even mid-market space this can be done, but in the SMB space, where the rules aren’t so easily followed or even defined, its not going to be so easy. The real challenge going into 2008 is not managing technology, employees or finding the right software to run your MSP. The real challenge in 2008 for most MSPs will be managing money and agreements between three parties - us, our customers and the many many vendors involved in this space. In order to run a successful MSP in 2008 I’m afraid most of us are going to be required to use a skill set we quite frankly don’t have.
Good news is that I’ve seen a couple of companies who see the quagmire that HaaS (Hardware as a Service) presents to us and I would like to recognize them standing in the back of the room.
First is Microsoft. It seems that MS has changed some licensing rules that will enable us to “rent” software on boxes that we will be “renting” our customer. Check our Eric’s blog on SPLA. This has a lot of potential! Now before you run out and sign a SPLA agreement you may want to consider the ramifications of becoming a SPLA. There may be considerable investment required on your part. If you are willing to share some of the profits I’m sure there are more than a few successful SPLA partners that would rather sell thru you.
Second is Encover. While Encover is still in it’s infancy it is a company guided by seasoned pros like Allan and Chip who have been around long enough to know what we need. While I can’t do justice describing the brilliant solution they are putting in place for many of us, I can point to the example of where the enabled us to manage all our SonicWALL support renewals in one simple interface automatically. The best part is, it was all delivered in partnership with SonicWALL with the goal of keeping the customer contracts current - hey wait, that’s my goal too. Add Dell, HP, CA, Symantec, Cisco and MS contracts into that same system and we have vote for MSP solution of the year!
Finally, I’ve seen MSP on Demand making some progress in bringing underwriters together with MSPs. While their solutions are not cheap, it looks like you get what you pay for.
I’ve also looked at the mobility side of HaaS (renting mobile devices)and been disappointed that the the only way to succeed there is volume. I’ll write more on my experiences with Palm and GWD later.
If you have had some success in expanding your MSP practice past tech support please share your comments with me.
3 Responses to “H&SAAS for 2008?”
While much is being made of SAAS and HAAS, anyone considering shelling out big $$$ to MSP on Demand should think twice and do their due diligence. THe owner of MSP on Demand, Ramsey Dellinger, ran his MSP business into the ground and left many vendors, including me, holding the bag with unpaid bills and judgements against his former company, Lan-Com Technologies. Lan-Com still owes me several thousand dollars, even after Ramsey personally committed to making sure I got paid. N-Able is touting Ramsey as a so-called “expert” in running an MSP business, but I am not sure they know the real story behind the failure of Lan-Com.
The reality of HAAS is that it is really a very simple concept: bundle services and hardware into one monthly payment = leasing. What companies like MSP on Demand try to bring to the table is a so-called ‘education’ about how to put everything together, as well as their ‘private label funding’. You can accomplish the same thing by establishing a relationship with a a leasing company (or several) and having them educate you on the different types of leases and their basic underwriting requirements. Using a leasing company like this won’t have your name on it, but when I have done leasing in the past it makes little difference to the customer as long as they get what they want at a monthly payment they can afford.
By Cameron Welles on Aug 26, 2007