MSPs generate more MRR (monthly recurring revenue) when they’re able to reduce reactive noise and dedicate their resources to more proactive MSP tasks. This is because proactive tasks are predictable. They’re scheduled into our days (e.g., regular technology alignment visits, business impact and strategy meetings, centralized services, and projects). We know how much they cost and how long they take to complete. We know the margins on proactive tasks (if we price them properly).

The National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework—NIST Cybersecurity Framework for short—is a set of best practices to help companies better identify, detect, and respond to cyberattacks. While the framework was intended to be used by internal IT teams, its five major themes—identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover—can be used to create a handy network security assessment tool for MSPs.

For MSP business owners, figuring out how to improve your bottom line is like an ongoing game of tug of war. Do you raise your rates or do you make your service staff more productive? Raising rates may seem like the easier option, but at the risk of upsetting existing clients and losing prospects to competitors with better rates, it may not be your best bet. Instead, you should focus on improving service efficiency and productivity within your MSP.

Last month, the Elastic Security Protections Team prevented an attempted ransomware attack targeting an organization monitored by one of our customers, an IT Managed Service Provider (MSP). We analyzed the alerts that were generated after an adversary’s process injection attempts were prevented by Elastic Endpoint Security on several endpoints. Adversaries often attempt to inject their malicious code into a running process before encrypting and holding the victim’s data to ransom.

As 2019 comes to an end, OnPage would like to re-inform MSP teams about the value and importance of offering a 24×7 support service. Twenty-four seven support ensures that client issues are quickly resolved by an after-hours support team. Though 24×7 support is a must-have offering, MSPs must first re-work their internal workflows and policies, ensuring that after-hours servicing is a pain-free venture.

I recently had a conversation with an IT business owner who told me he felt burned out. While his business experienced steady growth over the past 12 months—and he was pleased with the positive impact on his bottom line—he felt like he’d achieved this success at the expense of his health. I knew how he felt. I’d been there too. Chances are, like a lot of people in our industry, you’ve been there too.