“Hello, my name is Eric, and I am a Backup Nerd.” When spoken during an introduction, that statement might easily be mistaken as insulting or demeaning to myself and others. In some circles, it could easily be interpreted as a call for help or as my acknowledgement (or “first step”) to admitting that I might have a problem. Head Nerd, specifically the backup variety, has been my professional title for the past few years and I fully embrace it.

There is a great deal of marketing guidance out there on what MSPs can do to help drive new leads into their organization. One thing that is going to make all the difference in the world between a prospect reaching out and engaging with you, or clicking that back button, is making sure your website is the very best that it can be. Many marketing experts agree that the most important asset MSPs have at their disposal from a marketing perspective is their website.

One of the best parts of my job is helping our partners work through challenges. In these situations, I usually review their N-able N-central® configuration and offer suggestions on operational adjustments they can make to best align their service delivery to their RMM. I also enjoy working with leadership, such as the managing VP or director of IT, who can invoke real transformational change in their organization.

Since the start of the pandemic, MSPs have faced extraordinary challenges—in many cases, carrying the burden of responsibility for ensuring their customers are able to continue operating in the face of an uncertain and constantly changing business environment. At the same time, they have also had to adapt their own ways of working in order to continue to operate and survive.

Ransomware is on everyone’s minds these days, with attacks against small businesses, hospitals, and local governments increasingly in the headlines. Managed IT service providers are experiencing a dramatic increase in attempted cyberattacks.

Here at N-able, we have identified three key market segments that today’s MSPs fall into: Emerging Market, Growth Market, and Elite Market. What we are starting to see happening among these three tiers is a growing disparity developing where MSPs will need to make difficult decisions about the future and how they should be moving their business forward in the years to come. Unfortunately, if MSPs fail to address this growing market disparity, they are going to be left behind.

Apple once ran, and caught a reasonable amount of flak for, an ad that implied Macs didn’t get viruses. The PC (John Hodgman) in the ad says there were “114,000 known viruses” for PCs in 2006, to which the Mac (Justin Long) replies, “PCs. Not Macs.” While misleading, it’s technically correct, which may have been sufficient to avoid truth-in-advertising lawsuits.

I’m in the middle of planning a family celebration for my daughter’s upcoming Confirmation ceremony. The invitations have gone out, I’ve booked the restaurant where we will have lunch afterwards, and I’m currently sourcing a local bakery for the cake and sweets table. While scrolling through Facebook the other day, one of my friends “Liked” and tagged a new local bakery.

On the recent Q3 earnings call, N-able CEO John Pagliuca perfectly captured the mood in the MPS market. “Some in the industry refer to the MSP era we are in right now as the golden era for the MSPs,” he said.