Operations | Monitoring | ITSM | DevOps | Cloud

Sometimes we associate fast-growing networks with power and success, but being small doesn’t mean you can’t compete—you just need to be smarter at creating a sustainable competitive advantage. Here are 10 things you can do as a small managed service provider (MSP) to punch above your weight. A documented process is a consistent process. And once you document how a process is carried out, you can then look for ways it can be improved.

Enterprises have always had more money to spend on IT than small-and-medium businesses (SMBs). This has traditionally resulted in a disparity in the technology and services available to each. However, with the rise of cloud-based services and the increasing need for remote working, this gap is starting to close. While there are still some differences between enterprise IT management and SMB IT management, the two are becoming more similar.

Network blind spots are the things you can’t see and don’t know about. They’re dangerous. Just like the blind spots on your car, network blind spots can set you up for deadly crashes. Problems will seem to “come out of nowhere” and hit unexpectedly. Network blind spots create all kinds of serious problems. A major network crash is one. But other problems can pile up too.

How is your relationship with your key vendors? One area of business that many MSPs overlook in the growth of their business growth is the strength of a vendor partnership. Do you view the companies who supply you with software and services as partners in a long-term relationship, or are your relationships more transactional (one and done)?

On a fairly regular basis, users will post to Reddit or Spiceworks or another IT forum to ask about the best support staff ratio of techs to users, and what other companies are finding sustainable. The question usually comes from an overworked tech who’s drowning in tickets and trying to understand what’s considered. The answers can get interesting. On Spiceworks, many people responded with details about the environments they support—and the range was notable.

Standard operating procedures—more commonly known as SOPs—are written, step-by-step instructions that describe how to perform a routine activity. While you can create an SOP for anything, an MSP SOP that outlines technical procedures is a well-known path to increasing efficiency in your business. Whether you’ve got existing MSP SOPs you’re interested in updating, or you’re looking for some basic steps to build brand-new SOPs around, you’ve come to the right place.

I speak to a lot of MSPs every day, and I’m always asked for advice on meeting new prospects. Finding new clients is one of the biggest challenges they all face. “Have you tried asking your existing clients for referrals?” is my stock answer. And for good reason—prospects referred to you by an existing client are four times more likely to buy than any other opportunities. Here are a few of my tips on how to generate client referrals from existing clients.

Break out your buzzword bingo cards, it’s time to talk about SASE or Secure Access Service Edge. Pronounced “sassy,” SASE has become one of the hottest topics in networking and security over the last three years. The basic idea is great: all your security and network services are on one platform. The problem comes when you get into the specifics. When does a set of services go from “not SASE” to “SASE”?

Computers double in power every couple of years, according to Moore’s Law. That’s good news for companies and their people—continually faster and smarter gear can power higher productivity. But there’s also a downside to Moore’s Law: devices go obsolete quickly. The average server lifespan is only two to four years. And network switches often last just three to five years before breakdowns become a common concern.

In a perfect world, understanding how to manage a network would be a breeze. On your first day of managing a network, you’d find tons of documentation on the IT infrastructure waiting for you. Login credentials would be securely recorded and ready for review. Sadly, we don’t live in a perfect world. That’s why managing a new network can be tough—especially if you’re joining a brand new IT team or taking on a new client and aren’t sure what’s been done before.