Four indicators it’s time for a remote support solution
If you’re leading a fast-moving managed service provider (MSP), you may find that the organization soon outgrows certain processes and software tools. What worked in your first week doesn’t meet your needs a year later. Technicians are stressed out while servicing customer requests, and the customers can tell. There’s market demand and business has room to grow, but there don’t seem to be enough hours in the day. And, on top of all that, your customers’ needs have changed in a time of increased remote work.
At some point, it’s time to improve your technicians' jobs, increase customer satisfaction, and make your business more efficient with new products and processes. The good news? You can start with one foundational tool that promises to change the game for any MSP: a remote support solution.
When choosing a remote support solution, we’ve written about how MSPs should look for a tool that offers:
- easy setup
- the latest security
- and automatic upgrades.
But let’s take a step back: At what point do you know it’s time to shop for a remote support solution?
In this post, we’ll walk through four key signs. If you’re experiencing any of these, it’s time for a software upgrade.
Your technicians are spending most of their time on site
In 2020, employers turned off the lights, locked the doors, and sent employees home to work remotely. Of course, on-site IT needs haven’t stopped, especially for businesses with on-premise servers or a hybrid approach. Employees still have IT needs, too—even if they’re working from their couches rather than office desks.
Chances are that remote work is here to stay to some degree—even after lockdowns (eventually) end. While the pandemic has highlighted the need for virtual support, if you’re sending technicians on site frequently for any reason, you should look into adopting a remote support solution.
Fixing problems on-site will always be less efficient than taking a remote approach. Take, for example, conversations with customers about their business operating system. Technicians must find transportation, travel to the location, go through security, and then finally get to work. A 15-minute job can easily become an hour-long commitment. It’s not a fun experience for technicians—who likely have dozens of other requests coming in—and, during a pandemic, likely want to reduce face-to-face interactions as much as possible. Your client satisfaction will also suffer, as addressing routine issues takes longer on site.
With a remote support solution, MSP technicians don’t have to go on-site to address the question (or rely on memory to respond). They can quickly connect to key systems and answer the client’s software questions.
While there will always be certain problems that require physical, hands-on work, many, many tasks can be completed remotely. You’ll not only save time, but your technicians and clients will be happier with the efficient process and quick results.
Your customers are confused
If you’ve worked in a technician role before, you know how end-user calls often go: A client calls for help with a problem, such as forgetting their password. You offer instructions over the phone (which might be pretty technical). The client is confused, a little frustrated, and just wants the problem to be solved. Meanwhile, the list of support requests keeps growing.
If your technicians find themselves having lots of confusing, long conversations with clients, then it’s time to adopt a remote support solution.
With a remote support solution, technicians can simply say “no problem,” open up a window into the device or password management software, and reset things themselves. Everyone walks away feeling satisfied that the issue was resolved smoothly, quickly, and successfully.
Your clients are working remotely
MSPs have, understandably, seen an explosion in clients with work-from-home employees. MSPs are now servicing employees who are living in dozens of locations, on dozens of different internet connections, with varying levels of equipment and access—which can create a massive headache for technicians and clients alike.
If the majority of your clients are working remotely, it’s time to adopt a remote support solution to serve them best. While the shift from office-based work to remote work has created many new technical challenges for MSPs, clients still expect the same level of service and results.
With a remote support solution, technicians will be able to keep tabs on employees’ devices and software no matter where they’re located, ensure their systems are updated, and provide timely service.
You’re ready to scale your business
What works for a one-person shop will not work for a 50-person shop with dozens of clients. If an MSP is operating without a remote support solution, there’s a natural limit on how much they can grow. There’s just not enough time—or, perhaps more importantly, energy—for technicians to take on an ever-growing number of customers.
When your MSP business is ready to scale up, you should also prepare for a certain amount of automation to make your work easier. A remote support solution is one core way to create more efficient and automated workflows. Routine tasks can not only be accomplished remotely and more quickly, they also can be automated to happen continuously in the background without taking up a technician’s time.
Remote support solutions can also integrate with other core MSP business management tools, giving MSPs a cohesive view of the whole organization. These integrations can make things like ticketing, time tracking, billing, and other core functions much easier—and faster.
Remote support solutions support growing MSPs
Whether MSPs are looking to grow or adapt to new client needs, a remote support solution is a must-have. With a remote support solution, MSPs can create a better work experience for employees, speed time to service, and improve client satisfaction—a trifecta of success.