Tech alliance programs should matter more today to MSPs. Here's why.

September 15, 2021

3 Min Read
business teamwork
Shutterstock

By Tyler McDonald

McDonald-Tyler_N-able-author-150x150.jpg

Tyler McDonald

Many would agree the right partnerships are powerful and can help you operate more efficiently to scale your success. Yet the heavy lifting it takes to establish such relationships and build out a highly engaged ecosystem is often undervalued and deserving of more attention.

Today’s customers – and more broadly the global economy – bank on an unwritten promise that the varied technology we use daily will effectively work in tandem and maintain security. Wrong. These two simple but complex expectations can prove difficult to establish, especially when you consider the cybersecurity battlefield and staying power of remote working.

MSPs and the platform providers they rely on are under enormous pressure to make IT work seamless and secure, regardless of device or location. As the hub within an MSP’s managed services practice, the remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform is pivotal to enabling their success and keeping the network controlled and secure. But what lies quietly beneath, and sometimes also across the top of a successful RMM platform, is a carefully planned ecosystem of technology and marketing alliances that many don’t take advantage of and others simply don’t realize is there for the taking.

Here are three reasons why technology alliance programs should matter more today to MSPs:

  1. Smarter spending. Outside of a general good vibe on the providers playing well together, a good alliance program helps the MSP save time and money vetting complementary brands and aggregating information they need to incorporate into their business story. This is no easy undertaking. A good ecosystem of alliance partners is expensive to maintain, but it helps MSPs show up stronger and more secure. It also helps partners be better prepared for road map enhancements, including the introduction of new products or innovation cycles — again, saving time, money, and sometimes the tech’s sanity.

  2. Standardizing on success. Managing more of the same is a recipe for success many MSPs take for granted. Going deep into one type of customer breeds efficiency and scale. Standardizing on a proven provider ecosystem does too — saving an MSP time on selecting the right technology while strengthening security measures and streamlining workflows. Imagine the efficiency if you managed the same or similar software, hardware and solutions across your client base. The ability to scale your services becomes natural, and the experience improves for your team and your customers.

  3. Maximizing security and building more value. Developed integrations and formal go-to-market alliances help MSPs extend the life cycle and functionality of the solutions they market, sell and manage. These integrations help ensure each system’s security is better aligned for synchronization versus disrupting capabilities and exposing the customer to a vulnerability — or causing one service to fail.

With so much riding on deployed technology, tapping into a proven ecosystem of tech alliances is an accelerant to success MSPs can’t afford to ignore.

Tyler McDonald is director of business development, N-able. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Read more about:

MSPs
Free Newsletters for the Channel
Register for Your Free Newsletter Now

You May Also Like