{"id":5852,"date":"2014-01-13T14:28:57","date_gmt":"2014-01-13T14:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/?p=5852"},"modified":"2021-04-08T14:35:05","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T13:35:05","slug":"2-important-ways-msps-can-profit-when-selling-cloud-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/fr\/blog\/2-important-ways-msps-can-profit-when-selling-cloud-services","title":{"rendered":"2 important ways MSPs can profit when selling cloud services"},"content":{"rendered":"

The move to cloud computing has impacted many IT solution providers and managed service providers (MSPs). Traditionally, solutions sold to customers would\u00a0involve them making an upfront capital expenditure (CAPEX) investment in hardware or software \u2013 which the MSP would make a 20%+ margin on \u2013 plus profitable time and labor charges.<\/p>\n

The shift to cloud-based services has removed much of the need for (and profit margins associated with) new hardware. It has also\u00a0virtually eliminated the need for customers’ CAPEX expenditure on software (again removing more profit margins for the MSP) and typically may appear to need little in the way of time and labor charges to implement.<\/p>\n

So, how do MSPs make a profit when selling cloud services? Here are two important things to remember:<\/p>\n

Wrap services around products<\/h2>\n

One of the most common assumptions by MSPs is that it\u2019s too difficult to make money providing services and support for cloud services, as the cloud vendor themselves does all this as part of their offering. This is understandable as cloud vendors such as Microsoft and Google typically make\u00a0deployment of services<\/a>\u00a0relatively simple, providing ongoing maintenance and including technical support as part of their costs. That being the case, why would one of your MSP customers pay for your time and expertise to help them with these services?<\/p>\n

Well, while you as an IT Professional may think that Office 365 is relatively easy to deploy \u2013 your client doesn\u2019t necessarily share that thinking. Modifying MX records and changing DNS entries isn\u2019t for the faint hearted \u2013 especially when the continuity of their critical business services is at stake. You should consider charging your client for deployment services and migration from other solutions into the cloud.<\/p>\n

Similarly, while cloud services such as Google Apps are relatively easy to maintain, your clients don\u2019t want to learn which dashboard they need to access to add a new user, or change a password. They want to have the easy answer of contacting you to make things happen for them. Importantly, they also want the peace of mind of knowing that if anything goes wrong, then their IT people will have their backs.<\/p>\n

Up sell additional services<\/h2>\n

In a similar vein, most MSPs assume that because cloud services, such as Google Apps and Office 365, come with in-built backup and security solutions and that the customer\u00a0is happy they are safe and secure.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s true that Microsoft provides backup for Office 365 solutions, when your customers\u00a0spot an issue they want immediate help. For instance, if one of your users deletes a critical email, they can restore a backup \u2013 provided they spot the mistake within 14 days. But what if the important email was from a month ago, or even a year ago? This is where the MSP needs to offer full continuity for email service \u2013 even for cloud based email clients such as Office 365. This can enable them to generate lucrative recurring revenue.<\/p>\n

There are other additional services MSPs might want to consider too:<\/p>\n