A quality tool stack is the backbone of every MSP business, and there are a few tools that are essential for every MSP. However, the process of selecting MSP software can be intimidating if you’re new to the industry or are exploring an unfamiliar kind of software—there are so many vendors to choose from, it can be hard to know which to trust.
We asked the MSP Success Advisory board, made up of business owners and decision makers from MSPs that span the gamut of size and revenue, what matters most when it comes to selecting MSP software.
What Tools Are Essential To Have In Your Stack?
There are a few kinds of tools that are essential for every MSP to have in their tool stack. Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM), Endpoint Direction and Response (EDR), Anti-virus, and email security software are used to monitor and protect clients’ systems. Cloud and endpoint backup software save data externally, to prevent data loss. Many MSPs also use software to manage their own businesses, such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, Professional Services Automation (PSA) software, and Service Desk software.
For an extensive list of tools MSPs often use to manage and protect their customers, plus manage their internal affairs, check out our ultimate software guide for MSPs.
The Basics Of Software Selection
In this article, we’ll use the example of RMM software to illustrate the software selection process. When it comes to RMM tools, there are four major players in the industry: ConnectWise, Kaseya, N-able, and NinjaOne. Besides these vendors, there are plenty of smaller companies selling RMM products, such as Atera, Synchro, and Addigy. Of the MSPs interviewed, the majority use either Datto RMM (Kaseya) or ConnectWise, praising Datto RMM for its ease of use, regular patches and security capabilities, and integrations with other tools, and ConnectWise for its functionality, ease of use, and automation and scripting capabilities.
So, how do MSPs choose which RMM tool to add to their stack? There are a number of factors that MSPs consider when selecting MSP software. Some significant factors MSPs pointed out included ease of use, product integration, security, automation capabilities, and affordability.
How Other MSPs Select Software
Will Slappey, CEO of IT Voice, mentions the importance of choosing the right tool for your company’s size. “If you have five people working in same office together, that is a very different operation than if you’ve got 20 locations across the U.S., in terms of what you need from the software. When you’re looking at each tool in terms of which one would be the best fit, you should also look at the size and scope of the MSP.”
For smaller MSPs, Mario Zaki, CEO of Mazteck IT, says price point is essential. He’s happy with the RMM/PSA he’s currently using “because it has everything in one. But I know it’s very limited compared to some of the bigger ones. But the reason I’m kind of dragging my feet is the billing model—they bill you per technician. I can onboard a customer without my bill going up, as long as I don’t need another technician. For a smaller MSP like me, price does play into a factor.”
A Security-First Mindset
However, for some MSPs like Jim Gast, president of SpliceNet Consulting, security outweighs price. “My take was not as much of cost,” he says. “I’m not going to compromise security. I want the Mercedes of security. If we’re going to move [from one vendor’s product to a different vendor’s offering], I want to upgrade my clients’ security, which ends up costing me money. But at the end of the day, we’re providing a better product to the customers. It’s not all about numbers—we want to do right by our customers.”
This goes to show that there are a number of factors to keep in mind when selecting a new tool to add to your stack. Of course, which variables are most important will vary from tool to tool, but most MSPs consider these qualities when comparing software options.
How To Vet Tools And Vendors
Besides simply looking at the features of different tool options, it is important to vet the tools—and the vendors selling them—that you are considering. One of the ways to do this is to look at who is considered to be the best at that particular tool. Ann Westerheim, founder and president of Ekaru, says that she’d rather “have best in breed for each [type of software], than a tool that does a lot of different things.”
Other MSPs may prefer an all-in-one platform that includes the RMM and other tools, such as Kaseya 365 Endpoint.
Another essential component is vendor support—or lack thereof. It doesn’t matter how fantastic a tool is if you can’t get support when something goes wrong. Thomas Lohr, COO of Techworks Consulting, says, “For me, vendor support is probably the most important thing. Our business process relies on our tool to be functional. We have a lot of very capable, technical people, engineers that have exhausted troubleshooting efforts for a number of different things. And if they can’t solve it, it means it’s beyond our control. So, we need the providers to be very responsive.”
When it comes to which tools to choose for your tech stack, it’s important to keep your MSP’s size, number of protected endpoints, and budget in mind. Not every solution will work for every MSP, but that’s the benefit of having so many vendor options to choose from. With careful consideration of the variables discussed above, you’re sure to find the right fit for your MSP.
