Understanding top IT challenges gives you an advantage over your competitors; while they’re reacting to problems, you’re tackling them head-on. Knowing what to look for ahead of time gives you the upper hand, and saves your client time and money in the long run. As Schnizzfest nears, there are three top IT challenges you should look into.
Cybersecurity: Are You Updating Your Clients?
Cybersecurity risks are always changing, and as a trusted advisor, your clients are turning to you for advice on how to navigate the cybersecurity landscape. Provide them with the latest cyber security updates. Maybe put a cybersecurity newsletter together for them on a weekly basis. Don’t forget to always explain increased risks to clients; otherwise, they’ll assume their systems are secure. This is the perfect time to review additional investments with your clients, too; always remember this: new risks and additional investments go hand in hand. For example, one MSP I know just added cyber training and dark web monitoring to all of its agreements. This MSP then explained to each of its customers why it added this protection and raised the average seat price.
Is Anyone Ready For GDPR?
There are some analysts who believe the majority of companies aren’t ready for GDPR, and, sadly, they could be right; however, we at TruMethods have been doing our best to sift through the legalese and break down the EU’s data protection and privacy law for our members and, of course, their clients. If you haven’t been monitoring GDPR over the past couple of years, there are a few items for you to address sooner than later.
TruMethods CTO Bob Penland recently covered this trending topic for the TruMethods blog. The good news? “GDPR is going to enable us to raise the conversation with clients about how they store, manage and comply with regulations,” he said. How will MSPs advise clients as GDPR rolls out? We’ll stay on top of this for you in the coming weeks.
Where Did All The Good Help Go?
I’m considering two things when I’m hiring: culture and aptitude. During the interview process, consider the following: Will this individual fit our company’s culture? We at TruMethods ask candidates to write about one of our core values they connect with. We do this because we want to understand how they think. We want know if they’re on the same page as we are. We want to determine if expectations are where they need to be.
We also recommend giving candidates an aptitude test to assess potential abilities. At TruMethods, we use the Wonderlic One Score. We actually worked with Wonderlic, Inc. on a pre-employment testing and hiring automation solution designed specifically for MSPs. Called Wonderlic MSP Hiring System, the solution tests for a range of industry positions, including vCIO, network admin, support desk, inside and outsides and more.
Over the years, I’ve learned the following about acquiring talent for organizations I’ve been involved in: If someone fits ours culture and has aptitude, we can teach the rest.
Top IT challenges are always changing, so adapt as they shift, and don’t forget to keep your clients in the loop; they’ll feel as though they’re part of the process and see how you’re always looking to evolve as new IT challenges rise above the horizon.
