The MSP’s Guide to the Ultimate Client Experience: Optimizing service efficiency, account management productivity, and client engagement with a modern digital-first approach.

Introduction

But the big change is the digital acceleration. In the past, it was like, 'We have a retail strategy, and we have a digital strategy.' There is no retail strategy. The retail strategy is simply there to support your digital strategy, as opposed to vice versa. So, the acceleration of digital, and then obviously everything that goes around that, remote access, cybersecurity, all those kind of things.

Robert Herjavec -- Newsweek, December 17, 2020

Not too long ago we went to the store to consult sales staff on which TV, car, stereo, book, etc. was better, more reliable, or interesting. Retail stores were a place to explore and then a place to purchase. Now, retail is the place of pickup. It's where we go to view or pick up an item we've already researched and most likely purchased online. Every retailer is becoming an Amazon, and every retail store just a fitting room, showroom, or warehouse.

This digital transformation isn’t just about brick-and-mortar businesses. In fact, digital transformation has been the foundation of the entire MSP industry. Remote management and monitoring tools, RMMs, made IT service companies into SaaS providers justifying SaaS-like pricing with a monthly recurring revenue model. MRR has made the industry what it is today.

The digital transformation of an MSPs back-office operations is complete. Almost every MSP uses cloud-based infrastructure for quoting, ticketing, invoicing, and integrates other cloud-based tools beyond the RMM to enhance and extend their service offerings.

Transitioning from Labor to Outcomes

As more client technology has shifted to the cloud, and just like the MSP, most clients are also undergoing or have undergone a digital transformation. The client’s cloud infrastructure is forcing MSPs to switch from a labor-centric approach to solving problems to an outcomes-focused approach. In other words, it has become less about going onsite to fix a problem and more about making sure the correct systems are selected, implemented, automated, and monitored. These processes ensure that problems either don’t happen or are fixed with minimal effort.

Described another way, MSPs used to help clients directly. But this help is becoming indirect. Now MSPs help technology that helps and manages clients. MSPs no longer worry about swapping backup tapes and instead worry about making sure the backup systems run as set up in their