Every now and again you come across a company offering certain services and say, “why didn’t I think of that”? Fortunately, that isn’t the case here. What I am writing about here are two firms that you should be looking at to take your small to mid-size MSP business to new levels.

There are two issues I keep hearing from partners these days. The first is how they need to find a quality outsourced helpdesk or hire staff to answer phone calls. As we all know there are a number of help desk solutions out there.  But, I will tell you there is no one who will provide the high level of support to your clients like the team at Live Virtual Helpdesk (Live VHD.)

Live VHD based in Victoria, BC, is headed up by my friend, Dan Sturgill. Dan brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in running helpdesk organizations. The really amazing thing about Live is that their level 1 technicians are all level 2 or above with multiple industry certifications. The reviews I am hearing from MSP’s who are using Live VHD for their helpdesk are nothing less than exceptional. Personally, I have a few partners that have engaged with Live VHD over the last few months and when I ask how things are going I always get comments like, “Amazing”, “Outstanding” and “Exceeds all of my expectations.” If you are looking for a help desk to take your business to the next level, give Dan at Live VHD a ring.

The second major issue that I am hearing is about RMM tools, again. Our industry goes through stages of maturity and 2010 is one of those stages with RMM tools. We are seeing a number of serious players emerging as the new leaders in this market. There are the old school rank and file of Kaseya, Level Platforms, Zenith Infotech, and N-Able. Today we also have the “new kids on the block” of LabTech Software, IT Control Suite and PacketTrap. All these tools are excellent, but what is the best one for you? Why choose only one? If you want a first-hand example, check out the article my good friend, Jacob Braun wrote in Channel Pro last month about using multiple RMM tools to do your job better.

With no disrespect to my friends at IT Control and LabTech, I want to take a minute to discuss PacketTrap. I just did a webinar with PacketTrap and PacketTrap was kind enough to be a Bronze sponsor of Spring Training for Business. Every time I see this RMM tool demonstrated I am more and more impressed by its features and the work they are putting into the tool.

All RMM tools can do basic remote control and monitoring.  Most can do scripting, patching and some sort of network monitoring.  But with PacketTrap, the network monitoring feature is what in my opinion is a game changer.  Rather than get too technical in this post, I highly recommend you look at PacketTrap and compare it to the tool that you are using today. If you will be at the Autotask Community Live event next week in Miami make sure you stop by PacketTrap’s booth and check out their solution.

I am talking to a number of new vendors to the market. As a matter of fact, I am getting a demo of the latest version of Naverisk this afternoon. When I find a new vendor and get a good demo, we will schedule a webinar. Watch my webinar page for new, free webinars. You never know what we will come up with to help you run your business better.

All the best in success,

Stu