The MSP Zone

2022 Economic Forecast for Managed Services

The stock continues to be volatile, inflation is impacting large sections of our economy, oil prices are rising, and geo-political events are creating uncertainty. And yet, the managed services market remains strong.  
There are many reasons why investors and customers are continuing to invest in the managed services sector. In today’s episode, we examine the 2022 economic outlook and provide some analysis for MSP owners and managers to help plan for the upcoming year.  
 
Highlights: 
Economic volatility and impact on MSPs 
Labor market analysis 
IT and security spending forecast 
Episode is sponsored by Redstor: www.redstor.com 

Cyber Insurance Missteps Into Managed Services

Cyber insurance has become critically important to our modern business operations. For MSPs, the role of cyber insurance is especially important, both because of the protection it affords the MSP, but also for the protection it offers customers of the MSP.
While cyber insurance carriers struggle to understand the complex world of managed IT services, cloud computing, and IT security, some brokers are taking bold and potentially dangerous steps into the cyber insurance world.
Highlights: 
Should you give your customer information over to an insurance carrier or underwriter?
What are the legal and business risks associated with giving insurance underwriters access to your clients?
Do cyber insurance brokers have a better understanding of IT managed services best practices than the MSPs themselves?
MSP Zone Guest: Rob Scott

Analysis of the Pennsylvania ”MSP” Bill

Pennsylvania Senate Bill 726 from the 2021 session has passed. Now what? While this bill is not yet law, it is important to understand what is in this law and how it may impact MSPs, particularly those practicing within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  
Highlights:  
Bill overview 
MSP impact 
Analysis and comparison to other MSP legislation 
Impact on future legislation 
This episode is sponsored by Solutions Granted: solutionsgranted.com
Email sales@solutionsgranted.com or call 800-619-8481
 

Automation for MSPs in 2022

The role of automation in managed services is not new, however, it has a rough history. MSPs have always recognized the need to scale their operations but have struggled with how to implement automation in a consistent fashion. 
Besides the obvious benefits automation can bring to the internal operations of the MSP, there are revenue generating opportunities as well. The same automation practices can easily be applied to service offerings to be provided to the customer, managed by the MSP.
Highlights:
What is RPA?
There are benefits to the MSP, but that's not what we are talking about today
Service product ideas for MSPs based on RPA
MSP Zone Guest: Keith Abramson, ElectroNeek

More MSP Legislation Updates

The United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania both took steps recently to pass legislation around managed IT service providers (MSP) and cybersecurity. While these actions by themselves are not concerning, underlying assumptions surrounding the role of the MSP in our modern world should be triggering the alarm bells in every MSP operating throughout the world.  
Highlights:  
MSPs need to test their internal cyber incident response plans 
Initiate client cyber response plans 
Stop taking the blame for poor customer cyber hygiene 
MSP Zone Reading Materials:  
https://www.computerweekly.com/microscope/news/252512236/MSPs-alerted-to-costs-of-potential-security-regulation-changes 
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2021&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0726 
https://mspalliance.com/analysis-of-new-msp-registration-law/ 
 
This episode is sponsored by Stellar Cyber: Open XDR cybersecurity tools, cloud & network security solutions (stellarcyber.ai).

The Argument for MSP Cyber Standards

Ten years ago, I wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal arguing for a “universal standard” for cloud computing. While a lot has changed in the last decade, the need for standards has not. There are many standards related to Information Technology (IT), but each has its own focus and area of expertise. The same is true for cyber security standards.

The Armchair Cybersecurity “Expert”

The rise of armchair cybersecurity “experts” has accelerated in recent years. Perhaps the industry most impacted by these armchair cybersecurity experts is managed services.  
As cyberattacks and threats continue to increase, so do the voices from these “amateur” compliance and security individuals who sometimes place unwarranted and dangerous risk on the MSP they use. Risks such as these must be identified and addressed immediately by the MSP if they hope to avoid assuming that risk internally.  
Highlights:  
What are the characteristics of an armchair cyber expert? 
What are the risk impacts to the MSP? 
Role of contracts in addressing that risk 
Profile of “risky” clients who pose risk 
Without the MSP, where would this risk reside?  
MSP Zone Guest: Rob Scott 

The Argument for MSP Protection Legislation

The time has come for MSP protection legislation. MSPs safeguard many thousands of industries throughout the world and they need our support. More importantly, MSPs need the support of our legislative community.  
We, at the MSPAlliance, believe that MSP protection legislation will go a long way in fighting the cyber war.  
Highlights:  
Distinctions between MSPs and break/fix companies 
Steps MSPs take today to safeguard their customers 
Civil and criminal penalties should be applied to attacks on MSPs and their supply chain vendors 

Things People Say About MSPs

Part of the responsibility of being an MSP is to understand what is being said about your profession. The task of observing how "non-industry" people and organizations talk about MSPs is of particular concern, because it can create negative or even false ideas about how we operate.  
Sometimes, the content comes in a mixed fashion, where it is not all right, but it is also not entirely wrong. This is the case today where we examine an article on the "pros and cons" of using a managed service provider.  
Highlights:  
How do tech writers view MSPs? 
What do they get right? 
What do they not understand? 
How can we fix this misunderstanding moving forward? 
 MSP Zone Show Notes: 
The Pros And Cons Of Investing In Managed IT Services - TFOT (thefutureofthings.com) 

Avoid These Mistakes When Choosing an MSP

There are many mistakes you should avoid when selecting your MSP. To be honest, the most critical mistakes will differ depending on who you are, your organizational needs, the type of MSP you are talking to, and a few other factors.  
Nevertheless, there are some fundamentals we can generally apply whenever you are discussing the engagement of an MSP. I came across an article the other day (author unknown) and the title was "5 Mistakes to Avoid When Using Managed IT Services". It's a short article, but it got me thinking about how I would approach an MSP if I was a potential customer.  
Now, there are some very valid points in this article, and there are some which are more debatable. You can come to your own conclusions. In this episode, cover each of the 5 points made by the author and offer my own analysis.  
 
MSP Zone Reading Material: 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Using Managed IT services - The Open News (openthenews.com)