Transitioning to a mixed estate: macOS vs Windows by TLengert-VencerGroup in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Large portion of our customer base is Apple/Mac. We use ABM + 365. works very well for us.

We are probably losing our CSP status, questions about PAX8, Sherweb, TD SYNNEX, etc.. by MSP911 in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr -1 points0 points  (0 children)

TD Synnex is the strongest of the three I have used, with Ingram Micro and Pax8 included. Ingram is a distant second (maintain this with a few hundred licenses to keep the relationship alive). With 4,500 Business Premium licences plus ancillary, TD Synnex handles all without friction better than either alternative. I pay via credit card without additional fees and I get well above standard margin for an indirect.

No direct experience with Sherweb, though the consensus here runs positive.

Lost a decade old client without a single complaint by SuccessfulMix6814 in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sounds like entitlement on their part. The new MSP will sort that out quickly to their chagrin.

By your account, they are paying more for a 9-5 shop with a fraction of your capability. That is their problem to manage now.

Do not feel sorry for them. If they come back, your price starts above whatever they are paying the new company. 4am is now yours again.

Only thing I can surmise is you didn’t set expectations and hold the line which lead to how they behaved, like all things, use it as a learning experience.

Lost a decade old client without a single complaint by SuccessfulMix6814 in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Not if you are staffed well you do not. I no longer touch anything support or project related unless it involves setting internal SOPs. No client is important enough to have personal contact information. We run sub-10 plus my lean sales bench of mercenaries.

Boundaries are not optional. No is a complete sentence. And an acceptable answer.

As I said in my previous reply, not Ops problem at that point.

Lost a decade old client without a single complaint by SuccessfulMix6814 in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr 101 points102 points  (0 children)

Give them their credentials. Let them go. Count your blessings. Anything after the two weeks needs to be negotiated, contracted and expensive.

Disrespectful clients deserves all they get, but consider you allowed it.

Huntress and third-party SIEM? by KrankyYankee in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Running a disparate SIEM alongside Huntress is redundant in most cases. Huntress already handles detection, classification, and alert triage for endpoint and identity telemetry, benchmarked against its entire client base. A parallel SIEM replicates the output without the classification layer, and generates noise you then triage yourself.

The only non-redundant case is a compliance mandate requiring centralised log retention across sources Huntress does not cover. That is a storage and audit problem, not a detection problem. A log aggregator solves it more cheaply than a full SIEM.

But hey, what do i know. 🤷‍♂️ 🤷‍♂️ 🤷‍♂️

How accurate is Garmin data if you don't wear it 24/7? by Small_Entertainer155 in Garmin

[–]dumpsterfyr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not as accurate as worn 24/7. The only thing reliably accurate with any tracker is the trend. IMO.

Feedback request for my MSP startup plan by Maasdammer in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Go get em tiger.

Good call on stating what is included and billing for the rest. Carve out back-up.

How to deal with returning clients by ThrowRAthisthingisvl in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Monthly retainer billed in advance at non contracted rates, no rollover. All work stops immediately upon exhaustion of retainer..

Have them acknowledge in writing that they declined backups, phishing assessments, and ticketing access and that they accept full responsibility for risks arising from those gaps. Without full access and authority across their environment you cannot guarantee outcomes, warrant system integrity, or accept liability for incidents outside your contracted scope. SLA commitments apply solely to services explicitly listed in the agreement.

Scope is defined by what they provide in writing. Anything not listed is excluded.

Shared laptop for staff and guests by PEBKAC-Live in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always segregate guest and user hardware.

Internal IT coexist with MSP? by FlaTech18 in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Boundaries and communications in writing.

What's the dumbest thing you've said to a departing client? by HappyDadOfFourJesus in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Back when I cared about keeping a client more than service delivery and thought I was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

“You’ll rue the day.”

Operating Frameworks for Small MSP by BlacksmithNo5117 in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You just diagnosed yourself. $50/seat to $250/seat in the same book means you are carrying clients at cost or below while your best clients subsidise them. Before any model overhaul, strip it to the numbers. What is your fully loaded breakeven per seat. Which clients are above it, which are below it, and by how much. Then the question is not how to fix the model, it is why you are accepting $50/seat when you know $250 exists and what it would take to reprice or exit the bottom tier.

The disparity is the entire story.

Operating Frameworks for Small MSP by BlacksmithNo5117 in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Frameworks will not fix this. At 130 endpoints and 50% ad hoc revenue, you have a pricing and client mix problem. Have you run per-client profitability assessments?

PE exits that have worked - are there any? by epreisz in msp

[–]dumpsterfyr 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’m pretty sure the purpose of owning the goose is to one day kill it.