When building a tech stack, the question of where to start and which vendors to choose can stop a solution provider in their tracks. So, when my team approached me to help customers and prospects answer the question, “how do I build my tech stack?” My answer was simple: You don’t.
Hear me out.
The process of assembling a complete suite of technology solutions is exceedingly complex. There are countless vendors, products, and services to scrutinize; it would take a team of individuals months to put together a fully vetted offering. In this blog, I’ll share my advice for managed services providers evaluating which direction to take their IT offering.
Factors to consider when choosing a tech stack
To develop your MSP offering, you’ll want to think about what managed IT services are most in demand in your area and which solutions you can offer the most efficiently and cost-effectively. It’s not imperative you offer everything. The right tech stack is the one that answers prevalent customer pain points with the necessary products and services in a manner that’s flexible, scalable, and profitable. If you can’t provide your products and services in a model that’s affordable for your targeted customers and profitable for you, your managed IT business will struggle to ever get off the ground.
Why buy new when preexisting will do?
Let’s say you’re in the market for a new house. Maybe you consider building new – the flexibility and customization appeals to you, but the process seems overwhelming. A prefabricated house may be a compromise, but it will still take a team of professionals months to construct it for you, and that’s assuming you’re able to make all the decisions – flooring, paint colors, cabinet hardware, and more – in a timely manner.
The obvious shortcut would be to look at a few houses that already exist, in neighborhoods you are comfortable with, and simply buy the one you like. Unless, of course, you enjoy spending months going through all those painstaking details and making a lot of consequential decisions you may later regret.
Building a tech stack can be viewed similarly. If you have the time, resources, knowledge, budget, and fortitude, building from scratch may be a solution for you. More realistically, however, choosing from something that already exists and being handed the keys is the more prudent business decision.
Focus on your customers, not the vendors
The best tech stack is the one that will bring in the most customers, provide the needed products and services, and is flexible, scalable and profitable. It may be beneficial to research what other MSPs are offering in your area to determine if there's something missing that could be valuable. It also helps to recognize strengths your potential competitors may have in certain areas, and where you might balance their strengths with a differentiated offering.
If you’ve considered all available options and still decide to proceed building your own tech stack, you must define the scope of your solution before anything else. Who is your target customer and what are their needs? Make sure you’re able to answer the following questions definitively:
- Will you support on-premise computers? A cloud-based infrastructure? Both?
- Windows, Max, Linux – or all the above?
- Will you include the basics, like patch management, AV, and EDR?
- Do you plan to manage your customers’ firewalls? If so, will you keep inventory on-hand? What professional services are you going to offer?
- Will you manage wireless? If so, will you keep inventory on-hand? What professional services are you going to offer?
- Are you providing immutable backup services? Disaster recovery services?
- What other solutions do you assume will be included in your security offering?
Before you can think about potential vendors and the products and services they offer, you must define what solutions your business will provide.
The importance of a standardized tech stack
A standardized tech stack is a key practice of top performing MSPs. It simplifies the MSP offering, solving the inefficiencies and redundant tasks that come with disjointed systems. Standardizing your technology stack is essential for achieving best-in-class profitability for many reasons:
- Productivity: A standardized tech stack will help eliminate redundant tasks and avoid unnecessary costs and inefficiencies within your business model.
- Expertise: If you are selling the same solution to most of your customers, your technical team will naturally become experts in that solution. This leads to an improved customer experience, faster turnaround times, and superior quality of service.
- Profitability: If you master your solution, you will have more efficient processes, leading to a scalable infrastructure for your MSP.
- Scalability: Mastering your solution means being able to grow quickly and efficiently.
Selling one solution that meets the majority of your customers’ needs will lead your MSP on a path to success. Your team will provide excellent service because they are masters of the products and services you offer.
What’s the right tech stack for you?
The considerations shared here shouldn’t be hurried through – they are crucial factors that will provide invaluable clarity as you build your managed service business. Planning a careful strategy from the start – or not – will have a significant impact on the success of your business and the satisfaction of your customers. By weighing these factors and staying up to date with the latest trends and needs of prospective customers, MSPs can make an informed decision and choose the tech stack that will best suit their customers, and, in turn, their managed services business.
Let experts do the heavy lifting
Building a suite of IT products is overwhelming – we know that. But you don’t have to do it alone. You can provide the services your customers need without having to be an expert in every detail of your offering by outsourcing to a master provider.
Collabrance offers a portfolio of IT solutions and white-label end customer support, and is a great resource for MSPs looking to expand their business. If you’re leaving revenue on the table due to lack of technology, expertise, or headcount (or all the above), you can outsource those services to Collabrance.
For a complete list of Collabrance services, visit our website to see where we might be able to enhance your technology stack, and get in touch with our team to discuss how to take your business to the next level.
