These days, the benefits of making the transition to the MSP business model are established. But, for many, it can still mean venturing into uncharted waters. Founded in 1985 and expanded a decade later, managed services and IT solution provider SLPowers helped lead the MSP vanguard, becoming an early business that shifted away from value-added reselling into a hybrid model.

August 10, 2016

3 Min Read
How a Reseller Grew More Profitable by Selling Managed Services

These days, the benefits of making the transition to the MSP business model are established. But, for many, it can still mean venturing into uncharted waters. Founded in 1985 and expanded a decade later, managed services and IT solution provider SLPowers helped lead the MSP vanguard, becoming an early business that shifted away from value-added reselling into a hybrid model.

After SLPowers became an established reseller, more and more clients began to request services. The immediate answer was obvious: Offer break/fix SLAs and enforce them vigorously. While that worked and led to a new revenue stream, clients consistently started asking for a simplified offer. Clients wanted the ability to pay a monthly rate and not have to worry about the complexities–they just wanted their networks to work. SLPowers smelled the opportunity and didn’t hesitate, even though the model didn’t exist when it started offering managed services 15 years ago.

Since then, SLPowers has become very selective about the software solutions it employs. It was that uncompromising attitude that led the company to select Webroot SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection as its preferred cybersecurity product.

Tim Meuter, SLPowers’ Network Operations Center Director, has been impressed with the Webroot online management console, the Global Site Manager, and its integration with the LabTech RMM platform. As he puts it, “When I look at antivirus, I think about the fact that we’ve got 76 different companies under our management, about 2,000 systems … The Webroot console, combined with LabTech, makes management much easier.”

For resellers moving toward the MSP business model, the transition from selling customers their own cybersecurity licenses to the MSP purchasing those licenses itself can present a daunting financial commitment.

Even larger, well-established MSPs like SLPowers share that concern, confirms Meuter, who cites Webroot’s flexible “true up” licensing terms as key to minimizing costs: “For example, we have one client that’s probably got close to 700 endpoints. If they were to ever leave, that’s 700 seats that I’d be stuck paying for. But with Webroot, we could reduce our count by those 700 licenses, so we wouldn’t have to pay for licenses we can’t use. Then, when we find the next client that needs 1,000 agents, it’s just a matter of ramping things up and away we go!”

While adding managed services might seem daunting, it’s a powerful way for resellers to add new revenue streams to the business while transitioning into a hybrid or full MSP model. Keeping costs down on monthly contracts gives MSPs a big advantage today. Webroot SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection offers the kind of management simplicity in a robust service offering that allows an MSP to stay competitive in today’s exploding market.

So, why not take a free 30-day trial of Webroot SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection with the Global Site Manager? See what the lightest, fastest protection on the market can do for you.

Guest blogs such as this one are published monthly and are part of The VAR Guy’s annual platinum sponsorship.

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