Nehring Technology: Breaking Into Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Nehring Technology, based in Stephenville, Texas, has been providing business technology solutions since 2006 and became a managed service provider in 2010. The company’s mission is focused on enhancing and improving business technology through proactive maintenance and support. This is part one of a six-part series investigating how MSPs can successfully integrate mobile device management into their service offerings.
Ask any managed service provider (MSP) how to get clients to understand the need for mobile device management (MDM) and they’ll probably tell you – it’s definitely a challenge. Justin Nehring (pictured), president of Nehring Technology, knows this all too well.
Getting Started
Nehring Technology started out as a break/fix provider in 2006, but after four years, changed course and shifted into managed services. Now, with 60 clients and more than 500 endpoints managed, the five-person team provides managed services to clients in several verticals, including healthcare, legal, financial, insurance, non-profit and the auto industry.
Nehring Technology partnered with LabTech Software in 2011 after having issues with their previous remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool. According to Nehring, LabTech remote monitoring and management was exactly what they needed to remain in business. “When we found LabTech, it was like night and day,” said Nehring. “All the things we had envisioned came together. We could write scripts to do automation … and they would work. When we switched to LabTech, things just worked.”
Success with LabTech
Nehring soon found that LabTech provided much more than great RMM. It also provided an increase in their bottom line. “We have seen an increase this year in our profitability. Our margins are at the point that we had hoped to get them to,” he said. He also found that LabTech was priced right for his business model. Nehring added, “Everything is very price oriented. We have to be really careful with our expenses. With LabTech, the price was right, and the features and performance of the product have been great and have enabled us to really grow.”
The Introduction of MDM
Once Nehring Technology had the chance to see what LabTech could do for them, they were ready to add additional solutions to their service offering. Nehring Technology looked closely at MDM, as they noticed an upswing in the use of the PC Plus model. Employees started taking iPads and tablets on business trips – leaving their laptops behind. One of their clients who is a medical provider wanted to utilize tablets throughout the day, and Nehring knew that laptops wouldn’t provide efficient battery power to last all day.
With the influx of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and client-provided mobile devices, Nehring recognized that offering MDM went from a luxury to a necessity – it’s a critical component in keeping data secure and confidential if a device is lost or stolen. The real challenge was convincing clients that every time they let a device go unsecured, they are putting their entire business at risk.
In order to penetrate their client base, Nehring Technology recently decided to offer MDM to a few clients to test the service; their feedback would help determine how the solution would be positioned to sell to a larger subset of clients. So far, Nehring thinks it is going well. “For the most part, (MDM) has been transparent. They don’t see it getting in their way.”
Next time: How Nehring Technology positions and sells MDM to clients. What’s worked and what hasn’t?
Guest Blogs such as this one from LabTech Software are part of MSPmentor’s dedicated InfoCenter sponsorship program. Check the MSPmentor MDM InfoCenter for complete MDM industry coverage.
