MSPs: Moving Small Businesses to the Cloud

By Michael Brown 1

Many MSPs work to target larger companies or major public sector groups such as local or state governments. But you may be missing out on a potentially lucrative faction. Small businesses are an important market for MSPs looking to provide cloud services such as cloud-based file sharing. Most small businesses don’t have the room for large internal IT support needed to use other computer applications. Cloud services provide them with an easy-to-use platform that can be used to satisfy just about any IT need a small business would have.

As an MSP it’s easy to understand why a small business would benefit from cloud services, unfortunately it’s not as clear to the small businesses why the cloud is good for them. Here are a few points you should address when selling your cloud services to small businesses:

Fill Their Knowledge Gap

Small businesses may be more hesitant to adopt cloud services simply because they don’t understand what the cloud is or how it works. They often won’t have the high level of IT expertise that larger companies have mainly due to the sheer size of the company. As an MSP it is important that you’re patient with the client and will answer any question they have concerning the ins and outs of cloud computing. Once they understand what it is, you’ll have to get them to comprehend the benefit it’ll provide them.

Address Concerns

Not unlike most other companies, small businesses will be concerned about security, data loss, availability of support, and the overall capability of the cloud services. When it comes to security, it is important to emphasize that no data storage method is 100 percent safe, but that the cloud has had significantly less security breaches than most in-house systems. Also as a small-business, they are much less prone to cyber-security attacks than major corporations like Apple, and therefore will likely experience much less technical threats. Another concern shared by small businesses is a loss of data when shifting to the cloud. To alleviate any stress on this matter, make sure to go over exactly what the client is looking to move, and let them know if any data is at risk of being lost as well as what can be done to restore that data.

Define Your Scope of Services

The last concerns to address are with the abilities of you, the MSP, and your service. If you decide to take on small businesses as your clients be aware that since their IT departments are small or non-existent, they’ll count on you to be available in case of any issues. Be upfront with client on how problems will be addressed and the extent to which you’ll be able to help them. The other concern is with the performance of cloud services. A good way to demonstrate that your services are worth their business is to start small. Have them move a few applications to the cloud to start, so they feel comfortable, don’t be afraid to take some baby steps.

The most important way to earn a business’s trust is to be upfront with them. If they’re business grows, be sure to that you can scale up to meet the business’s needs. They’ll most likely evaluate many options before deciding on any one service. If you’re honest with them and demonstrate all the value you’ll provide them, you should be all set to take over the small business market.