Tell us a little about your MSP…
Southern Data Solutions, located in Atlanta, Georgia, was founded in 2005 with the purpose of providing excellent customer service. With a stellar team dedicated to the success of that vision, we have grown our business and looking to expand. Our services and products are now solidified and moving forward is much easier with special thanks to The 20. I have a saying that, “No one drives a Ferrari, until we can all drive a Ferrari,” meaning that the company’s success will be shared among all of the people that contribute to the success of Southern Data Solutions.
How long have you been a member of The 20?
Southern Data Solutions became a partner to The 20 in February of 2017.
Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?
Southern Data Solutions was coming out of a failed relationship with Continuum and was seeking out a new partnership for help desk and NOC services. We continue to be pleasantly surprised by the entire offering from The 20 and signing up was a no brainer.
Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.
The 20 partnership has helped Southern Data Solutions align our business so that we can focus on bigger-picture growth. Simplified, it means that The 20 staff take care of our existing client’s support needs while we can focus on the relationships of existing and new.
What do you like most about being a member of The 20?
Being around Tim Conkle… LOL! Seriously, it is a breath of fresh air knowing that new products and partnerships are being brought to the group — and the information sharing is the best!
What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?
I have always been a driven person and the key to success is finding ways to gain back as much of our most precious and valuable asset — TIME! Being proactive with our clients — and having good clients — allows the men and women I work alongside of to be able to spend more quality time with their family and friends.
What are your biggest business challenges?
Our challenges have consisted of bringing in new business on a consistent basis, as well as keeping the clients utilizing our established processes instead of latching on to one person in our organization. Engaging Google AdWords has significantly increased our inbound leads. As for keeping the client on track with our processes (calling the help desk and not the last engineer who helped them), we continually stand united in delivering the message of calling the help desk is faster than putting you, the client, in the queue of one person who has other tasks and tickets ahead of you.
What are your areas of focus for 2019?
Southern Data Solutions is focused on growth through new business, which will either be through new sales hires and/or acquisition.
What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?
Select a focus or goal and stick with it. Manage your time wisely and make sure your team is doing the same! Communication is key with both your employees and clients. Show appreciation to both your employees and clients. In this day and age you can find new clients, but a good employee is hard to find or replace, so always have their back!
What book are you currently reading?
I read the Bible daily and that is all I need.
Favorite blogs / podcasts
The YouVersion Bible app has great reading!
You don’t think it can happen to you until it does.
The 20’s clients can be up and running the day after a disaster.
One of our MSP partners, We Are Service, saved the day for Ryan O’Neal Autos, under incredibly unfortunate circumstances. After suffering a devastating fire, they had the client back in business with phones and computers hooked up; with all of their critical data restored, the following morning. They lost hours of business, not days, weeks, or months!
Here’s the full story, from the dealership:
On Thursday night, March 23, 2017, our dealership had a devastating fire that began around 9:30 pm. The prompt response of our brave firefighters was crucial, but equally important were the critical actions taken by our IT service provider, We Are Service.
While the building was still burning, I called We Are Service and James Taylor came to the scene at once. James entered the building once it was safe, and with the fire department’s permission. James ‘rescued’ our server first, and then several other computers. Moving quickly, we were fortunate to be able to secure a temporary location to set up business next door in the unused space of an auto detail business.
James and the We Are Service team worked through the night restoring our data to a temporary server, setting up telephone service, and reconfiguring some loaner computers to operate at the new location before our business even opened that Friday, March 24th. With some equipment and furniture loaned to us by Amarillo National Bank, and with We Are Service’s continuing efforts, our business never was closed. In spite of the fire and total loss that was reported widely in our local media, we experienced zero down time. It’s nothing short of a miracle that with the We Are Service team’s monumental efforts and exceptional customer service, our business was up and running the following morning and we were selling cars uninterrupted!
Of course, when we constructed our new building last year, James and his team came out and got everything wired and set back up for business. With 24/7/365 help through The 20, We Are Service is our managed IT department. Taking their advice on the new location, we continue to save money to this day with our new VoIP phone system they recommended and installed.
James and We Are Service were strongly recommended by one of our clients several years ago and holy smokes we are so fortunate that we took that advice!
Enjoy the video testimonial from Ryan O’Neal Autos’ Sales Manager, Michael Conrad, below:
5 Reasons Why Your Company Should Outsource IT Support
Companies commonly outsource its accounting and bookkeeping duties, customer service, and HR management… so why should technical support be any different?
It shouldn’t.
Outsourcing provides a lot of benefits, especially to small businesses with limited resources. Plus, good IT support teams are especially hard for companies to build and maintain.
Here are 5 reasons as to why outsourcing is a good business move:
1. Reduces Costs
Reducing labor and equipment costs is one of the major reasons why companies outsource IT support. Employing a company to do the work for you is cheaper than hiring a whole IT staff. The employees’ initial training to get them onboarded, plus the regular training to ensure their knowledge is up-to-date, add to the cost as well.
Buying all the equipment you need for a functional IT department and maintaining the system also costs a lot of money. Removing these factors and paying a fixed cost contract will help you manage your annual operating costs more easily.
And If your operating cost is high, you will likely pass it on to customers by raising your product prices. This makes you lose your competitive edge.
2. Provides Support 24/7
If your business is one that needs to be open to customer calls 24 hours a day, that’s one of the reasons to outsource IT support. Instead of getting another IT staff, which will only cost you more, solely for answering calls outside of your normal working hours, outsourcing to a company will guarantee that someone is always available to help your customers.
A 24/7 team will also allow you to recognize flaws and bugs even before they affect your infrastructure and business.
3. Adjusts According to Demand
When the demand suddenly increases, and more calls start coming in, what do you do if you have a permanent staff?
Hiring temporary employees poses a lot of issues. You don’t know when the demand decreases, which will force you to terminate them immediately. You’re also not sure of the technical skills and personality if you’re in a rush to get someone onboarded.
Meanwhile, an IT company can easily scale up or down depending on your needs because of their access to vast resources.
4. Gives Access to Cutting-Edge Technologies and Industry Experts
Security of your data and your customers’ data is paramount. That’s why Facebook is in a lot of heat nowadays — its platform is vulnerable to third-party entities mishandling the users’ data. Even large companies are susceptible to attacks, with hackers successfully gaining access to JP Morgan’s 76 million households plus 7 million small businesses in 2014.
To keep your data safe and secure, however, you must have the newest technologies and the knowledge of industry experts. You and your staff must be up-to-date with the industry standards, which might be hard to do if you’re a small-time player.
Outsourcing solves this problem. It’s their job to get cutting-edge technologies and train their employees regularly so you don’t have to do it. Getting access to these will also ensure that your systems are working smoothly.
5. Allows You to Focus on Your Business
When you no longer have to worry about the security and integrity of your system, it allows you to focus on what you need to do in order to grow your business. Your employees, without network interruptions and possibly the added IT responsibilities, will also be able to perform with their best for the company.
You can focus on improving your products and services while the outsourced IT team deals with the technical issues so you and your staff can keep on working without worry.
