Automation has long been the elusive and highly sought after objective for managed services providers (MSPs). Automation is highly sought after because it can radically improve a managed service and elusive due to the fact that to achieve a highly automated environment requires a lot of work. But, the silver lining for MSPs is that automation enabling tools are becoming more and more accessible. Let’s explore.
Automation is not a fixed goal or achievement; it is a constant work in progress. In my opinion, no managed services or cloud solution should be entirely automated. Why? Automation is created by humans and there is always the chance that an automated process can become corrupted. In short, I’m saying that even if you could entirely automate your organization you wouldn’t want to because you periodically have to review and make changes to your environment. To automate your MSP practice is to continually evaluate and improve your processes to become more and more automated while simultaneously keeping a high level of customer satisfaction and shall we say, personalization. After all, nobody wants to feel like they are a cog in an automated process.
So, the point of this blog today is to highlight the fact that cloud solutions are making it easier for MSPs to deliver more highly automated solutions. I hear many MSPs telling me they are writing more and more APIs to connect disparate enabling tools to make them more useful. Take the private cloud segment and you’ll see a group of companies striving for as much automation as possible to make those solutions profitable and appealing to the end-user.
If break/fix was the essence of hands on, non-automated IT services, then cloud is the epitome of automation. I wish more MSPs would adopt automation. To do so will make them more profitable, more scalable, and ultimately, a lot happier.