Wednesday 4^th August: N-able partner Dufeu IT Solutions has automated many routine tasks for its clients, including Windows^® updates, password resets, and email archiving—simple processes that are necessary in helping clients stay secure and avoid downtime. Dufeu estimates that they’re saving at least 30 minutes per day per staff member. This means they’re saving at least 131 hours a year - equivalent to one full-time staff member. Dufeu has revealed just how effective automation can be for MSPs; by applying automation to its simplest support tickets, they report that they have added the equivalent of one full-time member of staff—that does not take weekends or holidays—to their current headcount of 26.

The automation is made possible by N-able^™ N-central^® automation manager. Sophisticated tasks can be created through a drag-and-drop editor, meaning there is no need to learn a new scripting language. Over 100 common tasks are ready to go out of the box, and more than 600 elements are available when building tasks, giving MSPs a great deal of control over what they can automate.

“It’s true that the small wins add up,” said Callum Baker, technical director, Dufeu. “All we are doing at Dufeu is automating simple tasks, but it’s making a big difference. Not only are we saving time, but our staff can focus on the more difficult jobs that require their attention, and our customers get the benefit of that ability to focus.”

Dufeu has used this extra time to increase contact with its clients and improve its training programme. “Our business was founded on customer service,” adds Callum. “But your customers don’t care about face-to-face contact for small rote tasks. However, they do like to know that a real person is working on the more difficult problems—and we now have extra time that makes this possible.

“We can also give our less experienced staff the opportunity to learn new skills on the job. This extra capacity, even though it’s the equivalent of just one person, gives us a great deal of control over our growth and development.”

“I’ve been evangelizing about automation for over a decade and we are seeing more and more MSPs leveraging it to save time and increase the quality and reliability of their services,” said Marc-Andre Tanguay, Head Automation Nerd, N-able. “Adopting this approach helps keeps their staff happy by allowing them to learn more complex skills, instead of hitting the same button day in, day out.”