Operations | Monitoring | ITSM | DevOps | Cloud

Everybody agrees network documentation is extremely important, but there tends not to be a lot of agreement on what that documentation should include. The short answer is that it should include everything that’s relevant—but what that means varies between networks. For example, in a really small network with one switch and a firewall, and perhaps a single wireless access point, there isn’t much to document. It might be enough to put everything in a single diagram.

Try Googling “Ways to up your sales game” and you’ll find thousands of articles from experts touting claims that their MSP sales process is best—with no shortage of buzzwords to hook you in. But in both selling to, and selling with, MSPs over the years, I’ve found that chasing buzzwords and buying into the latest craze both dilutes and compromises an authentic experience with a prospective customer, and the worst part is the customer can feel it the moment it happens.

According to Veeam’s 2022 Ransomware Trends Report, less than 69% of data stolen during ransomware attacks in 2021 was ever recovered. Ransomware is big business for bad actors. In 2021, the average ransom demand was $247,000, up 45% higher than the previous year. Considering that 76% of the victim organizations surveyed admitted to paying the ransom, it’s likely that the total cost of ransomware to businesses globally was in the billions.

IT assets are a crucial part of any organization, and IT asset lifecycle management of performance and efficacy throughout helps ensure smooth operations. Otherwise, you risk incurring significant costs from downtime, data breaches, and other issues.

When you think of a network, what comes to mind? MySpace, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok… LinkedIn if you’re all business? No, no, no, not what I meant! Not social networks – IT networks. What comes to mind now? Switches? Access points? Firewalls? A score of ethernet cabling? For us too, the network symbolizes all the traditional things that Auvik helps IT teams around the world manage and monitor.

When it comes to security, phishing is one of any IT team’s biggest concerns—as it targets the weakest link in the security chain: end-users. No matter how strong an organization’s technical defenses are, they can all be rendered useless if employees fall for a phishing attempt and hand over sensitive information. According to Cisco’s 2021 Cyber Security Threat Trends report, phishing is the second most prevalent cyber attack after crypto mining.

Welcome to the last mile of the office network! I’m thrilled to extend our warmest welcome to two new additions to the Auvik family—Saaslio and Boardgent. Combining their product feature set and industry expertise with Auvik, will extend our capabilities to provide a unique toolset designed to solve problems for MSPs and internal IT departments—and effectively manage the end-user experience regardless of location and which applications are being used.

A recent Honeywell survey reinforced something many in the MSP world already knew: data centers need managed service providers. 96% of facility managers indicated remote management is important, but only 34% had remote management capabilities in place. That’s surprising in a digital world where data centers enable critical business functions and an epic business opportunity for MSPs looking to enter the data center world.

As you look to optimize your MSP’s growing business, it’s going to become more and more important to maintain an acceptable return on your investment. To do this, you’ll need to find services that increase your gross margin on every client engagement. Virtual CISO services can greatly help in this function. While solutions like Auvik already help MSPs have visibility inside of client networks, we want to take this a step further with the addition of vCISO services.

Quarterly business reviews (QBRs) are one of the best tools you can use when it comes to being transparent and keeping your clients updated on all the work you’re taking care of for them. Otherwise known as technical business reviews, or semi-annual business reviews, QBRs serve as an excellent opportunity to touch base with clients, highlight the value of the services you provide, and create a strategic agenda moving forward.