Many managed services providers (MSPs) offer monitoring and alerting, security, support, and strategy, although there are certainly different levels of service delivery and what you experience as a client. However, there is one service that is a  game-changer: VENDOR LIAISON.

What It Is

Proactive Services

We all like to find treasures. Maybe you’ll stop to pick up a dollar bill, a quarter, or even a penny (heads up, of course). If you’re like me, maybe you’ve even picked up a scratch-off lottery ticket laying on a neighborhood street. Most likely it’s a dud because someone disposed of it, but you check…just in case.

October marks 2019's Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Why is this important? Well, cybersecurity is consistently the top priority and concern for SMBs, and for good reason. SMBs are targets, no matter their size or industry.

No single security method is good enough to ward off every vulnerability, which is why Apogee’s clients have multi-layer  security profiles. With anywhere from 7-12 layers of protection, you’ll have peace of mind knowing you’ve done everything you  can to secure your business.

As I was travelling recently, I was reflecting on a recent conversation I had about moving.

Recently I was talking to Jesse, our Support Center leader in Pittsburgh about his plans to move this weekend and it got me thinking about some recent success that we had.  As we shared lunch he reminded me of all the coordination, transportation, packing, discarding, installing, ordering internet, changing the mailing address, and the list goes on. He is absolutely not looking forward to the move.  His insight reminded me of what our team just faced in their move.

I wanted to highlight some of the great work and extra effort that the new combined Toronto Team and Boston Teams put in this month to move both of their office locations and still drive business success.

As you know moving is a complicated process and takes a lot of extra effort to do it efficiently and not interrupt our process of delivering the "ultimate client experience."

I was very pleased to hear from Daniel, our CTO in Toronto about how the D-Tech team moving in to the Apogee Toronto building went. Daniel pointed to both teams putting a lot of preparation in ahead of time that really contributed to the success. Dori talked about the Boston office moving last year was a good warm up for the move this year. The Boston office moved into one of our client's buildings. This client is excited about our deeper level of engagement.

The best news related to the moves was that in both cases the teams achieved their goal on time, under budget, and nobody got hurt. That is a great achievement and I applaud their efforts.

Our client’s come to us to help them plan their moves and assure success in the process. I feel we are well positioned to help them and with great planning and preparation at the forefront of delivering the “ultimate client experience.”

Do you remember your last move?

Onward and upward

Regards,

Paul Cronin

With business and life itself becoming more mobilized and on-the-go with each passing year, more and more businesses continue to migrate to the cloud.

What’s on your mind?

On the road again and I enjoy sharing my journey and some observations that I made along the way.

I booked my cab ride from the train station to the airport online. The app allows taxi’s to compete with ride share services and also to reduce the need to sit in lines outside places when there are no patrons. New apps create software jobs and the need for always on services.

As I walked through the airport, I noticed video messages regarding warnings about cybersecurity and the threats it poses to everybody. The insight helps prevent security attacks by educating the 25,000+ people who travel through the airport daily.

I stopped by a coffee kiosk with a robot system that made a surprisingly nice cup of coffee. Another new innovation, this machine provides a lot of variety for coffee selections and is connected by wireless so that supply levels can be sent to service staff for stocking and repairs.

The bathrooms have a smile or frown rating system on the wall for clients to rate their experience. If a "frown" is pressed maintenance staff are contacted to check on the cleanliness and replenish supplies.

Touch screen monitors allow you to input where you want to go in the airport and then the screens show you how to get there, reducing the need for information desks.

The airport is a very different place today. It is filled with new technologies (more to come) and many are aimed at creating operational efficiency, growing revenue, and improving the client experience. The same reason all organizations today are investing. 

On my way out of the airport, I stopped to have my shoes shined. People that shine shoes are passionate about the shine they provide and most are great conversationalists. I like to visit booths to check in with the people and support their business even if I don’t really need a shine.

One of the shoe shine booths actually had a smileback survey device on the wall. I asked him why he had the survey on the wall and he replied:

“I never want to have a client go away anything but fully delighted – it is my reputation at risk.” He said “ in my business you only have one chance to SHINE and create a lasting impression that keeps them coming back.”

As I sit in my Lyft ride headed to the office I thought about my trip today. Investments in new technology are all around us and organizations are investing to reduce costs, become more efficient, grow revenue, differentiate themselves from competitors, and improve the client experience.

Almost every new technology created some type of service related job. Our clients come to us as their partner to educate them, assess their needs, implement leading edge technologies and assure that it is always on and that they are maximizing their investment. We are our clients X factor and without us they would have difficulty competing and innovating in this world of hyper change.

What new technologies have you seen that blows you away?

Regards,

Paul Cronin

Telecom services is a major expense for most businesses.

As a managed services provider who delivers a wide variety of services to small and medium-sized businesses, we have some perspectives on IT management regardless of whether you currently use an MSP or have another IT management approach. There should be three components of your IT management: