As technology advances, the needs of organizations change as well. Technology Partners play an essential role in this evolution by providing services to help companies grow.

Because of this, MSPs can no longer limit themselves to "keeping the lights on" - they must evolve and grow alongside their clients, and they must offer services that help companies grow and stay secure in an ever-changing world.

As you consider the future of your business, it is critical to identify potential hurdles and plan accordingly. This blog post will identify five mistakes to avoid if you want to succeed in 2023 and beyond.

1. Not Providing Effective Cybersecurity Education and Services

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Cybersecurity is a rapidly advancing sector, but one thing remains clear—the best way to defend against cyberattacks is by investing in security education. The human element remains the most significant cause of organizational breaches, and addressing that challenge must be paramount to any successful strategy.

The concept of layered security, using a combination of multiple security products designed to address different threat vectors, will continue to be a growing trend for the foreseeable future. The ideal security stack should encompass education, prevention, and remediation tools.

Partners who fail to offer layered cybersecurity services will struggle to keep up with their competitors, especially as new threats emerge. Maintaining a strong cybersecurity practice is essential for MSPs to serve their clients in 2023 and beyond.

2. Not Knowing How to Delegate or Subcontract

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To be competitive, Partners need to deliver the comprehensive IT services that their clients want. Today's customers have higher expectations than ever before - they expect you to understand their business and offer them the best technological solutions for their needs.

This means learning to leverage internal staff members AND subcontractors. Most MSPs tend to be generalists and try to do everything themselves instead of focusing on their strengths and finding others who specialize in areas like security or cloud engineering to augment their service offerings.

Unfortunately this approach never pays off. This "I can do everything" mindset keeps technology providers from growing quickly - limiting their services and eating up time that could be spent further developing client relationships.

3. Not Embracing Automation

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Automation is the key to success in any business, but it’s critical for Partners. Without client management tools and a sales automation system, many service providers cannot keep up with growing client demands. Implementing automated solutions can help providers meet these challenges while freeing employees to work on more advanced projects.

Quoting, ordering, and billing reconciliation are just a few of the ways Zomentum’s Revenue Platform helps you streamline your business processes. These processes regularly consume so much time that MSPs often put them off; as a result, they lose revenue that would otherwise go straight to the bottom line.
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4. Not Collaborating with Other Organizations

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Collaboration with peers has always been one of the keys to success, and this is especially true in an era where cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and frequent. IT professionals must look for opportunities to share knowledge and resources to serve their clients better.

There are several online communities to share information and discuss common problems, such as "r/msp" on Reddit, "MSP Geek" on Slack, "The IT Business Owners Group" on Facebook, and paid membership communities such as ASCII Link or Tech Tribe.

Whichever platform you prefer, find and embrace a tribe that can better your business.

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5. Not Investing in Staff Training and Development

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Technology Partners are only as good as their team members and the processes they have in place. To be successful in 2022, Partners must invest in their people..

As the industry continues to experience rapid growth, the need for new talent with niche skill sets will increase. More and more, companies will look to find this new talent by poaching from their competitors. The Great Resignation further compounds this staffing threat.

This means your organization needs to be ready for possible employee turnover by continually training new staff members. Providing ongoing training and development opportunities will help ensure the quality of work produced by your staff does not suffer from the loss of any single employee.

In Conclusion

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Challenges abound for Technology Partners. Changes in the way service providers need to do business seem to keep coming at a faster and faster rate. MSPs must again evolve or face the prospect of fading into obscurity.

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They need to,

• Invest in staff training and development,
• Use appropriate process automation technology,
• Work with other organizations to share resources and knowledge,
• Make investments to help them grow their services.

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Take the time now to think about these hurdles and get a plan together for a successful 2022!