Comments on: The Pros and Cons of MSP Certification http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/ Managed Services & Cloud Services Blog for VARs & MSPs Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:46:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: toddsw http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/comment-page-1/#comment-21121 toddsw Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:51:53 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/#comment-21121 Thanks Lane, I get what you are saying, I guess my thoughts on this are conflicted. On the one hand, getting the MSP cert is on the roadmap for us, on the other, I'm not sure, short term, that the customer will grasp the nuance between a "certified" and "non certified" shop. I've always felt there should be an accepted standard for IT, sort of like accountants and their gaap. Perhaps this MSP cert is one of many disciplines within that idea. I guess the current weakness with regards to the value of the MSP certification is the lack of knowledge outside of our industry (our customers), although this is one way to address that. Thanks again, Todd Thanks Lane, I get what you are saying, I guess my thoughts on this are conflicted. On the one hand, getting the MSP cert is on the roadmap for us, on the other, I’m not sure, short term, that the customer will grasp the nuance between a “certified” and “non certified” shop. I’ve always felt there should be an accepted standard for IT, sort of like accountants and their gaap. Perhaps this MSP cert is one of many disciplines within that idea. I guess the current weakness with regards to the value of the MSP certification is the lack of knowledge outside of our industry (our customers), although this is one way to address that. Thanks again, Todd

]]> By: Lane Smith http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/comment-page-1/#comment-21023 Lane Smith Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:36:56 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/#comment-21023 Todd, thanks for posting your comments I had missed this blog when it was originally published. I actually just wrote a blog post on another site, about why I think that accreditation is so important. Here are my comments: There are many reasons this accreditation is important, but probably the most important reason is that it protects the integrity of the managed services profession. There is such fast growth in our industry and so many companies proclaiming to be a MSP. But in reality how many of these companies know exactly what it means to be a MSP? That is exactly what this exam focuses on. Setting the standards for how MSPs run their business. I can tell you personally, we have been an MSP for nine years, and we have run up against competitors that claim to have similar services to us. There are lots of companies out there that have a website that looks like they are an MSP, they are touting that they are an MSP, but they are just not really an MSP. They advertise that they have a help desk, remote support, 24/7 monitoring, etc., but when you call into their help desk, you get the receptionist and he/she pages a technician. This is obviously not how a MSP operates. When a customer is unhappy with their service, what do you think they will take away from the experience? I would wager to say that they might think that all MSPs operate this way and then decide to run everything in house. Everyone loves it when the competition does a poor job and the customer calls you to fix the problem. However, that won’t be the case if their opinion of our profession is that we do not operate as advertised. So how can the accreditation program help with this? Once again I will stress by setting the standards for how MSPs run their business. Once we start growing the numbers of Accredited MSPs we will be able to grow customer awareness too. I know that everyone has been asked what your certifications are. Usually stating Microsoft or Cisco is sufficient for the customer when talking about a project, but these certifications won’t cut it when talking about Managed Services. If we can raise awareness enough to change this question to “What managed services specific certifications do you have?” then we will have achieved some standardization in our industry. Is standardization the only reason for the program? No, but I will leave that conversation for another day Todd, thanks for posting your comments I had missed this blog when it was originally published. I actually just wrote a blog post on another site, about why I think that accreditation is so important. Here are my comments:

There are many reasons this accreditation is important, but probably the most important reason is that it protects the integrity of the managed services profession. There is such fast growth in our industry and so many companies proclaiming to be a MSP. But in reality how many of these companies know exactly what it means to be a MSP? That is exactly what this exam focuses on. Setting the standards for how MSPs run their business.

I can tell you personally, we have been an MSP for nine years, and we have run up against competitors that claim to have similar services to us. There are lots of companies out there that have a website that looks like they are an MSP, they are touting that they are an MSP, but they are just not really an MSP. They advertise that they have a help desk, remote support, 24/7 monitoring, etc., but when you call into their help desk, you get the receptionist and he/she pages a technician. This is obviously not how a MSP operates.

When a customer is unhappy with their service, what do you think they will take away from the experience? I would wager to say that they might think that all MSPs operate this way and then decide to run everything in house. Everyone loves it when the competition does a poor job and the customer calls you to fix the problem. However, that won’t be the case if their opinion of our profession is that we do not operate as advertised.

So how can the accreditation program help with this? Once again I will stress by setting the standards for how MSPs run their business. Once we start growing the numbers of Accredited MSPs we will be able to grow customer awareness too. I know that everyone has been asked what your certifications are. Usually stating Microsoft or Cisco is sufficient for the customer when talking about a project, but these certifications won’t cut it when talking about Managed Services. If we can raise awareness enough to change this question to “What managed services specific certifications do you have?” then we will have achieved some standardization in our industry.

Is standardization the only reason for the program? No, but I will leave that conversation for another day

]]> By: Todd http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/comment-page-1/#comment-20909 Todd Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:16:28 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/#comment-20909 Like SJK stated, I'm not so convinced that today there is much need for an MSP to have that MSP certification. We've never once been asked for about our MSP certification, or lack of. I will however probably get this on our roadmap, because once the marketplace becomes more savvy to what we do, they'll want a simple differentiator. THen you get into the whole question of whether it is a rubber stamp (mcse) or a business process verification). Also, once the MSP space is more familiar to the masses, an industry certification will be more useful for certain. Inc. Magazine has a couple of articles regarding MSP's that can only help publicize what we all offer as a service. Heck, we've been in business as an MSP since 2000, longer than anyone I've come across except ConnectWise. It wasn't until we stumbled (literally) into the MSP Alliance (in 2003 or 2004 I think) that we knew what this industry was called. That is the problem with being the tip of the spear, you have to invent your industry, which I see a lot of MSP's have done better at (EverOn, kudos) than we have. I don't know if we are one of Charles' 5%ers, but we've been profitable longer than most MSP's have been in business. Side note: The certs that our customers and prospect are interested in are SAS70, ITIL (Process improvement), Microsoft and Security certifications, and any business specific application expertise we may have that is relevant to their type of business. Like SJK stated, I’m not so convinced that today there is much need for an MSP to have that MSP certification. We’ve never once been asked for about our MSP certification, or lack of. I will however probably get this on our roadmap, because once the marketplace becomes more savvy to what we do, they’ll want a simple differentiator. THen you get into the whole question of whether it is a rubber stamp (mcse) or a business process verification). Also, once the MSP space is more familiar to the masses, an industry certification will be more useful for certain. Inc. Magazine has a couple of articles regarding MSP’s that can only help publicize what we all offer as a service. Heck, we’ve been in business as an MSP since 2000, longer than anyone I’ve come across except ConnectWise. It wasn’t until we stumbled (literally) into the MSP Alliance (in 2003 or 2004 I think) that we knew what this industry was called. That is the problem with being the tip of the spear, you have to invent your industry, which I see a lot of MSP’s have done better at (EverOn, kudos) than we have. I don’t know if we are one of Charles’ 5%ers, but we’ve been profitable longer than most MSP’s have been in business.

Side note: The certs that our customers and prospect are interested in are SAS70, ITIL (Process improvement), Microsoft and Security certifications, and any business specific application expertise we may have that is relevant to their type of business.

]]> By: » Do certifications help managed service providers make more sales? smbITpros.com : a resource for managed service providers and other small business IT professionals http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/comment-page-1/#comment-4800 » Do certifications help managed service providers make more sales? smbITpros.com : a resource for managed service providers and other small business IT professionals Wed, 02 Apr 2008 05:24:42 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/#comment-4800 [...] What really matters to clients when evaluating an MSP? Posted By: Mike  Published in Marketing, Sales Tags: contracts, it, MSP, MSPMentor, MSPs, SaaS, Sales 2Apr Welcome to SMBITPros - make sure to sign up for our RSS feed!I’ve been a part of a conversation about the importance (or lack of importance) of certifications in the MSP industry. See the posts at MSPMentor here. [...] [...] What really matters to clients when evaluating an MSP? Posted By: Mike  Published in Marketing, Sales Tags: contracts, it, MSP, MSPMentor, MSPs, SaaS, Sales 2Apr Welcome to SMBITPros – make sure to sign up for our RSS feed!I’ve been a part of a conversation about the importance (or lack of importance) of certifications in the MSP industry. See the posts at MSPMentor here. [...]

]]> By: Mike Cooch http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/comment-page-1/#comment-4794 Mike Cooch Wed, 02 Apr 2008 04:14:06 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/#comment-4794 Prospects are much more focused on the services we can deliver, the expertise of the people we have on staff, and that we work with clients that have similar needs, challenges, etc. I think contract specifics are also very important when evaluating our services - too many service providers are too aggressive with their contracts. I think that certifications have their place, but I don't think that a general managed services certification or a certification from a platform provider is going to make any difference. Being certified in a particular product or vendor that the client really prefers or relies on may make a difference. Mike www.smbitpros.com www.everonit.com Prospects are much more focused on the services we can deliver, the expertise of the people we have on staff, and that we work with clients that have similar needs, challenges, etc. I think contract specifics are also very important when evaluating our services – too many service providers are too aggressive with their contracts.

I think that certifications have their place, but I don’t think that a general managed services certification or a certification from a platform provider is going to make any difference. Being certified in a particular product or vendor that the client really prefers or relies on may make a difference.

Mike
http://www.smbitpros.com
http://www.everonit.com

]]> By: Joe Panettieri http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/comment-page-1/#comment-4766 Joe Panettieri Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:41:47 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/#comment-4766 Mike: Thanks for your thoughts. So, if customers aren't asking you about certification, what types of questions are they asking you? Mike: Thanks for your thoughts. So, if customers aren’t asking you about certification, what types of questions are they asking you?

]]> By: Mike Cooch http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/comment-page-1/#comment-4736 Mike Cooch Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:44:35 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/#comment-4736 I'll be shocked if Everon ever loses a deal because we aren't a certified MSP, but I'll be the first to report it if we do! Mike Cooch www.smbitpros.com www.everonit.com I’ll be shocked if Everon ever loses a deal because we aren’t a certified MSP, but I’ll be the first to report it if we do!

Mike Cooch
http://www.smbitpros.com
http://www.everonit.com

]]> By: Joe Panettieri http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/comment-page-1/#comment-4719 Joe Panettieri Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:56:14 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/#comment-4719 Kevin: Congrats on being a "young" entrepreneur. You're right about having a clear value proposition, etc. MSPs need to communicate their worth to customers, as you point out. However, some customers from time to time do look for a "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" -- something that indicates a third-party has given you a thumbs up. But even without that third-party seal, I do think there's plenty of room for start-ups to compete successfully in the managed services space. And as your business grows, customer references -- and perhaps, your own customer satisfaction surveys? -- will become that seal of approval. Kevin: Congrats on being a “young” entrepreneur. You’re right about having a clear value proposition, etc. MSPs need to communicate their worth to customers, as you point out.

However, some customers from time to time do look for a “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” — something that indicates a third-party has given you a thumbs up.

But even without that third-party seal, I do think there’s plenty of room for start-ups to compete successfully in the managed services space. And as your business grows, customer references — and perhaps, your own customer satisfaction surveys? — will become that seal of approval.

]]> By: Kevin Michael http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/comment-page-1/#comment-4700 Kevin Michael Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:58:00 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/#comment-4700 Joe, As a young (under 25) entrepreneur that is heavily interested in joining the industry, I completely agree with your point. It is true that the industry does need some measure to highlight it's true performers, but for a startup the accreditation process and the certifications can be quite daunting. I think the fact that many MSPs think they need a badge of honor also masks an underlying problem, lack of marketing/sales amongst MSPs. I think a company should be able to rely upon a clear value proposition, a promise of extraordinary service and a great reputation. Joe,

As a young (under 25) entrepreneur that is heavily interested in joining the industry, I completely agree with your point. It is true that the industry does need some measure to highlight it’s true performers, but for a startup the accreditation process and the certifications can be quite daunting. I think the fact that many MSPs think they need a badge of honor also masks an underlying problem, lack of marketing/sales amongst MSPs. I think a company should be able to rely upon a clear value proposition, a promise of extraordinary service and a great reputation.

]]> By: Joe Panettieri http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/comment-page-1/#comment-4690 Joe Panettieri Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:46:05 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/03/30/is-certification-worth-the-price/#comment-4690 SJK, Charles W: Thanks for weighing in. One other thing to consider, which I didn't mention in the original post, is co-marketing dollars that can come from being a certified partner with some companies. Very helpful for some VARs. But there is also a clear difference between vendor certifications and industry/association certifications/accreditations. Lots of people use CompTIA's A+ or Network+ (etc.) to get started in tech support. And other types of certifications do help you stand out from the crowd. But to Charles W's point, can anyone share some ROI stories with us? What has been the payoff of your certifications or accreditations? Real-world examples would be helpful for our readers. SJK, Charles W: Thanks for weighing in. One other thing to consider, which I didn’t mention in the original post, is co-marketing dollars that can come from being a certified partner with some companies. Very helpful for some VARs.

But there is also a clear difference between vendor certifications and industry/association certifications/accreditations. Lots of people use CompTIA’s A+ or Network+ (etc.) to get started in tech support. And other types of certifications do help you stand out from the crowd.

But to Charles W’s point, can anyone share some ROI stories with us? What has been the payoff of your certifications or accreditations? Real-world examples would be helpful for our readers.

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