I spent Wednesday at Zenith Infotech in Pittsburgh. After participating in a Zenith videocast, I sat down with Maurice Saluan, VP of channel management, to get a feel for some of the managed services trends at Zenith. Here are three key takeaways from our discussion.
1. It’s All About Storage: Rather than competing head-on with other managed services platform providers, Zenith is positioning itself as a backup and disaster recovery solution, since MSPs and small businesses understand the value of data protection. The result: Zenith’s partner ranks now top 2,000 companies — up from only a hundred or so two years ago.
2. One Dashboard for All: Zenith already offers tight integration with ConnectWise, the professional services automation tool. Through open APIs (application programming interfaces), it’s safe to assume that Zenith will begin to integrate with a growing number of platforms. The net result, over the long haul, could be a single desktop window (or management dashboard) that allows MSPs to coordinate all of their platforms.
3. Helpdesk Outsourcing: Many small MSPs are outsourcing their helpdesk services to Zenith Infotech’s tech support lines. MSPs pay Zenith for the service, but generate recurring revenue by marking up the service to their customers. Zenith’s helpdesk is taking on more than 3,000 new devices per month.
Posted In: Platforms
Tags: Managed Service Provider | Managed Services | MSP | MSPmentor Editorial Director Joe Panettieri | Top 100 MSPs | Videocast | Webcast | Zenith Infotech
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We are an early adopter of the Zenith products/services, several years ago, and it has really jumpstarted our conversion to an MSP. At every turn, Zenith has shown themselves to be a quality company. They seem to comitted to maintaining a high level of quality despite their rapid growth, and they are aggressive in locating a developing new revenue streams for their partners.
Bruce: Good to hear your thoughts. MSPmentor tries its best to stay vendor-neutral — we can’t pick our favorite platforms because we don’t really test or use them. But we’re pleased when readers share their stories (good and bad) with each other so that MSPs can make more informed partner decisions.
Is Zenith the only platform you use, or are you snapping a few of them together?
We are also using Kaseya — it seems superior for management of desktops, especially with the live remote features. We had N-Able back in the dark ages, too, but we’re not using it anymore. We’re trying to keep neat and clean when it comes to platforms.
I didn’t realize Zenith offered a helpdesk outsourcing, anyone care to comment on how it is working for them? How do you handle escalations for your customers and manage the sla’s? Thanks, Todd
Toddsw: I don’t have all the answers. I do have a few tidbits of info, tho. I believe Zenith helpdesk outsourcing runs 8am to 10pm eastern daily, with a 15 minute service level agreement. After-hours, I believe the 15 minute service level agreement also applies, meaning that Zenith will reply to a customer message within that window. Double-check these metrics, though, because I was on the move when Zenith mentioned them to me and I am quoting from memory rather than written notes.
Bruce-
We are using Kaseya in house and agree with the desktop managment being stronger than other tools we have used preciously. I would be interested in understanding how Zenith’s helpdesk supports that paltform (if at all) on calls to the helpdesk from our desktop user community. Thanks!
Where is Zenith’s call center for helpdesk services?
Cee: I saw the call center in action at the company’s headquarters near Pittsburgh.