What buzzwords can get you most annoyed?
Apart from “synergy”, “thinking outside the box”, “vertical”, and other business jargon, there are some more overworked word combination among MSPs and technology consultants, such as “IT orchestration”.
Sounds powerful, right? But what does it actually mean?
In this article, we will define the benefits of IT management (or let’s call it orchestration for the sake of the fashion), reveal the common and most effective tools for its success, demonstrate how ElectroNeek Robotic Process Automation can help MSPs to streamline their managed IT services business and give you an illustrative IT services automation use case from one of our partners.
IT Management: Definition and Benefits
Long story short, from a managed service provider's perspective, IT management implies a set of tools and tactics that boost productivity and accelerate the functioning of the entire IT ecosystem, no matter whether it is an internal or external one.
IT service management: Benefits
If you are an MSP, then your customers may reasonably argue that they do not need a managed service provider to handle the IT infrastructure.
The right counterargument for that statement could be: “Well, you can manage your IT infrastructure by yourselves when it comes to the high-level administrative functions but, in case of a more holistic approach and to achieve solid business results, addressing a managed IT service provider will be the best decision for any growing business.”
Let’s figure out the key benefits of managed IT services:
#1 Process standardization
As IT processes directly affect business continuity, security aspects, operational resilience, and adaptability to internal and external changes, it would be fair to say that non-standardized processes cause inconsistency and chaos within the whole company. One of the core functions of managed IT services is to set standards for keeping processes in line with the business goals and objectives.
2# Acceleration of routine tasks
Such basic tasks as password and credential management, ticket management, and system updates may seem simple and hassle-free activities; however, when such tasks are repeated a hundred times a day, they may take up hours of productive time. Imagine how much value managed IT services can bring to the IT teams by automating all these basic tasks.
3# Consolidation and accuracy of data
Taking control of your data means obtaining insightful information about your business due to the access to structured and accurate data that can be properly analyzed and adjusted to the business needs. Data management is another aspect that, once trusted to a managed service provider, can become a strong business point.
Managed IT Services: 3 Essential Tools
There are various types of tools that can be used by managed service providers to manage IT. Below, we will consider the most common ones that we believe are essential for managed IT services.
#1 Remote monitoring and management tools
RMM allows MSPs tools to execute usual tasks, such as customer network management and computer monitoring, remotely and proactively.
Among the common tasks RMM handles are:
- Client network check-ups: collecting data about client machine state, creating and submitting reports to customers about the systems or networks
- Client systems’ updates and maintenance
- Issue management through alerts and tickets
- Patch administration
- Software installation and updates
- Remote task management
#2 Professional service automation
PSA is a software solution that assists in managing daily IT operations, usually of a repetitive and mundane nature.
It may include automation of tasks either on the client or the MSP end, or both, i.e.:
- Helpdesk and ticket management automation
- IT onboarding and offboarding
- Automated testing and bug detection
- Task tracking
- Creation of automatic reports
- Customer relationship management
- Automated billing
- Task completion management
#3 Patch management automation
PMA is an essential tool that can assist you in keeping the systems up to date by ensuring that patches are properly and promptly applied once they are available.
The key tasks within automated patch management are:
- Task planning for servers
- Detection driver updates
- Escalation of driver updates
- Trigger management for automated tasks
Managed IT Services: How ElectroNeek Can Help
The tools given above testify to the fact that managed IT services cannot do without automation since each of those tools implies streamlining operations with the use of automated solutions.
ElectroNeek is a trusted and award-winning Robotic Process Automation company for managed IT service providers. There are multiple ElectroNeek products from ElectroNeek Studio Pro IDE with which you can develop multiple bots for automating simple to complex IT tasks, such as ElectroNeek SaaS Orchestrator, a single control room for all your automated activities within multiple client accounts, and an easy-to-use Bot Runner, which you can upload and used to deploy the bots built in Studio Pro anytime, anywhere in the world.
All these tools are made with the main mission in mind to make managed IT services provision smooth and hassle-free.
Example Use Case: Automated Managed IT Onboarding Services for a Large Manufacturing Firm
Below, we provide you with one simple use case that stands as a vivid illustration of how automation can help in IT operations.
Challenge:
Setting up workstations and executing of the software and OS installations for new employees took 1 to 3 hours for a large manufacturing company.
Solution:
A managed service provider came up with a solution for automating the IT onboarding process by using the ElectroNeek integrated development environment called ElectroNeek Studio Pro.
ElectroNeek bot:
- Gathered the list of relevant software, operating systems, and drivers
- Automated the email service management process
- Automated corporate accounts setting up
- Executed workstation configuration management
Results
The solution enabled the customer to reduce bottlenecks in the company onboarding process by reducing the cost of it by more than 50%.
To Sum Up
There is no denying that you cannot automate everything. And, truth be told, you shouldn’t since the main goal of automation is to free up your or your client teams’ time for the cool analytical (and human!) work, such as cybersecurity measures, system consistency, and operational improvements.
Implementing these 3 tools in your daily operational routine is key to enhanced customer satisfaction, strengthened client relationships, and exponential business growth for you and your customers.
Don’t know where to start? Book a demo to see how ElectroNeek can help you automate your managed services for IT.