Category: Q&A

Q&A with Xcel Office Solutions – How to Choose a Managed IT Service Provider?

Posted on by Jaime Hall

Jason Robison:

Hey guys, and welcome to our Q & A Series where we answer some of the most common questions we hear in office technology! The last time we got together, we talked about MSPs: what it is and really, who is it for. This time, we’re going to evaluate how to pick the right MSP for your business. Like we did last time, Jaime Hall is here with us and she’s going to help us answer this question. So Jaaime, what is the very first thing a business should look at when considering who to hire as an MSP?

Jaime Hall:

So, the very first thing that you need to consider is what is the service coverage area of that MSP and you need to verify that your business is located within it. Keep in mind that most issues can be solved remotely, however, there are going to be times that require an onsite technician. So, keeping that in mind, how far are you from that MSP? It’s going to affect the response times. And also, you might want to clarify if those visits are included in your agreement or if those are charged for an additional fee.

Jason Robison:

That’s a great point.

Jaime Hall:

Availability is the second thing. There are some MSPs that offer around-the-clock support, not completely necessary for all businesses. Other MSPs offer support only during business hours with an option to add emergency support that might include nights or weekends, holidays, even. It’s just important that you consider your own specific needs, make sure they align with what that MSP offers.

Jason Robison:

That’s good. Those are really great points. What are some of the must-haves? I know a lot of MSPs have different products or services and all that stuff, but what are some of the must-haves when considering an MSP?

Jaime Hall:

Let’s talk about 2021, especially in light of last year. One of the top priorities for business owners, this year especially, is cybersecurity.

Jason Robison:

Yeah, with COVID, I mean, cybersecurity took off.  It has become such a bigger problem now than it has been in the past.

Jaime Hall:

Absolutely. Cyber attacks are on the rise. And not only cyberattacks, let’s talk about backup solutions in general. You should look for a provider that’s going to provide both local, which is “onsite” backup, as well as cloud backup, or what we call “offsite” backup. But more importantly to that is what you really want to look at is how often does that MSP test that backup solution and can they provide you documentation as a proof source that says, “Hey. We can get you up and running quickly. We can get all your data recovered. We can get you restored in an efficient way.” Because really, that’s the name of the game there.

Jaime Hall:

The second thing is – as kind of a must-have, if you will, is the strategic planning piece. Business owners aren’t IT people. So when you partner with an MSP, that’s one of the biggest benefits that we offer. An MSP should be constantly looking for ways to improve your business through technology initiatives. That includes evaluating what you’re currently doing, looking for new technologies to overcome challenges, helping you develop a procurement plan, and preparing a budget. The best MSPs really meet with their clients regularly to make sure those things are in line with our corporate objectives.

Jason Robison:

Yeah. So we’re really not just looking to outsource IT like, “Hey, you guys deal with it.”

Jaime Hall:

Right.

Jason Robison:

It’s more of a strategic partnership, so if a business grows, the technology has to scale to support that growth.

Jaime Hall:

Absolutely. And so when we talk about that, it’s critical that an MSP is in constant contact with the business owner or the C-level so that they understand what that business is dealing with at that time and they can make adjustments, like you said, scaling and evolving as those business needs change as well.

Jason Robison:

So we hear all the, “We need this, this, this, and this.” However, we all know that a lot of MSPs are not built the same. We have good ones, and we have bad ones. How does a business really determine whether or not the MSP that they’re talking to is good or bad?

Jaime Hall:

There are a couple of things to look for when you’re vetting an MSP. The first thing is to look for is a guaranteed response time. This is typically going to be outlined in the service level agreement, or what we call the “SLA”. The second thing is to ask for are metrics to support those claims. Those are big claims and you want to make sure that they’ve got the metrics to substantiate those.

The second thing I would ask for is references of current customers, not past customers, current customers. Get some references. And also, you might ask for a case study or two. Bonus points for any case studies that are relevant or within your same vertical.

Jason Robison:

Now a business, you guys have heard all the stuff. Will you tell the viewer how they can get more info? Because we just kind of scratched the surface here. Do we have anything that’s out there where they can really read and get to know this process a little bit better?

Jaime Hall:

Absolutely. Check us out online at www.Xceloffice.com. We actually have a blog post over this exact topic where we elaborate a little bit more.  Like you said, we just touched on a few key things but there are about 15 or so factors and some kind of subfactors within that, that it’s really important to know, be aware of, and to discuss with your MSP during the evaluation process. If you’ve got any questions, you can also reach out to us over the phone. It’s (405) 748-4222.

Jason Robison:

Oh, excellent. And too, if you’re on YouTube, we’re going to leave that a link to the blog post. We’re going to leave that down below in the description. And if you are on YouTube, go ahead and give us a “like”. Let us know that you’re watching, as well as hit that “subscribe” button because we are going to release these videos once a month and you should probably know when they’re coming out. All right, guys, also finally check us out on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Guys, have a wonderful day!  I hope this helps you in determining what the right MSP is for your business and if you do have any questions, we would love to help you out in any way. Guys, have a great day. Talk to you later.

 

Posted in Q&A

Q&A with Xcel Office Solutions – What is a Managed IT Service Provider?

Posted on by Jaime Hall

Jason Robison:

Hey, what’s going on? I’m Jason, and welcome to our Q&A series, where we answer some of the most common questions that we hear about office technology. And so today I’ve asked Jaime Hall to kind of help us out.

Jason Robison:

Hey, Jaime, before we get into this question though, tell us a little bit about what you do here at Xcel and how long you’ve been here.

Jaime Hall:

Okay. So I am the director of marketing here at Xcel and my entire responsibility basically is to just share our story and our brand with the world. So that’s what I do on a day-to-day basis. I’ve been here about seven years now.

Jason Robison:

Oh, awesome. So a big question that we hear all the time is what is a managed service provider or an MSP. And it’s an acronym that we use or a term that we use all the time in our business because that’s what we are, but a lot of people don’t know what it is. Can you explain a little bit what an MSP is and who it’s for?

Jaime Hall:

Absolutely. So you might hear a managed service provider, like Jason said, is really kind of what we call it. And maybe you could think of it as like an IT support company. So basically it’s an organization made up of IT professionals whose sole responsibility is to support the IT functions within a third-party business.

Jason Robison:

Okay, perfect. So what is the biggest takeaway, like the top level, “Hey, this is why an MSP makes sense.” What would that line be?

Jaime Hall:

Okay. So for a small business owner who doesn’t have an IT department, that’s really who these services are typically the most suited for, although, we do offer services to augment an existing IT staff. But really, for those folks, if you were to go out and hire an IT professional in Oklahoma, you might start out paying that person $50,000, $60,000 a year.

Jason Robison:

And that’s just if they’re like entry-level.

Jaime Hall:

Very entry-level.

Jason Robison:

Yeah.

Jaime Hall:

That’s help desk type. When you start getting into systems analysts and network designers, you’re going to look in that $80,000, $90,000 sometimes $100,000, and even plus range. So the challenge is, is that a lot of business owners just don’t have that type of money to invest, but yet they still need the support. So having a managed service provider gives them a way to do that at an affordable monthly rate.

Jason Robison:

Sure. Now, what we see a lot though is these small businesses, they can’t afford that IT professional, but there’s always somebody in the office that is techie or tech savvy, and they’re the person that works on the computers and all that. Why don’t they just continue to use that person to do their IT stuff versus hiring an MSP?

Jaime Hall:

Okay. So great question. A lot of people do that, and you can probably get by, but you’re going to sacrifice a few things in the process. So we call that type of situation an accidental IT. So just like you said, there’s one person in the office who is a little more savvy than everybody else when it comes to technology, so that person ends up kind of… All the responsibilities and the issues are brought to them.

Jaime Hall:

Here’s the challenge with that. For starters, that person has a separate function in the organization. So when they have to deal with IT issues, they’re pulled away from their core responsibilities. The second challenge is, is although that person is tech-savvy, they’re typically not as skilled as a certified IT professional. So while they can handle little problems, the more complex that issue gets, they just can’t do it. And finally, a lot of MSPs, we do a lot of the things in the background for our clients, preventative maintenance. And if you’ve got an accidental IT person who’s focused on other things in your company, they’re probably not doing those things for your organization. So you’re kind of sacrificing and putting yourself at risk when you rely on somebody who is what we call, again, an accidental IT person.

Jason Robison:

Yeah. And that person ends up having to do multiple jobs and ends up not being great at either one, right?

Jaime Hall:

Yeah. Absolutely. Totally.

Jason Robison:

Yeah. So we’re talking about also an IT professional can be anywhere from entry-level, 50K, all the way up to 100K plus. So what is a benefit of hiring an MSP from a financial standpoint?

Jaime Hall:

Okay. So you nailed it. First of all, it’s just less expensive. Our packages sometimes start out at just a few hundred dollars a month and you’re not sacrificing the support. So that’s a major benefit. The second thing is, is that the costs are predictable. So you’ll hear the term break-fix, and for those of you who don’t know what that means, that basically means is that if something breaks or there’s an issue that arises, then you call someone. The challenge with that is, is when you do that, you’re typically paying somebody by the hour. Well, if you’ve ever been hit by a cyberattack or you’ve had a device failure like the server goes down, that can add up really quickly. So-

Jason Robison:

Hours and hours.

Jaime Hall:

Hours.

Jason Robison:

And hundreds of dollars an hour.

Jaime Hall:

Hundreds of dollars in hours, hours, sometimes even days. And before you know it, you’ve maximized your annual IT budget with just one issue. So the benefit of partnering with an MSP is that those rates are fixed and you pay monthly. So anything that happens like that, all these unforeseen issues, which inevitably do happen, there are no surprises with the fee. So it makes budgeting easy.

Jason Robison:

Yeah. Perfect. Now, the people that are going to hire an MSP, the businesses that are doing that are usually small to mid-size businesses, right? That are trying to scale and become bigger businesses, be more successful and all that. So how does an MSP help a business go from a small business to a larger business?

Jaime Hall:

Okay. So a managed service provider, one of their bigger objectives is to just make sure that the technical strategy is really supporting the company’s overall goals and objectives. So we see a lot of this. We see companies that grow, but they don’t update their technology. They don’t invest in the right types of hardware and software. And so in the end, that can really have a negative impact on their growth.

Jaime Hall:

So what we will do is we meet with owners and CEOs and things like that to basically kind of determine what we need to do to support them. If we’re doing our job correctly, then some of the things that we might help with are just overcoming challenges, streamlining their operations, helping them become more efficient at how they deliver their products and services to their customers. So an MSP, a truly gifted MSP should be able to do that and provide that service.

Jason Robison:

Yeah, and even just a simple thing like providing more computers for new employees.

Jaime Hall:

Absolutely.

Jason Robison:

As the employees grow, they need technology. We can help them out with that. So, really, at the end of the day, small to mid-sized businesses can really benefit in a great, huge way from partnering with an MSP that really has their best interest at heart.

Jaime Hall:

Absolutely. Absolutely. In a nutshell, I mean, really what we’re here for is just to provide kind of that enterprise-level IT support for businesses who just can’t afford or don’t want to invest in their own IT personnel.

Jason Robison:

Yeah. That’s perfect. Well, that’s it, that’s what an MSP is, or managed service provider, and if you are a business owner of a small to mid-sized business and you have questions about your specific situation on how an MSP could benefit your business, reach out to us. Our phone number is 405-748-4222, or you can also reach us on the web at xceloffice.com.

 

Q&A with Xcel Office Solutions – Why Does My Copier Have Customer-Replaceable Parts?

Posted on by Jaime Hall

Jaime Hall:

Hi, my name is Jaime Hall. I’m with Xcel Office Solutions here in Oklahoma City, and we provide custom technology solutions for businesses across the state of Oklahoma. Today I’m here with Cameron Wetzel, who is our Xerox service manager. Hey Cameron.

Cameron Wetzel:

Hello. How are you, Jaime?

Jaime Hall:

I’m good. How are you?

Cameron Wetzel:

Good.

Jaime Hall:

Wonderful. Well, the reason that I asked Cameron to join us today is I wanted him to shed some light on something that sometimes becomes a source of contention among our customers. So as most of you know, we sell copiers and printers. So, anything from a small desktop printer or to a multifunction office printer and even a digital production printer. And along with those sales, we provide maintenance agreements and that maintenance includes anything from preventative maintenance, parts, and labor. And so that’s the role that Cameron and his team play in our company.

Jaime Hall:

But one thing that we see commonly is that every now and again, we might get a customer who pushes back a little bit about what we call customer-replaceable parts. So that’s why I wanted you to shed a little bit of light on today. Sometimes we have a customer who might say, okay, I’m kind of confused, I thought this was included in my maintenance agreement, but you would like me to replace the part myself. So, what I would like you to do is just kind of tell us a little bit about what customer-replaceable parts are and why they’re designed for the customer to replace in lieu of something that your team might do.

Cameron Wetzel:

Absolutely. So, a customer-replaceable part would be like a toner or a drum. It’s something that was designed by Xerox to be a quick easy replace, to speed up the customers’ replacement, repairs, whatever. They don’t require tools. It’s basically, if you think of putting paper in a machine, it basically goes along with that. It’s something just quick easy, it’s nothing that would create any issues for you or your customers.

Jaime Hall:

Okay. So, your team, you guys average historically fantastic response time is two or three hours, typically, depending on what your workload looks like. So the idea here, as I understand is just to get the customer up and running instead of having to place a service call in the event you’re busy, that might take two or three hours for you to get someplace. And so it’s just a way to get them up and running more quickly, correct?

Cameron Wetzel:

Correct. Yes. Most customer replaceable units are 30 seconds to change them and they do not take very long at all.

Jaime Hall:

Okay. Now what I have seen Cameron is that sometimes customers are a little apprehensive to touch them. They’re not comfortable. These machines are very expensive at times and we definitely have found that that can sometimes be part of what’s causing some of the pushback. We try to on the front end, educate and demonstrate how to replace these things. But is this something that your team does as well as kind of ongoing education to make them more comfortable?

Cameron Wetzel:

Absolutely. We don’t want a customer to be super uncomfortable, so we will train them the proper, improper ways to change those so they don’t damage the machines, spill toner all over, something like that. It’s just something that we always try to help them as much as we can as far as ongoing training in different aspects.

Jaime Hall:

So, before we go, can you just answer one thing? Can you kind of clarify for me and just really for our listeners, what exactly is included or what types of parts are a customer replaceable part?

Cameron Wetzel:

So, it’s usually just a toner or drum most of the time on occasion, like a color machine, you may have a waste container cartridge or something, but it’s usually 90% of it will be a toner.

Jaime Hall:

Okay. So, like something like a fuser might require a service call?

Cameron Wetzel:

Yeah, absolutely.

Jaime Hall:

Okay. I think that’s helpful for our customers to understand the difference because they do arrive at different times. And so just to be able to distinguish between those things, when I think of it, I think of anything that the machine might use and that you have to replace. So, in other words, a consumable supply, would that be fair?

Cameron Wetzel:

Absolutely. Anything that doesn’t require a tool would be kind of fall under that consumable category.

Jaime Hall:

Perfect. Okay. Well, I appreciate your time Cameron thank you for being with us today. If you’ve got any more questions about customer-replaceable parts, anything that we can answer for you, please feel free to reach out to us at (405) 748-4222 or visit us online at xceloffice.com.