Professional services automation (PSA) tools are designed to be MSPs’ central hubs, integrating critical applications and providing full visibility into clients, internal operations, and profitability. But choosing the right solution for your business can be daunting. Understanding the features that will increase your efficiency and profitability as an MSP is therefore critical in building out a tech stack that works for your business’s specific needs.
Here are six features to consider:
1. Ease of Use and Deployment
A PSA tool should be easy to use and implement, plus eliminate the need to switch between multiple interfaces. An intuitive user interface (UI) should also enable your technicians to quickly complete tasks and integrate workflows for greater IT operational efficiency. As you evaluate tools, also verify that you won’t need expensive hardware upgrades or be hassled by complex integrations.
2. Flexible Billing Models
A good PSA tool manages contracts and tracks time for services and expenses, seamlessly within one system. But not every client is billed in the same way: Some may be billed by name, by device, or by project, and you need the flexibility to ensure that you’re able to run your business how you want. Your PSA tool should also integrate with your accounting systems so you can view all financial models through a single pane of glass.
3. Comprehensive Service Desk Management
An automated IT business management platform reduces redundancies and inefficiencies while providing visibility into metrics that matter the most for your service operations. The best PSA solutions allow technicians to view all tickets and related information without having to toggle between different applications. Greater automation capabilities for ticket resolution can be found through robust integration with your remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform.
4. Project Management Capabilities
Automating workflows allows MSPs to consistently hit targets and increase visibility around event tracking. With access to real-time data, you can connect with all project stakeholders and ensure that tasks are completed in a timely manner. The project management features within your PSA tool should include planning, tracking, and budgeting capabilities.
5. Integrated Workflows
Your PSA tool should work seamlessly with your RMM and IT documentation tools so that you can detect incidents faster, resolve them quickly, and deliver better service to clients. MSPs manage a multitude of technology solutions that keep clients’ data protected and their businesses running without disruption. For multifunctional IT professionals, a PSA solution should integrate with critical data protection and security solutions required to keep client data secure. These deep integrations allow for automated workflows and ticket resolution that make for more efficient business operations and happier end clients.
6. Infrastructure and Security
Your PSA platform is the backbone of your business. Look for a solution with a proven track record of uptime with a company that guarantees a certain level of uptime in your contract agreement; 99.99% uptime equates to only two hours of unplanned downtime annually. Additionally, cloud-based solutions eliminate your need to update, and test your system, while also automatically backing up and securing your data. Make sure that your PSA runs on geo-redundant data centers that conduct regular third-party audits to maintain SSAE 16/ASAE 3402 or SOC1/SOC2 compliance. Likewise, your provider should use state-of-the-art security to ensure your data is never compromised; make sure that they use at least 256-bit TLS 1.2 data encryption for all data communications.
NADIR MERCHANT, GM, leads product strategy and delivery for Kaseya’s IT Glue, BMS, and myITProcess. He is also head of product for IT Complete, which ensures all Kaseya products are workflow-integrated to work seamlessly, and Kaseya One, which radically transforms the way IT is done with its role-based single pane of glass. Merchant has a history of technical leadership and software development experience that complements his enduring passion and keen eye for superior customer experiences. His vision is to empower MSPs and IT teams to execute tasks more efficiently and increase productivity.
