31 May

What Every MSP Should Know About Voice and Data Providers

in Business Phone System, Internet Access, MSP

Offering the Right Service Options All Comes Down to the Provider

In the old days, the phone company handled voice and the ISP handled data. Nowadays with the proliferation of Voice over IP, traditional PBX systems are becoming obsolete. The internet is also being used for a lot more than just surfing the web. With so many different technologies now utilizing data networks, are there really any differences between voice and data providers? The answer is yes, absolutely. While there are many small differences among different providers, the two major differentiators are:

30 May

Is Your Customer’s Connection to the Internet the Wrong One?

by N2Net

in Internet Access

Comments

The first step to answering this question is determining whether a particular customer is satisfied with their service. To do that, without asking your customer, check the following:

How much time have you spent on support with this client?
If you’re spending an unreasonable amount of time providing support to your client, it might be because their internet product isn’t the right one. For example, if your support logs show increased activity during the lunch hour with complaints of slow internet speed, it’s likely because they’re on an oversubscribed broadband connection. That connection becomes congested during peak times throughout the day (like lunch). If you’ve installed and are managing an edge device for your clients, determining peak internet usage and congestion times will highlight whether or not your clients internet access is adequately serving their needs.

Are the questions your customer has about user error or the product itself?Some clients just don’t have the technical background to help themselves when something goes wrong. They can only be told to, “reboot the router” so many times. A single user with an infected machine is a lot different than several calls from the same company about VoIP call quality or data latency issues. If you’re noticing a pattern of support issues which stem from “slow internet,” it’s time to examine how they’re using it, or perhaps recommend upgrading.

Could your customer benefit more from another product?
Say, for example, your client’s internet connection was working great a month ago, but they’ve added several more devices and users to their network. Their internet speed was sufficient last month because the demands on the connection were less. This can be especially true in instances where new users are also making VoIP calls over that connection.

How to Help a Customer with the Wrong Connection to the Internet

If you’re struggling with customers who just don’t have the right connection to the internet, the team at N2Net can help. We’ve been backing up MSPs as a reseller partner for a decade, and we specialize in making you the data and voice hero your customers need.

Uncover the hidden opportunities your customers didn’t know they needed with a little help from N2Net. We’ll make you look good to your customers by saving them money, providing them with a better product, or both.

Photo by Gavin Whitner

17 May

3 ways an MSP can reduce support time with clients

by N2Net

in MSP

Comments

Non-billable support can make or break an MSP. Support hours are great when the client is paying, but support for monthly services like voice and data aren’t typically billable. It means troublesome connections or poor call quality can end up costing a lot in non-billable support time. Here are three easy ways to reduce time spent on internet and voice related services.

#1. Choose the Right Product the First Time

The biggest problem your clients have with their service is that they have the wrong product. And that’s not your fault. Matching the right product to the specific needs, location, and scalability of your customer comes down to the offerings of your voice and data provider. A broadband reseller isn’t going to have options for dedicated connections for your clients. Work with a provider who knows the right questions to ask up-front. While simple in concept, understanding the customer’s use for the internet is vastly more important than the size of their organization. Time spent up-front ensuring your client’s data connection will meet their current and growing demands can drastically reduce support time expended after the fact.

#2. Have an Experienced Provider On Your Side

On the flip side of that same “right product” coin is having the right provider by your side. There are plenty of providers and reseller programs in today’s technology space. That doesn’t mean all programs and providers are good. It’s quite the contrary, in fact. Very few providers understand both voice and data. Even fewer know how to properly deliver and guarantee those services. Hitching your wagon to the wrong horse will cause plenty of pain and leave you with very few options when your clients are yelling at you for products and services you don’t even directly provide.

#3. Have a First Class IT Team Available For Your Customers

And finally, the biggest and best way for you to reduce support time with your clients is for someone else to do it for you. A great partner is going to provide support options. For example, are you, the MSP, able to handle tier-1 support, or is the partner demanding all support calls relating to their service be made directly to them? What happened when your client has a poor support experience because your voice partner has offshored their support to India?

Learn More Ways to Save with the Team at N2Net

Keeping your costs down is about a lot more than overhead. Spending time on support with your clients costs you money. But you can reduce support time, stress, and costs all at the same time with a little assistance from a reseller partner who gets it. N2Net has been in the business for over 20 years, so we know how to manage voice and data. And since we specialize in serving the MSP market, we know how to make your job easy.

The team at N2Net has the experience, knowledge, and technical skills you need at your beck and call. We carry certifications in Cisco, VMWare, MS Certified, Switchvox, Altigen, Digium, 3CX, and Toshiba.

Our team has experience with more industry providers than most MSPs, and we’re able to easily troubleshoot voice to bandwidth on multiple platforms. So when your customers have a problem, we’ll be there with a fast and affordable solution.

Find out how N2Net can make you the voice and data hero for your customers. Contact us today to learn more.

09 May

Carriers Say They Support MSPs, but Do They?

by N2Net

in Dedicated Internet Access, DIA

Comments

Part of your job as an MSP is to provide high-tech support to your clients. But when your data service goes down, does your carrier provide the same kind of support to you? More often than not, the answer to that question is “no,” and that’s what we want to talk about today.

Carriers Say They Support MSPs, But Do They?

There’s a common scenario with internet carriers for MSPs and other business users. It starts with a poor installation. Either the product you asked for isn’t what you get, or the connection from the get-go is not what you were promised.

The next thing to go wrong usually happens when you try to get in touch with the carrier for a solution. The call center support technician that you’re connected with doesn’t actually have any information about your issue or understand how to fix the problem for you. So the representative bounces you to another tech who likely has a little bit more experience, but not enough to help you either. Instead, they schedule a technician to come out on site to fix the problem.

But a few more back-and-forth interactions and you realize that this is a “get what you get” kind of situation. For a residential customer who just wants to stream a bit of TV in their evenings off, slow data speed of “up to 1.544 megabits per second” will probably be fine. But when you’re running a tech business and your customers rely on you 24/7, you need a connection that won’t fail you ever.

What is a Better Data Option for MSPs?

The last thing you want to deal with as an MSP with demanding clients is a slow data connection and support techs who don’t know enough to do their jobs effectively. But there is another option you can choose that will give you a fast, reliable connection directly to your data carrier, and a support team that can solve your problems efficiently the first time.

The option we’re talking about is Dedicated Internet Access (DIA). With this option, you can choose a bandwidth speed that meets the heavy demands of your business. Scalable, reliable, and affordable, DIA from N2Net is only available to business customers, so you know you’re getting the best service possible.

If your business is struggling to get the attention, care, and service you need from your data carrier, a T1 or Metro Ethernet Access connection might be a better option for you. With data speeds from 1.544 megabits per second to 100 megabits per second, you can choose a tailored setup that gives you the speed you need. And if your needs change in the future, your connection can grow with you.

Get Faster, Better Data Service with N2Net

If you’re tired of dealing with a bundled service from a major carrier and not getting the speed, service, and reliability that you need to run your business, check out the Business Class Internet services from N2Net.

Designed with MSPs in mind, our service is one of the most reliable options in the United States. Contact us today to learn more.

02 May

Are MSPs the New Second Class Citizen?

by N2Net

in MSP

Comments

As a Managed Service Provider, you provide a valuable service to your customer. You take care of the logistical problems that your clients don’t want to or simply can’t deal with on their own. But in order to do your job ensuring that your customer’s IT infrastructure is doing its best, you need to make sure that your own internet and phone systems are running at top form. And that requires the assistance of a carrier to provide you with top-notch services.

But what happens when your carrier treats you not like a customer but a competitor? With some big companies, this is exactly what happens. But today, we’re going to let you in on a little secret: as an MSP, you have options.

Common Internet & Phone Carrier Issues MSPs Face

If you’re working with one of the big internet and phone carriers like Verizon or AT&T, you’ve likely already come across the major issues with their companies:

The low-level tech support staff has very little knowledge of what’s going on when there’s an issue
The support team can’t tell you what the issue is and has no idea how to fix your problem
Because they can’t help you, they will bounce you around the call center until you get to a manager who might be able to give you some answers
The response time when there is an issue is very long and often requires several rounds of queries before a resolution is offered

These issues might be okay for a residential customer who has ample time on their hands to figure out why they’ve been sent the wrong cable box for the third time. But it’s not okay when your business relies on a healthy and reliable phone and internet connection.

Dedicated Internet Access Cuts Out the Middle Man

If you wouldn’t dream of putting ill-equipped tech support on the phone with one of your biggest clients, why would you rely on that kind of person to take care your own connection issues? You might be using that kind of service because it’s affordable, or maybe because you didn’t know you had a choice. But you do.

With Dedicated Internet Access you don’t have to deal with the middle man. In fact if there’s an issue with your connection, a support team member will be able to find the problem and remedy it in just a few seconds because there’s nothing between your business and the internet except for a high quality Metro Ethernet fiber connection.

N2Net Offers Direct Internet Access to Busy MSPs

N2Net offers dedicated internet access to MSPs in all industries. And with over 20 years of experience providing high quality, high speed internet and phone access to businesses like yours, we know what it takes to make you feel like the most important person in the room.

Learn more about Business Class Internet now to unplug from the call center, and get connected to your personal internet connection with N2Net now.

1801 Saint Clair Ave. NE

216.619.2000

sales@n2net.com

May 2017

What Every MSP Should Know About Voice and Data Providers

Offering the Right Service Options All Comes Down to the Provider

Is Your Customer’s Connection to the Internet the Wrong One?

How to Help a Customer with the Wrong Connection to the Internet

3 ways an MSP can reduce support time with clients

#1. Choose the Right Product the First Time

#2. Have an Experienced Provider On Your Side

#3. Have a First Class IT Team Available For Your Customers

Learn More Ways to Save with the Team at N2Net

Carriers Say They Support MSPs, but Do They?

Carriers Say They Support MSPs, But Do They?

What is a Better Data Option for MSPs?

Get Faster, Better Data Service with N2Net

Are MSPs the New Second Class Citizen?

Common Internet & Phone Carrier Issues MSPs Face

Dedicated Internet Access Cuts Out the Middle Man

N2Net Offers Direct Internet Access to Busy MSPs

Latest Posts

Quick Links