3 Reasons Why ISV Partnership is Key to MSP Growth
At their core, managed service providers (MSPs) and ISV (independent software vendors) share a common commitment: empower their users and customers with technologies that drive tangible business value. ISVs build their offerings specifically to deliver impactful results, while MSPs work closely with customers to unlock maximum utility from the solutions at their disposal.
But beyond the shared goal, MSPs can gain much more by partnering with ISVs. Here are at least three reasons.
Why the MSP-ISV Partnership Matters
Our survey of MSP partners found that MSPs now see the value of working with ISVs. Some 40% are looking to onboard at least 11 ISVs. In addition, 42% of MSPs only deal directly with ISVs. But what value exactly can a partnership with ISVs bring to MSPs? Here are some:
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Expanded Service Offerings
Most MSPs today offer services related to the cloud, but with tough competition, how can your business stand out?
To capture more business opportunities, MSPs must offer a compelling value proposition to existing and potential customers. When MSPs team up with ISVs, it allows them to gain access to cutting-edge software solutions that may complement existing services and solutions. This is especially valuable because 63% of MSPs’ recurring revenue is less than half of their total revenue, creating a vast opportunity to develop recurring revenue opportunities.
For example, many customers need cloud migration – a one-time service – but your offerings shouldn’t end there. With a complete suite of services, you can create lasting relationships with your clients while increasing monthly recurring revenue at the same time.
Through partnerships with ISVs, MSPs can step in to address companies’ pain points and create new revenue streams, including subscriptions to purpose-built security, backup, and monitoring tools.
Download our free eBook to learn how you can expand your offerings with collaboration security services:
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Increased Efficiency
ISVs provide expertise and solutions in areas that MSPs may not have in-house.
For example, expanding products and services may require more staff. A study by TD Synnex and Microsoft found that MSPs are looking to hire staff for business planning (34%), managed services (29%), and customer lifecycle support (28%).
But instead of hiring additional workforce and incurring additional operating costs, MSPs may opt to partner with ISVs that provide automation tools and centralized cloud dashboards.
With ISV tools, service providers can take the tedious grunt work out of repetitive tasks like system updates and backups. This allows MSP technicians to focus on higher-impact work, including exploring additional solutions for clients.
Centralized cloud dashboards such as AvePoint’s partner intelligence platform, Elements, provide visibility into the full customer environment from one pane of glass, saving time jumping between multiple sites and tools. More importantly, because Elements is built with MSP partners in mind, it allows multi-tenant management so you can efficiently take care of billing, support, licensing, and more for all your customers.
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Expertise & Thought Leadership
ISVs dedicate themselves wholly to developing and innovating software solutions. They know how to attract the perfect customer profiles for their products and how customers can maximize these tools.
MSPs can tap into this deep domain expertise and gain training and consistent support from ISVs – which can translate to effective service for their customers.
In our survey, we found that regular check-ins with a partner account manager and self-guided courses are the most valuable aspects of MSPs’ partnerships with ISVs. With ISVs as your partner in business, you’ll gain access to account managers and support teams who can help you sell and upsell products. Some ISVs even offer help beyond technical support, including effective marketing campaigns and certification for sales reps.
Grow Your MSP Business with AvePoint
By working together, MSPs and ISVs can provide greater value to their customers and see benefits for their own operations. The partnership offers MSPs the benefits of expanded service offerings, increased efficiency, and expertise and thought leadership.
MSPs can access cutting-edge software solutions, automation tools, centralized cloud dashboards, and deep domain expertise by partnering with ISVs. This allows MSPs to address pain points, create new revenue streams, and provide effective services to customers.
As a Global Top 5 Azure Co-Sell ISV leader, AvePoint supports MSPs in expanding their collaboration security practices. We provide comprehensive coverage for Microsoft 365 with enterprise-grade software, in addition to data protection for Google Workspace, Dynamics 365, and Salesforce. More importantly, AvePoint’s Partner Program provides MSP partners support beyond technical and sales, including co-marketing, lead sharing, and IP co-creation opportunities.
To learn more about our Partner Program for MSPs and how you can boost revenues, visit our website.
Phoebe Magdirila is a Senior Content Marketing Specialist at AvePoint, covering SaaS management, backup, and governance. With a decade of technology journalism experience, Phoebe creates content to help businesses accelerate and manage their SaaS journey.
