Data Analytics: How Giant Platform Plug-Ins Can Generate Extra MSP Revenue

Out-of-the-box, bespoke, hybrid integrations of both – however today’s modern communications stack is assembled, there are always gaps to plug. 

For Managed Service Providers, that means opportunities always exist to not only add extra value to their proposition, but also to grow recurring revenue through strategic upselling. 

After all, end user customer organisations look to their MSPs to ensure their systems, tools, and processes are constantly delivering optimum productivity, efficiency, and user experience. For millions of those organisations all over the world, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, and the many other giant, go-to platforms out there are at the centre of things; acting as a feature-rich hub via which to communicate and collaborate both internally and externally. 

However – as brilliant and popular as they are – they are not a panacea. 

For example, similarly to Microsoft Teams’ native voice calling functionality, its in-built capability to provide dynamic and granular data analysis is present but rudimentary. Yes, those things are possible within Teams, but to what level of sophistication? How easy are they to activate? And at what extra cost? 

The analytics piece in particular presents MSPs with perhaps the most significant MS Teams-related opportunity that currently exists. Bring a solution that turbocharges that capability, and customers not only discover new productivity, efficiency, and user experience gains, but the MSPs themselves further strengthen the on-going relationship. 

That’s why it is so important to partner with a vendor that has the solutions and the expertise to help everyone win. 

“Microsoft Teams’ strong presence means service providers must adapt their offerings in ways which build a story and a business model around it,” says Johan Wendelstam, Managing Director of Analytics at Dstny for Service Providers, which offers a powerful add-on solution that mines Teams (and all the other big communication platforms) for key intelligence. 

“This will allow them to consolidate their relationship with their customers by helping them optimise their use of the platforms they now rely on for day-to-day, business-critical functionality.  

“But, more than that, the actionable insights that are derived can reveal gaps in organisations’ technological capabilities which, when filled through MSP upselling, can have a transformational impact on workflows, processes, and human resources. Service providers can generate additional streams of revenue directly, but more importantly indirectly, by identifying functionality that is missing, for example omnichannel solutions or contact centre tools. Being able to evidence and quantify those opportunities can be the basis of a very compelling sales conversation.”  

For some organisations, of course, Microsoft Teams’ Power BI data analytics component will provide a sufficiently-insightful, high-level overview of user performance levels. 

By contrast, the Dstny solution is able to deep-dive and provide a highly-granular, 360-degree view of communication ecosystems – packaged and presented in a clear and understandable way via intuitive and engaging dashboards.  

“It’s about the simplicity in accessing the data; harvesting it, capturing it, and sharing it in a format that is appropriate for those who consume it,” says Pierre Linusson, Technical Sales Manager at Dstny. 

“The data is of course highly useful in and of itself, but it is key to get it in front of people able to act on it. Yes, granularity is important, but relevance is even more so. Having lots of data is good, but if it is not reaching the right users, it is not creating any value. That is exactly where our MSP partners come in. Our solution in their hands can be a real game-changer for everyone.” 

Brilliant MS Teams data analysis is particularly pertinent in today’s ‘mobile first’ or hybrid workplace; in which knowledge workers operate increasingly remotely. Managers need high-quality analysis of mobile workers’ usage, productivity, and efficiency in order to understand their daily impact on a business and its processes. Furthermore, ‘mobile first’ workplaces are more appealing to top talent and therefore make quality recruitment easier. 

It’s not just about Microsoft Teams, though. 

“Teams is a very important part of the ‘mobile first’ puzzle but of course there are other players too, such as Cisco Webex, Zoom, Google Workplace, and many others,” says Wendelstam. 

“The Dstny data analysis solution will integrate seamlessly with them all, meaning the MSP opportunity really is a significant one. Analytics is a true enabler. All customers want is to communicate effectively and efficiently. This is a way for MSPs to add huge value by ensuring that is the case.”

To learn more about how Dstny for Service Providers’ data analytics solution can help your and your customers’ businesses succeed and grow, click here.