Managed, Services, Support, Approach, Kickoff, Prerequisites, Assessment, Technical, Customer MSPsupport

Managed Services Approach

Support Approach

The “official” start of a Managed support engagement is generally associated with a “kickoff” meeting; where essential prerequisites can be confirmed complete (i.e. VPN access, scope of support, communication protocol, etc.). Furthermore, the Support Team will review the environment details with the customer; and confirm familiarity with the client systems that fall within the contract scope. Next, the findings from the Initial Assessment Report (Health Assessment), will be reviewed; and the associated recommendations submitted for approval, and scheduling.

(Initial) Health Assessment.

The Initial Assessment will include (but is not limited to) the following items:

A communication and escalation plan. Identifying key management for approvals an escalations.
Results from available monitoring software (Oracle Enterprise Manager, Spotlight, etc.).
Health Assessment Report – Results from the analysis and diagnostic checks.
Service Level Agreement (SLA) confirmation.
Introduction to Request Manager (recommended “trouble ticket” system)

Daily Operations

Check for new/applicable security patch releases; and/or critical bug fixes applicable to the Client’s environment.
Submit and review output from Daily scripts.
Call Customer to report any anomalies.
Check the Request Manager Ticketing System for new/updated issues..
Login to the client’s environment to perform recommended analysis.
Review recent alerts and conditions, to proactively avoid issues, and recurrence.
Run any required scripts that were approved in the kickoff meeting.

Problem Resolutions:

Keep all parties informed by posting regular updates. Updates can be sent by e-mail, the Request Manager, or a phone call. The following summarizes some of the key resolution-lifecycle milestones:

Define the problem, provide recommendations, and inform the client, when appropriate. In the unlikely event of a severity-1, and immediate action is required, the appropriate resource at the client-side should be contacted via cell phone; and the issue escalated
Review the pre-existing conditions of the client’s environment. Determine what processes/activities were contributing. Review the logfiles, performance scripts, and visually check the client’s environment.
Propose a suggested resolution. Record this in the Request Manager. Request a decision be made asap, to implement the recommended fix..
Create a resolution checklist, and document the start and finish times of each step.
Be aware of any escalation requirements and the severity of your Request Manager entry (Sev 1, Sev 2, etc.)
Once resolved, record the efforts and the results in the Request Manager. Suggest ways to prevent the problem from reappearing.
Send a status to Customer and to the appropriate distribution lists.

Performance Reviews

Performance reviews are an essential component of managed services. They provide a candid look at the quality of support being provided, allowing MSP Support to further emulate what is working, and improve what is not. The following reviews and timelines represent what is recommended for a medium-sized support engagement:

30 Day Assessment (1 day)

Attendees: Customer, MSP support Management, and MSPsupport Technical
When: 30 days after start of the project
Where: Conference Call/ onsite
Why: Validate what we’ve learned and discuss the outcome of what the SLA has mandated. Share forecasts and how MSP support can help with other tasks not in the contract (separate contract required.)

6 Month In-Progress-Review(IPR) (1 day)

Attendees: Customer, MSP Support Management, MSP Support Technical
When: 6 months after the Health Assessment
Where: Onsite at Customer
Why: Discuss mandated points as well as sharing forecasts. Discuss future initiatives

11 Month In-Progress-Review (IPR) (1 day)

Attendees: Customer, MSP Support Management, MSP Support Technical
When: 11 months after the Health Assessment
Where: Onsite at Customer
Why: By conducting this subsequent IPR at the 11 month timeframe, this gives Customer and MSPsupport’ Sales a chance to begin renewal negotiations.