Remote monitoring and management software provider Level
Platforms Inc. is launching a Network Operations Center (NOC) and Help Desk
service to coincide with the release of its Managed Workplace 2012 at its February
road show event which will visit 17 cities.
LPI CEO Peter Sandiford told Channel Insider that the
decision to run its own NOC and help desk services came from the desire to
integrate services more tightly with LPI’s existing offerings, coupled with the
need expressed by MSP partners to have a comprehensive and affordable service
available to them. It comes after five years of working to outsource those
services to third parties with inconsistent results.
The new offering will be provided through LPI itself and
technicians will be based in the United States, Canada and India. By working
with technicians in lower-cost labor markets, LPI will be able to provide a
service that is cost-competitive, Sandiford said. But quality remains a priority
as well, Sandiford said.
“Whenever we talk to partners about these services, there’s
been a list of six or seven things holding them back,” Sandiford said. “For
instance, being able to speak with North American people and to have a detailed
discussion about the issues and how to resolve them. And the ability to have
compete central triage.”
Sandiford said that LPI’s new services will answer those
concerns that have held partners back. In addition, these new services will
enable MSPs to seamlessly integrate these offering to complement the skills of
existing in-house experts. That means
customers won’t be able to recognize where the MSP’s service ends and LPI’s
begins.
Level Platforms said in a statement that the NOC and HD
services will enable MSPs to white label them, adding to their remote
monitoring, remediation and support offerings.
The addition of a NOC and help desk answers competitive
challenges from vendor Continuum, formerly known as Zenith RMM, whose CEO
Michael George had claimed his company had the only true managed service
offering since it was the only one that operated its own NOC and help desk.
Level Platforms’ work with a variety of NOC providers over
the years made it clear that the best approach was to integrate tightly with a
single NOC that it operated itself, according to the company. The approach was
welcomed by partners.
“Level Platforms new NOC service fills the missing gaps that
MSPs have long been looking for,” said Andy Harper, CEO, Gaeltek, LLC, in a
prepared statement. “I have used other NOC and HD providers and have been
working with the Level Platforms team as they developed their services
offering. Robert Berndt, VP of Services at Level Platforms and his team, have
spent the necessary time to understand the needs and opportunities for service
providers leveraging Managed Workplace RMM.”
And what’s next for LPI? Don’t be surprised to hear them
talk during the February road show about their initiatives to extend their
managed services offering to cover mobile devices, something that many MSPs
have been asking for, too.