The Reddit recap highlights last week’s top trending posts on the r/msp subreddit. This is the largest MSP-related group on Reddit with more than 40,000 members. Looking for a quick answer or some valuable input? This is the place to be.
We built something new, Looking for beta testers. from r/msp
A Redditor working for an MSP from Georgia posted about his firm’s new idea: a custom-made “help button”.
The post begins by highlighting the inefficiencies that come with traditional ticketing methods: They don’t capture enough real time data, users frequently don’t include enough information, and every tech has a ticket in their queue that’s been sitting there for what seems like forever because they can’t get back in touch with a person for more information.
“So as my CTO and I were sitting and talking about some of these chronic issues and the best way we can solve them, someone said, ‘Man, we should just have a help button they can hit that does everything for them.’ We laughed, and it was kind of joke, but we kept talking about it how it might work. And the more we talked about it the more we thought we should try it,” the post reads.
After several months, the firm had a working prototype that included a rotating log of screenshots in memory that staff would assemble together into a slideshow when the help buttom was clicked so the events leading up to the issue could be reviewed closely. They eventually started to layer on more event logs, integration with their ticketing system, and of course, additional security measures. The MSP is now taking the next step and trying to sell the service.
“Something I was not thinking about or expecting at all was how powerful it would be as a sales tool. I started showing these in sales meetings, and clients went nuts for them. They don’t really understand a lot of what we do, but here is this new simple concept that makes a lot of sense to them. It lets us put our branding in front of them on every desk,” the Redditor wrote.
Apparently beta testers are lining up by the hundreds to get their hands on the service. Anyone interested can register here.
A faulty $400 switch that needed replacing has now led to a nasty confrontation between a MSP and a client.
A Redditor working for the small MSP firm claims the owner of the business – the client – refused to replace the broken switch which forced a department of 20-plus people to work on a hotspot stored on a local server.
“She is now threatening a lawsuit against my firm stating we cost the company hundreds of thousands in productivity,” the post reads.
That escalated quickly.
Had to figure out a company’s wifi password yesterday and it kinda shocked me from r/msp
It seems like certain ISPs can’t be trusted to secure networks with strong passwords.
A Redditor claiming to be a former MSP owner says a business reached out to them and asked for some coverage after admitting that they didn’t know their Wi-Fi passcode. The user behind the post drives out and gets to work.
“I end up seeing that a Mac on the network can successfully connect so I go through the keychain and find the password.
It’s literally the name of the small town ISP they use. All lowercase, less than 12 characters and no numbers, imagine “comcast” being the password for the wifi network.”
Many commentors suggest this is a regular occurrence, and encourage anyone hiring ISPs to set them up with internet to ensure strong passcodes are implemented.