MSP or VAR or just avoid
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@scottalanmiller said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@kelly said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
The easiest divider I've found is if you have to pay for the time an engineer to tell you what to buy then you're probably talking to an MSP instead of a VAR.
The only problem there, is that some VARs will charge you for labour to hide that they are a VAR.
It's way better to look at it the other way, because the VAR is the taint, not the consulting.
I've never had that happen. Usually they want me to talk to their "sales engineer" for no cost.
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@hobbit666 said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
I think in the UK especially in Wales these sort of things are hard to distinguish as companies here tend to do everything.
One thing that is really important is that VARs sometimes need to be local, *SPs should not be. There is no locality value to IT, so looking locally, even within your country is often pointless. You should be looking at the UK as a whole, or globally, because companies who want good consulting sure don't care that it is or isn't local, and the SPs that provide it definitely aren't worried about their locality, and the majority of clients are multi-regional anyway.
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Sorry trying to answer and ask questions from a tablet, I an't keeping up with me lol
But this is all good advice and tips for everyone I think. -
@kelly said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@scottalanmiller said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@kelly said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
The easiest divider I've found is if you have to pay for the time an engineer to tell you what to buy then you're probably talking to an MSP instead of a VAR.
The only problem there, is that some VARs will charge you for labour to hide that they are a VAR.
It's way better to look at it the other way, because the VAR is the taint, not the consulting.
I've never had that happen. Usually they want me to talk to their "sales engineer" for no cost.
That MEANS it's a VAR, always. Anyone who is free, is a salesman.
But there are loads of VARs that know that people use that trick, and offer to sell support too, to confuse customers.
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@scottalanmiller said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@hobbit666 said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
The other support the MPLS (they don't supply it. We "purchased it from then" but it run by a ISP).
That's as VAR as VAR gets. The "R" stands for Reseller.
The "R" actually stands for "bunch of crooked ass mafackas that will lie to your face to make more money".
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@rojoloco said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@scottalanmiller said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@hobbit666 said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
The other support the MPLS (they don't supply it. We "purchased it from then" but it run by a ISP).
That's as VAR as VAR gets. The "R" stands for Reseller.
The "R" actually stands for "bunch of crooked ass mafackas that will lie to your face to make more money".
There really can be good VARs, they are just few and far between because there is so much more money in being crooked.
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@Breffni-Potter is near London. @Huw3481 is in Nottingham. Not right next door, but closer than across the pond, and both are MSP/ITSPs.
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@scottalanmiller said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@kelly said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@scottalanmiller said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@kelly said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
The easiest divider I've found is if you have to pay for the time an engineer to tell you what to buy then you're probably talking to an MSP instead of a VAR.
The only problem there, is that some VARs will charge you for labour to hide that they are a VAR.
It's way better to look at it the other way, because the VAR is the taint, not the consulting.
I've never had that happen. Usually they want me to talk to their "sales engineer" for no cost.
That MEANS it's a VAR, always. Anyone who is free, is a salesman.
Think this gets me confused as we always "talk" to the " engineer " get get a solution
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@scottalanmiller said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@rojoloco said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@scottalanmiller said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@hobbit666 said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
The other support the MPLS (they don't supply it. We "purchased it from then" but it run by a ISP).
That's as VAR as VAR gets. The "R" stands for Reseller.
The "R" actually stands for "bunch of crooked ass mafackas that will lie to your face to make more money".
There really can be good VARs, they are just few and far between because there is so much more money in being crooked.
Like this shit...
http://www.curiouscables.com/Audiophiles get fucking stupid
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@scottalanmiller said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@rojoloco said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@scottalanmiller said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@hobbit666 said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
The other support the MPLS (they don't supply it. We "purchased it from then" but it run by a ISP).
That's as VAR as VAR gets. The "R" stands for Reseller.
The "R" actually stands for "bunch of crooked ass mafackas that will lie to your face to make more money".
There really can be good VARs, they are just few and far between because there is so much more money in being crooked.
"I'm in sales" = "I'd _____ your grandma on her birthday to get a sale".
I did sales. I know for a fact that they are a bunch of crooked mafackas. Sell what makes you the biggest commission.
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@hobbit666 said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
...a SAN doesn't fit until you have several hosts and hundreds of VMs
Just to be clear on this point....
The number of hosts is a huge factor, but the number of VMs is not. In fact, that you are virtual or physical is not a factor. The value of a SAN is never caused by number of workloads, virtualization, or factors such as that. SAN's value (which is often sans value, see what I did there?) is based on the number of physical hosts combined with the balancing of factors that matter to the business such as capacity and reliability.
SANs are best when you have a huge number of hosts and value low cost over reliability to an extreme degree.
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@kelly thanks for that forgot to see who was here before starting lol.
But again this is all good as a discussion to help others -
@hobbit666 said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@scottalanmiller said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@kelly said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@scottalanmiller said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@kelly said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
The easiest divider I've found is if you have to pay for the time an engineer to tell you what to buy then you're probably talking to an MSP instead of a VAR.
The only problem there, is that some VARs will charge you for labour to hide that they are a VAR.
It's way better to look at it the other way, because the VAR is the taint, not the consulting.
I've never had that happen. Usually they want me to talk to their "sales engineer" for no cost.
That MEANS it's a VAR, always. Anyone who is free, is a salesman.
Think this gets me confused as we always "talk" to the " engineer " get get a solution
A free engineer is a salesman. No exceptions. Just always keep that in mind. They are a sales engineer, they engineer the sale. Just like a network engineer designs your network, a sales engineer designs the sale.
Sales is sales.
Consulting is when you pay for someone to give you advice. Sales is when you pay someone for selling you something you didn't want to buy.
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@hobbit666 said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@kelly thanks for that forgot to see who was here before starting lol.
But again this is all good as a discussion to help othersI'll rephrase....... before getting involved
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Using MSPs or ITSPs (many companies are both, but don't use the terminology as it is just easier to say MSP) is generally advised across the board for small businesses, you just need the scale and services that they provide. There is no good option to survive without them. Often, your service providers will bring VAR relationships or experience with them.
In reality, finding a good MSP is way easier than finding a good VAR. because MSPs are pretty easy to judge based on competence as they provide IT. So you can look at the IT that they do and see how good they are. A VAR is very hard to judge because they do sales and how do we as IT pros gauge the quality of their "value add" easily?
Finding "a" VAR is trivially easy, they are everywhere and are a dime a dozen. Finding a good one is essentially impossible. Finding "an" MSP is hard, because they are few and far between. Finding a good one is still hard, but not nearly as hard. Most are incompetent, but the chances of finding a good one is way better than the needle in a haystack problem with a VAR.
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@hobbit666 said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@hobbit666 said in MSP or VAR or just avoid:
@kelly thanks for that forgot to see who was here before starting lol.
But again this is all good as a discussion to help othersI'll rephrase....... before getting involved
There are loads here.... many from a new MSPs. MSPs are pretty common in places like ML because 1) it's open for them to participate and 2) MSPs do IT and this is an IT forum so they gravitate to places like this.
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Something else to consider...
Typically every SMB should have an MSP, but only one. Having more than one is complex and problematic. Not always bad, but often bad. It's like having multiple IT departments, you really just want one.
But most businesses should have many VARs, often one for each product or just a few products. A typically VAR, to be any good, has to be highly focused. So you need one for every little thing. Example... if you get a Scale HC3, you'll want a VAR for that. But to put Windows on top of it, you'll get your Windows from a Windows VAR. When you install your ERP on top of Windows, you'll need a VAR for that ERP product, and so forth.
So you normally have loads of VARs, and only one MSP.
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Another thing to just think about... your MSP will need to know "What VAR(s) do you use, and do you like them?"
MSPs need to work with your VARs, because they can't do their IT stuff without them.
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Buyers and Sellers Agents in IT is an important article for this topic.
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Just popping into this converstation. In a nutshell, it would be advantageous to hire someone like @NTG to provide advice on options, equipment types and paths, etc. NTG, like what a true MSP should represent, is NOT a reseller. A true MSP is working for you, in the best interest of your company and the bottom line. They don't care who provides the equipment or the product, just that it is the right fit for your company. @NTG is that type of MSP. They have done work in the UK, and in fact, Scott will be in Wales in June.
From a solutions standpoint, if SQL is required with low latency, then things like high speed DRAM cards, and SSD storage become critical in the selection and ultimately deployment.
The true advantage is that a good MSP with the backing of great engineering can not only proivde world class solutions, but also provide transfer of knowledge. A VAR will never provide that level of support and expertise.
EDIT: A VAR may provide a high level of expertise and support, but only for their products.
