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New Integration: OneDrive

Announcing the latest integration to launch at BrightGauge: OneDrive. OneDrive, a Microsoft product, is a cloud storage solution that allows you to save your files and photos and access them from ...
Announcing the latest integration to launch at BrightGauge: OneDrive. OneDrive, a Microsoft product, is a cloud storage solution that allows you to save your files and photos and access them from anywhere that suits you. You may be familiar with Dropbox as an integration option with BrightGauge, but perhaps you prefer using OneDrive. No worries! You now have both options available to you. The basic premise of this integration is that if you have a .CSV file uploaded into OneDrive, you will be able to visualize the data on BrightGauge dashboards and reports. How to Connect to OneDrive To connect to OneDrive, click on the green ‘Add a new Datasource’ button, found on your BrightGauge overview page. Find OneDrive under the ‘All’ category, click on it, and follow all the prompts. Within a few minutes, you should be good to go. If you need further instructions, check out our OneDrive support doc. Not yet a BrightGauge customer? Contact us today and we’ll be happy to schedule a live one-on-one demo. What do I get out of the box? If you’re a BrightGauge partner, you know that when you connect to our datasources, your account will be pre-loaded with KPIs and dashboard and report templates, so you can get right to your data. OneDrive (and Dropbox) are unique integrations in this respect. Since this integration relies on custom data, there aren’t any pre-built dashboards, gauges, or reports included. Basically, as long as you’ve got a .CSV file with data, you can display it within BrightGauge, so your possibilities here are plentiful. For more details on how to create a dataset from a CSV, including some CSV requirements, read this. We love hearing from you, so let us know how you’re using OneDrive + BrightGauge to view your data! Anytime you’ve got a question about OneDrive + BrightGauge, please submit a support request or contact us and we’ll be ready to help.
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Customer Success   |   Read

How Network People Built Legitimacy Through BrightGauge

In 1996, wife-and-husband duo Kelly and Nate Freeman realized their vision of opening up an IT shop in Clearwater, Florida. It started as a small MSP but really began picking up around 2002. Today, Network People is an MSP+, with 15 employees and a great internal system, providing IT and security services to close to 300 clients. A BrightGauge partner for several years now, the tool is a big part of their daily operations. We spoke to Joe Somerville, Integrator + Director of Operational Development to learn more. How Network People got its start Network People has always had a mission to deliver the best tech services in the Tampa Bay area, and one of the ways they’ve done that is by spending a lot of time with their clients. Maintaining a strict customer-focused attitude is something they believe has set them apart from many other MSPs in the industry. “It’s important to us to go above and beyond for our clients, regardless of our agreement level,” says Joe. “That way, mom and pop shops are being treated the exact same way as our larger corporate companies.” This level of care has allowed Network People to grow and build a reputation as a trusted partner for SMBs in the municipalities, health practices, law, and architectural sectors, amongst others. When it comes to taking on new clients, the Network People team gravitate towards companies that are community-driven, have a good culture, and are operating calmly and in an organized manner. Making sure the client relationship is one that jives has allowed Network People to really focus on that personal touch and spend more time with clients. “Doing the right thing is a top priority for us,” says Joe. “We’re spending time, effort, and money on constantly developing, getting things built to a level we’re happy with, and figuring out where we can consistently improve for the benefit of our clients.” As an example, Joe and team discovered that they had clients who weren’t monitoring their backups correctly, consequently putting their companies and sites at risk. Undoubtedly, an issue like this requires the right tools in place to properly take action and be proactive. Which is exactly where a tool like BrightGauge comes into play. Becoming a BrightGauge partner After attending an HTG meeting (now known as IT Nation Evolve), the owner and president of Network People brought BrightGauge into their stack of tools, seeing value in being able to get to data quickly and automate processes. Since then, BrightGauge has been a key player in daily operations at Network People. “BrightGauge is the best way to see data,” says Joe. “It’s allowed us to do what we want in an efficient way with our clients and lets us put data in front of our clients when we’re talking to them.” Joe estimates that he and his team use BrightGauge dashboards for 3 hours a day, every single day. “I can’t even imagine running our business without this,” says Joe. In addition to using the dashboard and reporting features, Joe says that BrightGauge support is some of the best he’s experienced, furthering the value of the tool even more. What BrightGauge has helped the Network People team accomplish When it comes to monitoring client’s backups, BrightGauge helps in intelligence gathering and due diligence, which has aided in their client retention efforts. More than that, BrightGauge dashboards are the primary way the Network People team share data with clients. “We deliver VCIO meetings through BrightGauge dashboards,” says Joe. “And part of our onboarding process is building out a client dashboard specific to that client.” We love this part of Network People’s onboarding and the tips they gave for bringing data to clients: - They assign their clients as a viewer to their own client dashboard - They use a templated dashboard and add a filter for that client, so that the whole process takes 3-4 minutes to set up - During onboarding, they hold a 10-15 minute training, taking clients through their gauges, what the data should mean to them, what they should keep an eye on, and in what instances they should reach out to Network People for more support/clarity Genius! “Anytime we get clients to understand what we do and why we do it, we strengthen the partnership and build a lot of legitimacy into what we do on a monthly basis,” says Joe. “We’re protecting them; we’re sharing numbers open and honestly; and we’re only able to do this because of custom datasets in BrightGauge.” As security issues become more serious and our industry becomes more vulnerable, Joe is proud that Network People still has a client-first focus and that they are spending time figuring out how to provide enough service to keep their clients secure, no matter their budget. “We are always taking care to work with a client’s environment so we fit into them instead of them fitting into us,” says Joe. “It may not be the most profitable mentality, but it is so important to us.” That’s definitely something to admire. We’re proud to have you as a partner, Network People! Most-used datasources: ConnectWise Manage and Automate, and Liongard Roar (Joe says he is most excited about building this out) Top KPIs: Tickets Per Engineer; SLA Per Ticket; Billable Time Goals; CSAT; Department Hourly Goals Notable Dashboards: Centralized Services; Service Manager Review; Client Board; Finance Board; CSAT Board; Inventory Board

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Report of the Month - Internal Weekly Service

Do you send reports on a consistent basis? We’re big fans of reports because they’re a reliable source of truth. They show your clients or your internal teams exactly what you’ve been working on and the results of that work and, because of that, they’re great for building a solid foundation of trust. We love seeing how our partners are using BrightGauge reports as a business growth strategy and as a way to keep teams accountable. This month, we’re sharing an Internal Weekly Service Report, as used by Joe Ensalaco of JT Global Enterprise, a systems integrator operating worldwide with offices in the UK and the US and specializing in Unified Communications, Customer Engagement, Digital Transformation, and Smart Retail. Joe, the Service Operations Manager, built this report as a way to keep track of what his team did the previous week (he actually built this within 2 weeks of becoming a BrightGauge partner - impressive!). “By looking at certain metrics on a weekly basis, we’re able to understand the circumstances around an influx in tickets, or a lack of support, so we can be proactive about preventing service issues in the future,” explains Joe. His Internal Weekly Service Report focuses on both customer metrics and service desk metrics. *This is a sample report for illustrative purposes only; not an actual report prepared by JT Global. On the customer end, Joe and team are looking at who the busiest customers of the week were, how many tickets they opened versus closed, and what type of tickets are being opened. Knowing who their most active customers are helps drive cost management decisions and also indicates whether JT Global should train their customers in how to self-solve repeat issues (for example, building out phone extensions). On a service desk side, Joe’s looking at what the whole support team is doing in general. Key identifiers include Ticket Kill Rate, Average Time to Resolution and Acknowledgement, SLA Stats by Priority, and Planned Works & Change Requests. “For each metric we look at, we’re setting goals and thresholds so we can hold ourselves accountable to a specific benchmark,” says Joe. “For example, SLAs for most of our customers are 30 to 60 minutes, so we look at these numbers each week to make sure we’re on track.” For Joe and the JT team, BrightGauge has enabled them to automate 90-95% of what was previously in their manual reports, obviously saving them a ton of time and letting them get back to focusing on their business. Interested in setting up an Internal Weekly Service Report for your team? Check out our Report Key to recreate it yourself or feel free to reach out to success@brightgauge.com and we’ll be happy to help. Thank you to Joe and JT Global for sharing your insights! Link to Sample Report Link to Report Recreation Key
Best Practices   |   Read

3 Tips for MSPs Selling Security-as-a-Service

If you’re like most MSP owners, you’re constantly thinking about how to generate more revenue for your business while continuing to provide unique and differentiating value to your customers. These days, everybody is talking about security. It’s a hot topic because everyone needs more of it and they are willing to pay to ensure they’re protected. In fact, surveys have shown that 93% of SMBs would switch their MSP if another MSP would offer the ‘right’ security services. So, as an MSP, how can you use this urgent need for security as an opportunity to bring more money into your organization? Just ahead, we share 3 points to remember when thinking about monetizing your security offerings. Cybersecurity as a key initiative The current reality is that MSPs are more vulnerable to security attacks than ever before, forcing the conversation around security to happen on a regular basis. It’s time to get honest about where you stand from a security point of view, both for your own benefit and that of your client’s. Cybersecurity is now a ‘must-have’ versus a ‘nice-to-have’, so if you’re not already working it into your customer agreements, you should be. When it comes to offering security-as-a-service, we recommend keeping the following in mind: Educate your customers. You likely have customers in all types of industries, and they may not all be aware of the importance of being secure. And that’s okay. As a trusted partner, they turn to you to consult and advise them on business best practices. So go ahead and show them why security matters. Do a dark web scan of your client and show them the results so they understand what information is accessible. But don’t stop there. Also educate them on how you’re currently protecting them and which of your services they can add to become even more secure. Remember, you should be a trusted partner, not just another vendor, so show them why their investment in you is worthwhile. Make buy-in easy. Keep things simple for your customers so that their decisions are no-brainers. One way to do this is to roll security-as-a-service into your ‘all-in’ price, so that it’s automatically included in the packages you offer. Remember to be upfront and honest about exactly what your packages include. Show your customers what coverage looks like and make it clear what level of protection you offer. Your goal is to provide your client with a solution to their issues in a way that they can’t turn down. Properly onboard your customers. This ties back into the education component. Establish policies and procedures around your security offerings and train your customers on those procedures during your onboarding process. Making them part of the security process will reinforce the importance of it and get them more willing to play their part in keeping their business secure. Quick note: if your point of contact is not a decision-maker, ensure that he or she understands how to properly communicate the reasoning for a security package to those decision-makers. This is essential for buy-in. Want to explore more specific ways to monetize security? In this webinar brought to you by ConnectWise, hear from partners who have added over 1 million dollars to their annual revenue by selling security services:
Best Practices   |   Read

A Simple Framework MSPs Can Use to Set KPIs

Here’s some food for thought: If you’re not constantly reflecting on your business priorities and goals and redefining how you’re measuring success, how do you know where to go? And how can you tell if you’re headed in the right direction? In order for an organization to grow and succeed, there needs to be a constant focus on improving upon what you’re doing. Year over year (or even more often than that), executive leaders need to measure and analyze performance metrics to figure out if results align with the direction the business should be going in. How do you assess that? It all stems from setting the right goals and identifying the metrics that match those goals. What we’re talking about is Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Just ahead, we’ll introduce a simple framework for setting KPIs in your business. Why are KPIs so important? Business schools teach that you can’t manage what you don’t measure, right? So, identifying relevant metrics is a critical first step of a growth plan. If you are measuring what matters, you’re on the right path to growth and scalability. KPIs help decision-makers track and monitor progress and see where there may be opportunities for improvement. KPIs act as a north star that help teams stay focused on their mission to succeed. Perhaps the strongest argument for running a business based on KPIs is that data is neutral and keeps everyone on the same page. In other words, a culture built on data means that decisions will always be backed by the numbers versus being driven by emotions. Identifying the metrics that matter It’s easy to understand why KPIs are necessary but it’s harder to put into practice. We’ve developed a framework for setting and implementing KPIs that’s simple and easy to follow. But first, you must identify which areas of the business are important to your bottom line. While every business has different priorities, they are all generally looking to evaluate their performance in the following areas: Finance Customers Sales Marketing Operations Internal Teams Don’t make the mistake of overanalyzing data or placing an importance on areas of the business that aren’t significant for you. For example, if you don’t have a robust sales team, it doesn’t make sense to use manpower to evaluate sales data that ultimately won’t be used. Instead, shift that focus to your finance metrics or some other area of your business. Once you know which areas to focus on, determine which metrics paint the most clear picture. Here, quality over quantity is the name of the game. This is where the framework we’ve developed can help you make sense of the KPI process. The IDEAS framework Introducing IDEAS. This simple, but effective framework can help you define success on YOUR terms with the right metrics that are specific to you. Identify the problem What is the problem that you want to solve? Or what do you want to prevent from happening? By starting here, you can tie metrics directly to your desired outcomes. Determine what solves the problem Now that you’ve identified your issues, what are the indicators that might mean progress towards a solution? For example, if you’re looking to improve CSAT scores, maybe Average Time to Response is a metric that’ll help you make progress. Establish your KPIs Knowing your issues and what can help you solve them is how you’ll determine the KPIs that are right for your business. At this point, consider where you’ll find the data you need (i.e. what tools can help you track your data?). Analyze the results Now that your data is in, it’s time for a gap analysis. How do your actual results compare against benchmarks you’ve set? Where can you fill in the gaps? Perhaps you need a change in processes or to invest in additional training for your team members. Start from the beginning The process of setting and tracking KPIs is ongoing. On a regular basis, you should assess your results, see what you can learn, and then start the process over. Once you get in the habit of following this framework, there’s no turning back. Constantly defining (and redefining) and implementing KPIs means you’ll have your priorities in order and be in a position to succeed. Your organization’s specific teams each play a significant role in your overall success, so make sure you’re measuring metrics from all corners of the business. For more on implementing KPIs in your business - including some example KPIs for each of your teams - check out our whitepaper, ‘How KPIs Can Improve Your MSP Business’.

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How BrightGauge Differs From Other Dashboard Tools

As the owner or manager of an MSP, you may be looking for tools that can help you visualize your data, report on metrics, and make data-driven business decisions. When it’s time to make a purchasing decision, you may be overwhelmed by the number of different tools on the market. How do you choose one over the other? How do you know which one is best for your needs? In an effort to help you avoid analysis paralysis, we’re offering a quick comparison of BrightGauge amongst similar tools on the market. Factors to consider Before you commit to using any one tool, there are a few things you should always take into consideration. First and foremost, know your budget. Be realistic and honest about this number. The business tool you use should help you manage a better organization in the long run, but it should never break the bank. Second, establish a goal. What’s your desired outcome by using this software? What expectations are you setting for your executive team? What benchmarks will you set and how often will you evaluate them to determine whether this tool is working for your needs? Third, what features are most important to you? Do you want to create powerful client reports? Do you want to see all your KPIs in one place by using dashboards? Do you want a software that integrates with the PSA or RMM you’re already using? For example, are you specifically looking to create seamless ConnectWise reports and dashboards? Finally, figure out how many team members and/or clients you want to give software accessibility to. Some tools charge extra for viewer licenses, so you need to take that into account. Weigh your options Once you have a game plan and end goals in mind, then you can start narrowing down your options. If you need buy-in from your executive team, we suggest putting together a comparison chart that outlines the features of each business dashboard tool you’re interested in using. Luckily for you, we’ve gone head and done that dashboard tools comparison research for you! Check out how BrightGauge stacks up against other dashboard tools on the market, like Klipfolio and Power BI. BrightGauge Klipfolio Power BI Integrates with ConnectWise ✓ 𝖷 ✓ Unlimited Admin Licenses 𝖷 ✓ 𝖷 Unlimited Viewer Licenses ✓ ✓ 𝖷 Unlimited Dashboards ✓ 𝖷 ✓ Automated Reports ✓ 𝖷 𝖷* *available with Power BI Premium Pre-built KPIs, Dashboards, + Reports per Integration ✓ 𝖷 ✓ Snapshots (trend analysis) ✓ ✓ 𝖷 Public Dashboards for Internal/External Use ✓ ✓ ✓ Embeddable Gauges ✓ 𝖷 𝖷 Goal-setting System ✓ 𝖷 𝖷 Requires Office 365 𝖷 𝖷 ✓ White Glove Onboarding + Support Included ✓ 𝖷 𝖷 Free Data Customization ✓* *up to 25 gauges, major projects will be billable 𝖷 𝖷 Price $259 per month (Standard Plan) $199 per month (Team Plan) $9.99 per user per month (Power BI Pro Plan) Why choose BrightGauge? While many business tools on the market allow you to create impressive dashboards that give you a real-time view of your important metrics, BrightGauge users love that we’ve made client reporting a simple task. BrightGauge reports convert the metrics you’re tracking into customizable, interactive reports that you can share with your clients on the date and time you choose. You can set up a report one time, save it as a template, and schedule it to go out on a recurring basis, and that automation has simplified the lives of many of our users. Specifically, the ability to create powerful ConnectWise reports is a big draw for our users (especially now that we are a ConnectWise solution). A task that could take up to 8 hours a week in the past is now simplified to just a few minutes. Custom ConnectWise reports allow our users to remain transparent with their clients and report on the metrics that impact business decisions. Additionally, BrightGauge offers its users a proprietary goal-setting feature, which works really well in fostering a sense of accountability within teams. Each individual team member can create goals each quarter and check-in on a weekly basis to track progress, keeping everyone aligned to overall company KPIs and working towards success. To learn more about how BrightGauge compares to other dashboard tools, please contact our team! We’re happy to chat with you.
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VIDEO: Tips for Getting the Right BrightGauge Data on Day One

New BrightGauge user? We're sure you are eager to get access to your data immediately and we're excited for you to do so! Before you get started, we wanted to share some tips and tricks that'll help you see your custom data right out of the gate. This video covers: Where to find default metrics, commonly used filters, and best practices within the gauge builder (watch from start - 5:00) How to customize dashboards (starting at 5:03) Where to find resources for self-learning (starting at 6:42) After you watch this video, you may find it helpful to learn how to add dashboard filters, how to add client mappings, or how to send client reports. If you need some extra help or have any questions, no sweat. We're always here for you. Just reach out to our support team. Happy gauge-building!
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Important Information for Our Autotask Partners

On February 1, 2020, Autotask v1 is officially going into retirement. But don't worry! You will have access to our latest version. For that to happen, we need you to please take action before this datasource is gone. Again, on February 1, all Autotask partners will be required to use the latest version of our Autotask datasource, meaning that Autotask v1 will be deleted. We don't want any disruptions in your service to occur, so we'd like to help you move everything over ASAP. So, why are we doing this? Basically, the older version is being deprecated and we will no longer be supporting it. The newer version has been available since August 2018 and has many more features that we are sure you are going to love, including the availability of user defined fields (sweet!). Learn more here. Before February 1st, we need you to authenticate your connection in order to gain access to Autotask v2. You'll need to take a moment to ensure the following requirements are met: The Autotask user has an API User (API-Only) security level. This security level provides full system administration access to PSA modules, features and the data available via Autotask's Web Services API. It does all of this while limiting access to the Autotask UI itself. The Autotask user is assigned an API Tracking Identifier set to "BrightGauge Software - BrightGauge". Tracking identifiers are assigned on the Security tab of the API-only user's Resource Management page when adding a new API-only user, or editing an API-only user that does not yet have an identifier assigned. Select the "BrightGauge Software - BrightGauge" under the Integration Vendor menu. Confused? Please find detailed migration instructions here. Still confused? Submit a support ticket. We're always happy to help!
Best Practices   |   Read

5 Security Measures All MSPs Should Take Right Now

We are operating in a world where security risks are greater than ever before. The reality is that our information is vulnerable, but there are steps we can take to decrease our risk of attack. For the past couple of years, MSP 501 surveys have indicated that security-as-a-service or security offerings in general are the biggest growth area for MSPs, and that will continue to ring true. Whether or not you are offering security-as-a-service at your MSP, there are general security guidelines that every single MSP should be following right now to ensure the safety of their data and that of their clients. It starts from within. When you establish strong internal security protocols, that will carry over into making you a more trusted partner. So, whatever measures you put into practice should be shared with and required of every employee who joins your organization (just make it a part of your onboarding strategy!). Just ahead, we present 5 tips for securing your MSP: Use a password manager. A lot of websites require passwords of a certain length with a combination of 1 letter, 1 special character, etc. So, people tend to use the same passwords across the board. Bad idea. Instead, use a password manager, like 1Password. In fact, require it for all business activity and use strong, unique passwords for every separate site. Something like 1Password will store your passwords and generate them for you. This can help dramatically reduce the risk of password reuse in the event of a vendor security breach. Require 2-Factor Authentication. There’s really no excuse not to do this. Enable 2FA everywhere possible - especially on sites/apps you share with clients. When available, encourage the use of SSO (single sign-on) solutions as well. Encrypt, encrypt, encrypt. Across all devices, full disk encryption should be a requirement. This is an important measure to take to ensure that only those people who you want accessing a piece of information are able to access it. Just like 2FA, there’s no reason not to do this. Keep your customer’s data safe. It’s one thing to safeguard your own data, but ensuring your customer’s data is protected is incredibly important, too. You are a trusted vendor, after all. Make sure you have clear protocols and safeguards in place around any customer data and resources. When possible, store logs and audit trails for any privileged activity that might access private customer data. Word of advice: when building these systems, be cautious not to accidentally capture sensitive data in your audit logs. Stay informed. When in doubt, turn to the experts and constantly stay informed. We highly recommend and have referred our own employees to a set of excellent presentations on operational security published by PagerDuty. Anyone looking for additional guidance should definitely check it out: https://sudo.pagerduty.com/for_everyone/. The bottom line: don’t skimp on security. It’s just going to continue becoming more and more important every day. For a deeper dive into the topic of security, including how to sell security to your customers, join the upcoming ConnectWise webinar, ‘Key Tactics to Monetize Your Security Offering’, taking place on January 27th. Register now: https://www.connectwise.com/resources/webinar-monetize-your-security-offering.
Customer Success   |   Read

[WEBINAR] Tracking Project Progress Through Dashboards + Reports

A common challenge that MSPs face is how to run an efficient and productive service desk, as there's so much activity coming in and out of that department. From tickets that need to be serviced to long-term projects that have been agreed upon, there are plenty of moving parts (and technicians) to keep track of. What's your approach when it comes to staying on top of what your team members are working on? In the latest edition of our user showcase webinars, Mark Kjaer and Mark Beitel of WBM Technologies, Inc. share how they are using BrightGauge dashboards and reports to track each of their technician's performance and to stay on top of open projects and devices. Having real-time visibility into their machine stats, project status, and tech data has proven to be an effective way to align everyone on tasks that need to get done. Plus, the ability to create comprehensive reports within BrightGauge has allowed the WBM team to keep clients and team members alike informed on a monthly basis. Click below to watch the webinar and please contact us if you've got any questions!
Best Practices   |   Read

Why and How MSPs Should Track Finance KPIs

Off the top of your head, do you know how much cash your organization has on hand? What was your gross profit last month? What’s your projected MRR this month? If you don’t know these numbers right off the bat, how quickly can you get to them? Ideally, you can get this data immediately. Keeping a watchful eye on your finance KPIs is a critical practice that informs pretty much all business decisions. If you’re not in the habit of doing this or aren’t sure of the best way to keep tabs on this data, don’t fret. It’s pretty simple to implement. Why is it so important to track financial KPIs? Aside from the obvious - knowing whether or not your business is profitable - tracking financial KPIs impacts day-to-day decisions that spill over into the long-term. A (good) challenge that many MSPs are facing today is merging with or acquiring another company. Oftentimes when this happens, leadership teams are suddenly tasked with managing a growing organization. How can MSPs efficiently grow and scale in this market? It’s all about letting data do the talking. Tracking financial performance and patterns means that decisions are rooted in truth. Hard data can’t be manipulated and numbers don’t lie, so decision-makers can rest assured that they are taking the smartest actions. Financial data can help when determining how many members to add to a team, where to set sales commissions, what tools or software to add to an existing stack, or especially when projecting goals for a coming quarter or year. Owners and managers also use financial KPIs to figure out what area of the business to focus on. For instance, if revenue is dwindling because of a slow uptick in new clients, a heavy investment can be made in a sales and marketing team. Or, going back to M&A’s, if you’re expecting to take on a significant amount of new clients, it may make sense to focus investments on a more robust service team. Whether deemed large or small, it’s pretty much a guarantee that all decisions are driven by financial data. Another reason to always have an eye on finances: key stakeholders and investors care a whole lot about this type of information, so it’s best to have it on hand anytime a question is asked or a report is needed. Keeping tabs on finances with the right tools You’re most likely using a tool like QuickBooks to handle and manage your finances. It’s a very popular and reliable tool in the industry. But, depending on the needs of your MSP, you’re probably using other tools like a PSA or RMM on a daily basis. What ends up happening is that you spend the day toggling between windows to consume the data that’s important to you. A smarter and faster way to be data-driven is to keep all your metrics in one central place, like a dashboard that gives you a bird’s eye view of your business. That’s exactly what BrightGauge does. You can create specific dashboards for the areas of business you want to track and then have them on display throughout your office, giving you and other team members constant visibility into your KPIs. In the case of finances, being able to glance at one dashboard to quickly understand the state of your business puts you in a prime position to be proactive, make decisions that lead to success, and manage incoming and outgoing cash in an optimal way. Knowing where and how to get started You’ve got the right tools in place and are adamant about making financial KPIs a priority, but how do you get started? First, know that we offer a lot of resources to guide you. Our integrations come pre-loaded with default gauges, dashboards, and reports to get you off on the right foot. With QuickBooks specifically, you’ll get gauges like Accounts Receivable Aging Summary, Amount on Invoices Sent This Week, Cash Balance, EBITDA Performance, Net Profit, and more. Pre-built QuickBooks dashboards include COGS, Expenses, and Revenues Details as well as a Financial Overview dashboard. In addition to these templates, we have webinars, blog posts, and more that share what your peers are doing with BrightGauge. But what it comes down to is deciding what’s most important to your business and your bottom line. What are your main goals that will define success for you? Start there, choose KPIs that align with your company goals, and put those metrics on one dashboard. As an example, a BrightGauge customer recently gave us a look at a Leadership KPI dashboard that is shared with the executive team on a regular basis. It’s a high-level financial overview of performance in various departments, recurring revenue, and gross profit. See that dashboard below or click here: Because all these metrics are tracked every day, team members are able to communicate about this data at a moment’s notice, keeping everyone accountable and aligned to goals. As a BrightGauge customer, you’ll never be left to figure things out on your own. Our support and success teams are always available to help you out. Want to learn more or see BrightGauge in action? Contact us today and we’ll be happy to take you through a one-on-one demo.

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Why BrightGauge is the Best Analytics Solution for MSPs & TSPs

In a world where data drives decisions, BrightGauge stands out as the premier analytics solution for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) & Technology Service Providers (TSPs), offering the tools and insights needed to excel. Empowering TSPs with Data-Driven Insights In today's fast-paced technological landscape, the ability to make data-driven decisions is crucial for the success of Managed Service Providers (MSPs) & Technology Service Providers (TSPs). BrightGauge is on a mission to empower MSPs by offering robust analytics tools that turn raw data into actionable insights. By leveraging BrightGauge, MSPs can monitor performance metrics in real-time, get proactively notified on threshold alerts, identify trends, and make strategic decisions that drive growth and efficiency. With BrightGauge, MSPs have access to a comprehensive suite of dashboards, reports, goals and proactive notification workflows that provide a clear view of key performance indicators (KPIs). This not only helps in tracking operational efficiency but also in identifying areas for improvement, thereby facilitating a culture of continuous enhancement. New Tools and Features: What's Fresh at BrightGauge In 2024, BrightGauge significantly expanded its native integration capabilities by adding support for five tools, including Acronis, Axcient, ConnectWise MDR, ConnectWise Asio, and Strety. These line of integrations highlights the critical need for monitoring endpoint status and backup recovery posture for business continuity. Notably, the integration with Strety allows BrightGauge metrics to power scorecards and create linked To-Dos and issues, marking BrightGauge's first outbound integration and reinforcing its leadership in providing comprehensive solutions for MSPs & TSPs. BrightGauge continually evolves to meet the dynamic needs of MSPs. This year in 2024, our Recent updates have introduced a variety of new tools and features designed to enhance the user experience and provide proactive insights & personalized visualizations to everyone at your organization. Proactive notifications workflows feature was made generally available in first half of this year. It enables you to create thresholds on metrics that you want to track based on threshold conditions. With flexibility to get notified on MS Teams, Email & Slack notifications, BrightGauge monitors these metrics and provide customizable & personalized alerts if metrics crosses the threshold. BrightGauge also introduced brand-new Dashboard management experience in Asio-neon theme which enables management of dashboards, filter on different fields, categories to organize, manage access to users at a single place. This also paves way to have access to BrightGauge dashboards from within AsioTM platform. Another exciting addition is the Sidekick for BrightGauge (currently in Early access), the AI-enabled chatbot enables BrightGauge users to ask questions in a natural language and MS teams-based Sidekick app provides summarized answers from the data sources connected out of 60+ supported integrations. This innovation makes BrightGauge the only MSP-focused analytics platform that truly integrates AI to deliver insights with your existing BrightGauge subscription. Personalized Insights for Every Role in the Organization At BrightGauge, we want to empower MSPs to provide personalized insights to everyone at your organization. We believe creating visible & measurable goals, providing visibility to different activities & its metrics that contribute to those goals makes people rally around the goals and often exceeding them. One of the stand-out features of BrightGauge is its ability to create Parent-child dashboards. Using a single Parent dashboard, you can create multiple clone child dashboards to provide personalized view tailored to needs of every role within an organization. Parent dashboards enable you to control and make updates to multiple dashboards at ease. Whether you're a technician on the front lines, a manager overseeing operations, or an executive shaping strategy, BrightGauge delivers the specific data you need to excel in your role. In last one year of launch of this feature, MSPs across the world created around 12000 dashboards from their parent dashboards fewer than 1800. That shows how easy it has made to provide either client-facing dashboards or technician specific dashboards. Why BrightGauge Outshines the Competition Central to BrightGauge's design principles is the ease of use and the empowerment of MSPs through self-service capabilities. BrightGauge distinguishes itself from other analytics solutions with its intuitive interface, extensive customization options, and strong integration features. Unlike many other platforms, BrightGauge is specifically crafted with TSPs in mind, ensuring that all features and tools are tailored to the unique challenges and needs of this industry. Integrations and features mentioned earlier in the blog are some examples of our focus for TSPs success. Furthermore, BrightGauge is committed to meeting the needs of MSPs worldwide. In addition to North America, BrightGauge now has data centers in the EU and AU, offering data localization options. With over 4,200 pre-built metrics and gauge templates, along with its seamless integration with other essential systems used by MSPs, such as PSA and RMM tools, BrightGauge enhances its value, making it an essential component of any MSP's toolkit. Looking forward in 2025 ConnectWise is dedicated to delivering the first and only true MSP platform, and as part of this commitment, more of BrightGauge's features will be reimagined with user-friendly enhancements in an Asio-neon theme, becoming available on the ConnectWise Asio platform. In the addition to new integrations, existing ones, particularly those with AsioTM solutions, will be more tightly integrated, ensuring seamless data access across the tools MSPs use within the platform. Next year, BrightGauge will introduce features designed to support the community and its needs, offering self-service capabilities for creating data views to generate domain-specific insights and foster community sharing experience.
Best Practices   |   Read

How to Generate Powerful Autotask Reports

You know what clients love? Partners who are trustworthy and transparent about what they’re doing. Know what’s even better? When that foundation is set naturally, without clients having to ask. It’s likely a priority of yours to foster a really strong sense of trust between you and your clients, which is great. Trust breeds long-term relationships and repeat business, putting you on a path towards success. And a really simple, yet powerful way to build that trust is to get in the habit of consistently sending out client reports. It’s not as tedious or time-consuming as you may think, and the payoff is substantial. Determining what to report on Let’s say you’re using Autotask Professional Services Automation to track your support tickets, SLA data, engineers’ hours, and more. That’s some pretty important data! How do you show your clients what you do with that data to keep them running efficiently? This is where Autotask reports come in. Consistent reports give you the opportunity to visually display your value to your client and reinforce the reasons why they are paying you. Autotask reports also show that you’re proactive and committed to helping them run their business - a.k.a., you’re a partner, not just a service provider. However, while we are clearly in support of showing off your data management skills, we should caution against dumping too much Autotask data (or any data) on your clients. The key is to choose the right data. There are a few questions to ask yourself whenever you’re choosing the Autotask data to report on: How does this fit into my client’s SLA? Referring to the SLA you and your client agreed upon is an excellent way to refresh yourself on what matters to them. For example, if the SLA specifies a satisfactory support ticket response time, you’re going to want to include your Autotask Average Time to First Response on each report you send. Does this impact my client’s bottom line? Only include the Autotask data that’ll have the most impact to each specific client. They may not need to know nitty-gritty details like Hours Today by Engineer, but would probably appreciate an update on Projects Opened vs. Closed. Am I spending significant time on this? If it’s not something that matters a whole lot to you, it’s not likely to matter a whole lot to your client. Remember, this is an opportunity to report on your value, so show off Autotask data that you spend a worthwhile amount of time on. Once you’ve got your data ironed out, you can start pulling your Autotask reports together. A little help goes a long way You’re really busy. You don’t have 8-10 hours a week to spend on compiling reports. And no one says you have to. Using a business intelligence tool like BrightGauge can help you get your Autotask reports out with very little work on your end. First of all, BrightGauge takes all your Autotask data (plus data from your RMM, BDR, security, finance tool, etc) and puts it up on one seamless dashboard, so you can keep an eye on the metrics that matter to you in real-time. Then, when it comes to building reports, the whole process is automated and can be set up in just a few clicks. When you connect BrightGauge + Autotask, your account will come pre-loaded with 8 report templates to get you started, including Daily Member Scorecard, Weekly Project Work Summary, Service Calls, Sales Daily Wrap Up, and more. You can open one of these templates, personalize it with a client logo, choose your client recipient(s), and then schedule the report to automatically be sent out at the frequency you choose (like every Monday at 8 a.m.). If you’d rather build a report from scratch, it’s just a matter of dragging and dropping the data you’re already tracking into the report template, and then personalizing it and scheduling it out. It’s honestly that simple. And the reports look clean, professional, and digestible. Once you get your Autotask reports scheduled, you can rest easy knowing they’re automatically being delivered to your client’s inbox every week/month/quarter and that your client’s can rely on you and trust you to receive this information. High-five! By the way, in addition to 8 report templates, you’ll get almost 200 default KPIs and 9 pre-built dashboards to get you started. Some KPIs include: Amount on Invoices 90 Days Past Due Average Time to First Response Average Time to Resolution Breached SLA Summary Per Resource Customer Satisfaction This Month Leaderboard Opened vs Closed Tickets Project Phases - Current Month Tickets Assigned by Tech Tickets Completed This Week Leaderboard Tickets by Issue Type Watch this video to learn more about setting up and sending out reports. If you’d like to add Autotask to your stack of BrightGauge datasources, please contact us today.
Customer Success   |   Read

Dashboard of the Month: RMM Overview - Endpoints

Dashboards and reports play a vital role in streamlining data and extracting valuable insights. In the dynamic realm of endpoint management, it is imperative for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to have real-time access to consolidated data from their array of tools, enabling swift action on behalf of their clients. Utilizing metrics not only aids in pinpointing areas for enhancement but also empowers them to enact precise strategies for advancement. In this month's featured Dashboard, we delve into RMM Overview metrics tailored to streamline endpoint monitoring and management. Our inspiration stems from a recent user showcase webinar featuring Nate Ginn, the Centralized Systems Manager at ESI Technology Advisors, who shared insights on leveraging ConnectWise RMM and ConnectWise PSA data for enhanced client management. Tune in to Optimizing Remote Monitoring and Client Management with Data to discover more on how Nate drives performance enhancements through data utilization. Nate and the ESI team rely on the RMM Overview dashboard to gain a snapshot into critical indicators like patch status, warranty updates, and disk space utilization, guaranteeing optimal functionality of their endpoints. This visual aid, shared among their team, helps them stay ahead of RMM tickets for prompt issue resolution as well. RMM Overview - Endpoints - view here. Here are some featured metrics: Ticket & Configuration Information - These segments organize RMM tickets based on their status, time spent, and attached configurations. It also offers a historical perspective on ticket volume, and provides insight into the endpoints and software under your management. Patching & Disk Space Utilization - These metrics provide valuable insights on missing patches, OS patch compliance rates, and disk space utilization percentages. These data points are crucial for addressing performance concerns and identifying potential security vulnerabilities. Thank you, Nate, for collaborating with us and sharing your valuable insights! Recreate in your BrightGauge RMM Overview - Endpoints Dashboard (public view link) RMM Overview - Endpoints Buildout Key Make sure to visit our library of more report and dashboard templates and please feel free to reach out to success@brightgauge.com with any questions!

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