Meet Rick Harber, founder and CEO of Decision Digital, a strategic information technology firm in the managed services and PSA industry. Recognized as one of the fastest-growing IT solution providers, Decision Digital uses customized ConnectWise consulting services to help managed service providers (MSPs) achieve higher business success. Read on to find out how ConnectWise gave Decision Digital access to tools, resources, and a connected community to learn from.

About Decision Digital

Tell us about your company

Founded in 1997 and based in Atlanta, GA, we offer business technology solutions and ConnectWise consulting to customers worldwide. Our extensive experience in managed IT services, cybersecurity, and cloud services has helped companies across a variety of industries including manufacturing, financial services, non-profits, and other managed IT service providers perform better while achieving more. We’re proud to be the inaugural ConnectWise Partner Referral Award winner. Committed to the process of continual improvement, we teach our clients to do the same.

What’s a big win that you’re proud of?

Becoming the first Referral Partner of the Year! Being recognized as a thought leader and influencer in the MSP and PSA community is rewarding and humbling. The practical knowledge and experience that we share with others would not produce measurable results without ConnectWise and their strong focus on listening and responding to users’ needs.

What’s next for you and your business?

Our goal is to really expand and grow our ConnectWise consulting service offering so that all MSPs can use ConnectWise to do more with less. Most of them are already using ConnectWise but can’t seem to connect the dots to get the most out of it. We want to change that through practical knowledge and guidance. It’s inspiring watching them grow by taking the ConnectWise tools and pushing them to their limits with a little help.

For over two decades, we have been making a measurable difference for hundreds of MSPs out there. Why? Because we’re also an MSP. We’re living and breathing the reality of an MSP day in and day out and using ConnectWise to help us achieve really great things for our business and customers. We get them because we ARE them.

And of course, we make sure everyone is feeling the love for ConnectWise and its community nationwide.

About the industry

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the industry?

Finding talent whose cost is aligned or reflective of their actual skill level. Many MSPs also struggle with transitioning to a cloud-first or cloud-driven model because of the cost, available resources, talent, expertise, and motivation. There is an increased demand for cloud services and MSPs who want to stay in the business will need to meet these needs, through their services or by partnering with another trusted MSP.

Is there one piece of advice you’d like to share with other IT solution providers?

Embrace the cloud and practice situational awareness. We call it “amplifying your instincts”, for example staying focused and attuned to everything around you in the IT environment. What we mean by this is that MSPs must learn how to reduce, navigate, and ignore distractions to remain client focused. It begins with something simple: a forward-looking plan. A living IT strategy that goes and grows with your clients. Most IT and security issues point back to either distraction or lack of planning. For example, missed patches, security mistakes, and failing to take a preventative approach when they see issues looming on the horizon. They must continue to manage and monitor all areas of a client’s IT no matter what.

Being a ConnectWise partner

Why did you choose ConnectWise?

Three reasons: Innovation, integration, and automation. These are the most important features when looking for a partner. Innovation begins with understanding your clients’ needs, before bringing together best-in-class PSA, RMM, quoting, and KPI tools. ConnectWise integrates with many other platforms and automates processes to save us time while doing it better than we could have manually.

What impact has ConnectWise had on your business?

It has made us more efficient and effective both internally and with our clients. Things that used to take 10 steps in our former PSA now happen automatically. We’ve increased our revenue and gotten back more time. Time is something that you just can’t make more of.

What is the biggest benefit of your partnership with ConnectWise?

Truly, the biggest benefit is not just the partnership, but the ConnectWise community. It’s incredible. It's like we’re part of this hive and a like-minded collective. We go from being competitors to comrades (especially at events like IT Nation Connect) using our mutual wisdom to collectively move towards the same purpose. 

There is no other PSA on the planet that has a community that is as unified as ConnectWise. We feel like we’re part of something bigger. This shared commonality and purpose is strongly felt around the ConnectWise community. It’s wild and there’s so much strength in it.

There’s no one else in the MSP field that understands what we do better than ConnectWise. We feel seen. We feel heard. They understand us and empower us with knowledge and ability because they get it better than anyone.

What’s something you want people to know about ConnectWise?

ConnectWise is more than their software though we do love how flexible, customizable, and sophisticated it is. They are a strong, tightly-knit community of like-minded thinkers who inspire each other to grow and achieve more.

Any product features that were a game changer for you or your team?

Integration with marketplace vendors including Pax8, Huntress, Liongard, and SentinelOne have made subscription reconciliations much easier. Our invoicing is easier and more efficient with ConnectWise PSAÔ. Before ConnectWise, we had to do all the invoicing work manually—what took 10 steps now happens quickly, seamlessly, and automatically. We close around 300-400 tickets a week with an automated invoicing process, saving us ample time.

Thanks to Wise-Sync and Wise-Pay, electronic payments have now become a breeze. Customers can simply click the “Pay Now” button in their electronic invoice and pay us. Everything syncs seamlessly with our accounting platforms Xero and Manager. We get paid sooner and the customer experience is far more pleasant.    

And now for some fun!

Tell us a fun fact about you or your company.

Every time there’s a Star Wars or Star Trek movie premiere, we close the office and take everyone to the movie. If this makes you want to join our team, check out our openings here.

What’s a country or state you’d like to visit?

Fiji

What is one of your bucket list items?

Playing my guitar on the stage at Red Rocks.