LOOKUP is a business ‘on the up’

LOOKUP

The managed service provider (MSP) LOOKUP, which delivers modern workplace, IT support, and cybersecurity for Australian businesses, is riding the wave of an exceptional 12-month performance.

From its offices in Brisbane and Sydney, the company’s headcount has grown from 9 to 17, on the back of broadening its solution offering.

Now offering security (MSP+) and tailored software services alongside managed IT, and with plans to have local, remote support available in every major Australian city by 2021, the ARN-recognised IT expert is just getting started.

“Looking back now, our evolution into MSP+ and software would not have been possible without ConnectWise.”

Peter Kantarelis, CEO at LOOKUP

The efficiency gap

But that growth hasn’t always been hand-in-hand with profitability. Founded in 2000, Peter Kantarelis, CEO of LOOKUP, says that several years ago the company had stagnated.

“We’d hit an efficiency limit. We were hiring more people to meet demand, but we weren’t making more money. We had bigger overheads, and despite increasing our turnover, our profitability was down.”

“We pride ourselves on our ability to remove complexity in IT for clients, but internally we were anything but efficient.”

This, says Peter, was down to inefficiencies in its own operations. “We had too many high touch and disparate systems that were slowing us down.”

One example was the process of quoting a job through to invoicing and collecting payment. “It was completely broken. We were using Microsoft® Excel to cost up quotes, which were then transferred into a Word doc. This then had to be emailed to clients, chased etc. When it came time for invoicing, we had MYOB - so that was another system again. I was fed up.”

When the LOOKUP chief began considering a software solution to take control of the situation, an industry contact referred him to ConnectWise.

After speaking with the team at ConnectWise, he decided to go ‘all in’.

‘All-in’ approach to transformation

“We decided to go all-in with ConnectWise. It would have been easy to just choose one of its quote and proposal automation services and test the waters, but we wanted to realise the full benefits of their technology.”

“Making the transition to unfamiliar software solutions can seem like a daunting, and difficult path, but we were able to demonstrate to LOOKUP the potential to create business efficiencies by delivering the tools they needed for CRM, ticketing, help desk, and tools for project management, billing, and procurement.”

“Peter wanted to be able to record the time techies spent on certain tasks for clients to enable more accurate billing and quoting. We were able to show that with our screen recording and call logging software - which integrates into telephony - LOOKUP would have a true view of where resources were being spent, which could lead to data-driven business decisions.”

Key Technologies:

From a sales point of view, ConnectWise has also been able to transform LOOKUPs approach. “Now, when we share a customer quote, we can actually see when they’re looking at it based on their IP address. That’s a powerful opportunity for us to follow up while the iron’s hot.”

Peter’s role in the business has also evolved with the implementation of ConnectWise.

“I used to be so caught up in the day-to-day; it was hard for me to really manage and grow the business. The total visibility that ConnectWise has given me has meant that I can lift myself out of the weeds and lead the business and we have been able to reduce our labour costs by a staggering 30% because of ConnectWise.”

A partnership journey to implementation

Due to the scale of the services that LOOKUP elected, implementation was phased over two years, which Peter says was worth the investment.

“ConnectWise can give you visibility to where your business is going wrong and what needs to change. It’s a process that helps you redefine your business.

“For us, that wasn’t going to be an overnight change, but we were willing to make the commitment, and I think that is the key when looking at any software deployment because the cultural change is just as significant. The ability for monitoring and auto scripting using the mobile phone View tool has been awesome with our retail clients,” says Peter.

Peter says although the transition wasn’t always easy, it was smooth, which he attributes in part IT Nation® Evolve, peer groups by ConnectWise.

“In the last year, this value-add has helped us to unlock the best of the technology we have at our fingertips.” He’s referring to the quarterly, two-day peer meetings for MSP business owners and leaders, which are held all across the ANZ region.

“The thought-leadership and peer networking has helped us to solidify our best-in-class approach to cybersecurity and managed services,” says Peter. “We now know where we stand in terms of best-in-class for operations and financials across thousands of MSP’s globally, and therefore where we need to focus on improving.“