“The average customer we deal with is primarily 50-60 people. A lot of those businesses don't have the ability to invest in a SOC-type solution. So that's where ConnectWise MDRTM [and response (EDR) solutions Bitdefender, Microsoft, and SentinelOne] pairs with the ConnectWise SOC to provide a solution that is appropriate for them."
“I’d have to say that the events are truly an opportune time to meet MSPs from different parts of the world that we end up referring business back and forth to each other. The networking there is so vitally important. I can easily point to the most obvious one that we contacted an MSP in Australia. That's probably resulted in about £1,000,000 worth of revenue for us. We would have never had such an opportunity without having the relationship first.”
Established in 2002, Mirus IT Solutions (Mirus) has been a fixture, serving the UK as a leader in the MSP space, and establishing its role as a trusted adviser to its clients. Having grown from 90 to 115 employees and owned by Advania group, Mirus has continued to thrive and grow every part of its organization through people, process and technology.
London skies be what they may, there’s no doubt Mirus has a very bright future ahead.
Dan Sharp, Managing Director, has been with the organization through its transformative journey for the last 16 years.
“I wasn’t here for the very beginnings, but I’ve seen a lot. I started in sales, and over time, navigated my way through the organization to Business Director [sic. essentially the Managing Director] position. Simply said, everything P&L in my charge,” said Sharp. “ConnectWise has been an integral part of our that transformation, providing us with trusted, reliable and innovative solutions.”
Mirus has gone through some changes over the years.
“We've been on a little bit of a journey regarding when we were 90-ish people of our operating independently to then being purchased. It changes the dynamic a little bit when it comes to naming and branding, certainly. But we didn’t change our priority focus. We are strong when it comes to serving SMBs. We’ve really established that is our niche.”
Mirus may be backed by private equity with global reach and access to resources; however, it maintains a personalized, localized approach. Tailored solutions for SMBs specifically are still at the core of what Mirus delivers to its customers.
“The average customer we deal with is primarily 50-60 people. A lot of those businesses don't have the ability to invest in a SOC-type solution. So that's where ConnectWise MDRTM [and response (EDR) solutions Bitdefender, Microsoft, and SentinelOne] pairs with the ConnectWise SOC to provide a solution that is appropriate for them.
Mirus capitalized on the opportunity, working with ConnectWise security experts which allowed them to deploy a best-in-class security offering. Given the role that security must play, businesses cannot afford to sit on the sideline. Mirus worked with each customer to localize and personalize a solution for each of them.
“We’ve seen a good uptick in [MRR] with our MDR solutions. We are covering more endpoints than ever before and building out our security services offering. That's all working out well for us! We feel that we can slot into that gap between ‘customers n that have a need for this type of solution’ and the reality of ‘doing it on their own is most likely out of reach’.”
Vision for a Hyperautomated Future
For the past couple of years, Hyperautomation has been all the hype. Fast-forward to today, the hype has normalized. It is now a reality; and we can no longer afford to sit idly by. However, before engaging fully in hyperautomation, Mirus shared its thinking about understanding opportunity, tools and defined outcomes before forging head-on.
“Talking to a chat bot and things I don't personally see as a future of what we do, I think it's talking to people that add value to their business that provide a service. But, freeing the people to speak to those customers with actual issues that need actual help: this is where I would see [hypersutomation] tools playing a critical role for us and our customers. I think there would not be a world where, let’s say, we will never talk to a human, so we need to strike the right balance to provide for that [human connection] and automation working together.”
There’s a strong case to be made for automating manual, repetitive tasks. Sharp says Mirus is driving this [hyperautomation] forward with a priority focus.
“In my view it’s a no-brainer to get rid of those routine robotic tasks that people are wasting their time on. Provisioning licenses and all that goes into that, for example, should be routinized and easy. As a business, we want our colleagues to focus on customer service because our customer relationships are foundational to our business. We are a technology business. At our core, however, we are a customer service business. If we deliver the right service to our customers - they do more with us, they buy more services from us, they trust us, and our relationship grows and grows.”
ConnectWise is leading the market with its Asio platform delivery of hyperautomation to the market. Mirus is currently working through trials of ConnectWise SidekickTM, ConnectWise RPATM, along with other tools that integrate with ConnectWise, that will help them to put this strategy in motion.
The IT Nation
Mirus touts The IT Nation for what it offers: educational resources, training and access to specialists, thought-leadership, stewardship and networking opportunities.
United by the credo ‘Wise Together. Rise Together’, The IT Nation is a global community of peers, thought leaders, and experts dedicated to pushing MSPs and the industry, as a whole, to new heights. Between conferences, in-depth product trainings, and community-based events, Mirus engages with The IT Nation [members] to network and collaborate with others.
“I've been probably three or four times [to IT Nation] Connect, and I always take away something meaningful. Every time we attend, we are getting an update on ConnectWise products and what's going on in the industry. The keynotes are always filled with great thought leadership content. Even if they aren’t in the technology vertical or understand the ins-and-outs of how MSPs operate; the themes are relatable and actionable. We were blown by the keynote speaker [Jesse Cole, Savannah Bananas]! Not only was he an interesting and memorable person [donning a banana-colored tuxedo and matching top hat] but also the content of what he said was so inspiring,” said Sharp. “IT Nation Connect 2023 motivated and inspired us to think differently.”
The IT Nation goes far beyond just events. It’s a community built to share and collaborate with each other. Long-lasting relationships are born here and, in Mirus’s case, have developed into revenue opportunities.
“I’d have to say that the events are truly an opportune time to meet MSPs from different parts of the world that we end up referring business back and forth to each other. The networking there is so vitally important. I can easily point to the most obvious one that we contacted an MSP in Australia. That's probably resulted in about £1,000,000 worth of revenue for us. We would have never had such an opportunity without having the relationship first.”
