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Westtek Solutions grows its business—not its headcount-with ConnectWise

WestTek logo

Quality– Westtek Solutions can provide real-time service 24 /7 to solve problems quickly

Revenue– Revenue per employee has grown by 2.4x

Business– Westtek Solutions now leads with security for some clients, opening a valuable new avenue for growth

Challenge
Hands-on, labor-intensive support processes made it impossible for Westtek Solutions to provide comprehensive service while maximizing profitability.
Solution
Westtek Solutions depends on ConnectWise solutions and staffing to multiply the effectiveness and value of its small technical staff.
Results
Westtek Solutions can take on bigger clients and expand into security services without increasing its headcount for a lean, highly profitable business.

Francis West, CEO of Westtek Solutions, had firsthand experience with the scalability challenges facing a growing MSP. “In my first business, even a team of 18 people could never provide true 24/7 support,” he explains. “My business was growing, but everything depended on me. I ended up running out of money because I kept throwing people at problems instead of getting the problems solved once and for all.”

With the launch of Westtek in 2010, West and his business partner took a more scalable approach to growth. “With ConnectWise, we had a service team of hundreds behind us. Now we really could promise 24/7 support, and even with just the two of us, our business grew rapidly,” says West. Today, an in-house Westtek team of five people, including just two engineers, supports 47 clients across nearly 100 locations with nearly 1,000 machines, including 70 servers. “We couldn’t have achieved this kind of growth without ConnectWise. Now other MSPs can’t compete with us.”

West finds the combination of ConnectWise Command™, formerly a Continuum solution, and ConnectWise Recover™, formerly a Continuum solution, to be powerful for customers and Westtek alike. “We can provision servers easily for our customers with management and backups handled by ConnectWise. The integration between ConnectWise Command and ConnectWise Recover makes it easy to fix things as you find them.” The firm also uses ConnectWise to handle customer projects such as migrations. “Project work with ConnectWise is brilliant. I’m trying to keep my numbers low, so I don’t want a lot of people tied up in projects.”

Delivering high-quality support around the clock

“When anything goes wrong with a server, ConnectWise already has been looking at it and fixing it, even overnight,” says West. “I can’t remember the last time we had to reboot a server. Having ConnectWise Recover Continuity handled over the weekend is a massive win as well—otherwise, we might have to have an engineer dealing with it for hours on Monday morning instead of working on something else.”

As companies deal with a constant stream of new ransomware versions, the ability to apply patches as they’re issued rather than waiting for a weekly maintenance window can make all the difference. “As soon as we moved to ConnectWise, all our server and desktop patching was properly managed and tested,” says West. “When new patches come out, we can close the window of vulnerability right away—we can even patch Adobe while someone’s using it,” says West.

Making more money with less staff

In West’s previous business, his staff generated roughly £100,000 in annual revenue per employee. With Westtek’s ConnectWise partnership in place, each member of the current five-member team averages £240,000 each year in revenue. “We’re up by 2.4x, and I don’t need to babysit people every day,” says West. “Our mission now is to double our business within the next three years while taking on just two or three more people.”

Building a business in security

“Over the past year, we’ve been an IT support company doing security. These days, we’re becoming a security company doing IT. Most IT companies won’t have both, so I can approach new prospects with either offering and then follow with the rest. We couldn’t have made that evolution without the ConnectWise Security Operations Center (SOC),” says West. The ability to scan the dark web and show the range of exploits readily available to hackers has given the company a dramatic way to educate customers on the need for larger security investments. “For the first time, I can show people why they need to spend more on security than support.”

Moving forward

Westtek is a small firm that now has a big market presence. “In the past, I’d be concerned about taking on a 60 – 70-user client with only two engineers on staff. Now it’s not a problem—I have hundreds of people in my ConnectWise NOC, and another few hundred in my ConnectWise SOC,” says West. As he thinks bigger about his business, West is eager to expand his market in both IT support and security. “ConnectWise opens up a completely new way of getting new clients. I feel like a kid in a candy store.”

Cybersecurity Threat Detection & Response

ConnectWise Fortify takes cybersecurity threat detection and response to new heights. With powerful assessments, protection, detection, and response capabilities, technology solution providers (TSPs) are able to stay ahead of the latest threats and provide the security services their clients expect. Expert SOC services are available 24/7/365 to bridge the security skills gap and provide rapid threat response to TSP’s managed environments, allowing for scalable security services and around-the-clock protection.

 

“In the past, I’d be concerned about taking on a 60–70-user client with only two engineers on staff. Now it’s not a problem—I have hundreds of people in my ConnectWise NOC and another few hundred in my ConnectWise SOC. ConnectWise opens up a completely new way of getting new clients. I feel like a kid in a candy store.”

- Francis West, CEO, Westtek Solutions

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