As 闯耻尘辫颁濒辞耻诲鈥檚 Partner Program continues to expand through the managed services market, we like to sit down with Partners like Froogal to highlight their business, clientele, and what makes them experts in their field. It should be noted that Froogal鈥檚 business model is unique for the 黑料海角91入口 Partner Program, as they help set up, train, and manage many other MSPs.
- 黑料海角91入口 Partner: Froogal
- CEO: Caleb Driscoll
- Location: Minneapolis, MN
- Website: https://froogal.biz/
- Area of Expertise: Training MSPs to be adaptable with SaaS products
- Ideal Customer: Cloud-forward MSPs serving U.S.-based SMBs
Can you tell us about your business? When and how did you get started?
Caleb: We certify MSPs and streamline the dynamic needs of their clients. We make MSPs more adaptable, which involves SaaS products and the Internet of things (IoT). We find technology savings for MSPs, negotiate new rates, set up new services, teach them how to use them, and then manage all of the IT infrastructure. It鈥檚 not necessarily my role to build the company as much as it is to build the team that builds the company and to create strategic relationships that allow our MSPs to have access to the tools to do their jobs in a wash-and-repeat fashion.
I founded Froogal in 2012. We started out focusing on cost-reduction with telecommunication audits for end clients. When they started asking us to reallocate their budgets, their real needs started to be exposed. The more we dug into this, the more we realized we can鈥檛 re-empower small American businesses alone. We need partners. We need MSPs. There鈥檚 an ecosystem out there.
IMAGE TABLE
What would you say is your primary area of expertise?
Caleb: We just try to be adaptable; that鈥檚 why we created our micro hub-and-spoke model. If a piece of it breaks, we take it out and replace it, even if it鈥檚 one of our major components. If it鈥檚 a Froogal-certified Client, everything is documented and we鈥檙e hosting the data, so we can just drop in another provider. The same can be said about phishing tools, systems, SaaS products, you name it. Our model allows us to be really flexible and agile with what we can support.
Who are your ideal customers, and why do they choose to work with you?
Caleb: Our MSPs service 28 companies on average, and we know the average seat count per client is 210. In the past, we couldn鈥檛 have managed larger businesses because their corporate infrastructure would need an onsite Exchange and Active Directory, but now, the cloud has changed all of that. Our MSPs are able to fully service a wide range of organizations with SaaS, and I believe that SaaS and IoT in particular are the new economy for American small businesses.
Can you share more about the services you offer?
Caleb: We feel one of the biggest problems in the MSP channel stems from the lack of common denominators and standardized service catalogs in the space, while the other piece is the lack of best practices and aggregated accountability. In order to train MSPs, we leverage a full ConnectWise back stack using ConnectWise Manage, ConnectWise Sell, ConnectWise Automate, ConnectWise Control. We also use PassPortal for documentation, password management for end clients, Sienna security group, and ITbD for SOC, and we have a white-gloved, white-labeled 24/7 U.S.-based help desk that we give our MSP Partners. With all of this, we鈥檙e alleviating 92 hours per technician of their bench time, allowing those owners/operators of MSPs to either scale up in clients or scale back in labor. This is important because 65% of people in our space are 55 years and older. Part of creating balance in their lives, involves streamlining processes, and moving away from the break-fix mentality that forebodes billable hours and a reactive mindset. They鈥檇 love to be subscription-based, consultative, and proactive, and a hub-and-spoke micro service delivery model provides that.
What鈥檚 the one piece of security advice you give every client?
Caleb: They need to train the human being. Computers don鈥檛 click on viruses by themselves. Clients need security awareness training early and often. This involves on-hire, quarterly reviews, and setting metrics. It also involves asking questions like are you completing your trainings? Are you compliant with what we鈥檝e set forward in your hire packet? So, we鈥檝e partnered with Breach Secure Now because they have a dark web scan that shows us any usernames that have been compromised due to a security breach. Once we have that information, we鈥檙e able to send out a remediation packet that explains which users need to change their passwords and why. We also use phishing simulations to train users. For example, an employee will get an email that says, 鈥淵our CFO wants you to transfer 100k.鈥� If he clicks on that link, he gets this: 鈥淵ou鈥檝e just been phished now. You need to take this training because you鈥檙e the weakest link.鈥� Building this type of awareness is what every organization, whether small or large, needs to do as part of their security strategy.
The IT landscape is changing a lot with cloud services and web applications. What should organizations be thinking about in today鈥檚 world?
Caleb: They should be thinking about automation and how to improve workflow processes. Additionally, most small businesses these days run off of Excel and QuickBooks, and they tend to store all of the files on a local machine with no backup. That can lead to a horrible situation. However, that鈥檚 where MSPs come in. They can help SMBs implement the right tools, streamline processes, and adopt industry best practices.
Why did you partner with 黑料海角91入口?
Caleb: When I vetted 黑料海角91入口 a couple years ago, 黑料海角91入口 was one of the only providers in the space that did what I needed it to do. Also, business is about relationships, and the people I鈥檝e worked with at 黑料海角91入口 have been awesome. I鈥檝e really liked some of the collaborative conversations I鈥檝e been able to have with the team. They built a relationship with me right away, and that has since been solidified.
Next Steps
If you鈥檙e interested in hearing more about Froogal, check out their for further details about how they train MSPs to be adaptable with SaaS products. If you鈥檇 like to try 黑料海角91入口 for yourself, get started聽today. MSPs looking to join the Partner Program can apply here.
About 闯耻尘辫颁濒辞耻诲鈥檚 Partner Program
闯耻尘辫颁濒辞耻诲鈥檚 Partner Program empowers IT Service Providers with central identity management from the cloud. Fine-tuned for MSPs with cloud security offerings or clients transitioning to the cloud, Directory-as-a-Service can be easily bundled at the center of any product stack to make your business, and your clients鈥� businesses, as efficient and scalable as possible. Make Work Happen鈩� for your clients while improving the bottom line for your business.