How can MSPs Leverage Technology to Maintain Social Distancing?
Insights by Ryan Lewton, Certified Energy Manager | Sr. Business Consultant | Key2Act
During these unprecedented times, many mechanical service providers (MSPs) are faced with the challenge of supporting the critical infrastructure of their communities and protecting the health and safety of their workers. Usually, this results in employees stepping up and putting their own personal interests aside for the greater good of the community. Many people don’t realize how important their work is to hospitals, laboratories, communication centers, municipal governments, and manufacturing. The role of MSPs is crucial to keep these facilities operating at full capacity.
Remote Monitoring Is a Life Saver
The good news is, thanks to developments in technology, MSPs now have some options that could allow them to keep some level of social distancing, while still supporting these clients. Remote services and digital products can be an effective alternative for many face-to-face interactions. This would allow for older or at-risk employees to contribute digitally without putting themselves in danger of contracting Covid-19.
Remote services can be used for a variety of purposes, such as monitoring faults in system performance, remote troubleshooting and field support, as well as conducting routine and preventative maintenance inspections until it’s safe for personnel to go back on site.
Cost Avoidance
There is also the ability to help clients avoid unnecessary costs, such as running their building at full capacity if their facilities are partially empty or even closed. We can protect client assets by identifying critical system failures before they sustain damage or interrupt service throughout the building and in mission-critical areas such as data centers. We can help manage and maintain critical environments like isolation rooms in hospitals or in manufacturing processes. Ultimately, providing value to our customers in a time of need while continuing to conduct business in a safe and responsible manner.
Remote Services = Competitive Differentiation
In the past, access to these technologies was reserved for employees that had a specific role in the company. This privilege of focus was vital to the successful proof of concept phases of respective digital product offerings; however, the value of these programs has been realized hundreds of times over in case studies over the last decade. Companies that have successfully scaled up their digital services find themselves in a unique position to not only protect their operations from disruptive events but even grow the value of their services over their competitors who have lagged to innovate.
Deciding to invest in digital services does not have to be out of fear of the next pandemic. The benefits of such an investment reach far beyond unforeseen circumstances like these. Inside the everyday operations of service organizations all over the country, exist boundless opportunities to enhance and extend traditional products to create true value-add services to differentiate themselves. Some of the early adopters have even started creating new products giving birth to emerging markets like the Internet of Things and Smart Building Technologies. A market that is expected to grow to $500+ million by 2027, according to experts.
Time to Change the Status Quo?
The future is calling on us to be innovative right now, and if a silver lining is to exist in the challenges of current events, it will be in the solutions we are about to create to problems we’ve never encountered before. Pandemics were certainly not the focus for developing these technologies, but after seeing the social and economic impact that isolation has had on everyday life, it has proven itself to be a critical component in the evolution of every organization moving forward.
Priorities are changing based on the new environment we now live in. What was challenging to invest in last year might now be easily justified to solve multiple problems. Remote IoT technologies can not only solve social distancing but can also cut costs in managing buildings remotely.
Now it’s your turn to evaluate which remote monitoring IoT technologies are your next competitive advantage.
About the Author
Ryan Lewton, Certified Energy Manager | Sr. Business Consultant | Key2Act
23 years serving the mechanical and energy service industry
The past ten years specializing in smart building technology