ALSO CLOUD MARKETPLACE
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Getting involved For MSPs that want to become a partner in the ACMP, the process is straightforward, according to Mark. “They just need to go to ALSO.co.uk, hit the new partner or registration button, they fill in 12-14 pieces of information and then within a few moments that’s transferred into our systems, where we pick it up,” he says. “Then within 45 minutes their credentials are sent from the platform to the new onboarded MSP and they can log in and start using the platform. “We will follow that up with a demonstration if it’s required. But a lot of our registrations come from existing leads that will have had demonstrations previously, so they’ve already seen the platform and the benefits of the ACMP value proposition.” The ACMP is designed to be accessible to businesses of all sizes, from one-man- bands to huge corporates, Mark adds. “ALSO across Europe is always looking at customer breadth,” he says. “The SMB market is critical for us across Europe as it is such a mixed sector and where the big opportunities are.” For instance, the ACMP can help with the drive towards digitalisation, which is a journey that many businesses are on currently. “That’s the way the market is trending, but at the same time, we want to work with partners that simply want to grow their business as well. “For example, we have value-added propositions around marketing as a service, which is marketing in a box that’s white labelled that they can use to go out to market and drive the growth of their customers, have lead generation, et cetera.” Using the ACMP can also help resellers, MSPs and customers with the cost of doing business through increasing efficiency and automating certain processes. “This is always crucial, but especially so in the current economic times,” says Mark. New energy Mark has spearheaded the move into the UK, but this is just the latest stop in his ALSO career, which now stretches back 24 years. Over that time, he has managed printing supplies in the UK, before moving onto a European-wide supplies role, then becoming group lead for the Centre of Competence Printing and Supplies in February last year “I’ve been with ALSO a long time now, although 23 1/2 of those years were in the supply part of ALSO’s business,” he says. “At ALSO we have ‘three S’s’ – supply, solutions
looked for a mixture of sales hunters but also those with market experience.” Two external agencies were used in the recruitment process, and Mark is happy with the team he now has under him. He started with five employees in April, and that has already grown to 10, with plans to add to that number in the coming months as the number of users of the ACMP continues to grow. While ALSO may only be six months into its UK operation, it has already made its mark in the sector. “The response from the market so far has been very positive,” says Mark. “Our full package is very strong for MSPs especially those that are looking to develop and grow their customer base and they are taking advantage of our offering to grow their services.” Cybersecurity strength One of the strengths of the ACMP that MSPs are taking advantage of is its cybersecurity provision. “With cybersecurity, the risks and threats are increasing all the time,” says Mark. “But our platform has MFA installed, which means everyone must use it. There’s a user log, there’s an audit log, so we know exactly who’s pressed what buttons at any one time. “Also, for Azure users we have Azure threat and fraud protection. Here, we measure any dramatic spikes in Azure usage 24/7 and can instantly shut that down until we can get in touch with the customer to understand whether it is a genuine change in their usage or whether a cyberattack has happened to them. It gives protection for our MSPs and the end users. “Cyberattacks are a huge threat and attacks are becoming more frequent and MSPs and end users are really starting to change their mindset on how they’re protecting their data and systems from these attacks.”
The SMB market is critical for us across Europe as it is such a mixed sector and “ where the big opportunities are.
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