Having a systematic and organized way of onboarding new clients is an important part of your business.
In the last few weeks we’ve been seeing quite a few questions posted to the r/msp subreddit and various MSP Facebook groups asking for tips and tools that MSPs can use to document a new customer’s network for onboarding purposes.
“Are there any good recommendations for software or tools to utilize to assist with this? We’ll need to sniff the entire network to find what all is there and how it is connected so it can be logically laid out in something like Visio, document where and what everything is and how to access it, as well as make it nice and pretty in both digital and physical form so that any IT person could come in and pick up on it.”
Domotz network monitoring software is a great tool to use to document a client’s network for onboarding purposes. You can do this through our network device monitoring features.
The software has 5 key features that can help your MSP onboard new clients.
- Device Inventory and classification
- Network Mapping
- Network Diagnostics
- Security assessment
- WAN performances
- Proactive Monitoring
Here’s an overview of the 6 ways you can use Domotz to document a new customer’s network as part of your MSP onboarding checklist.
1) MSP onboarding checklist: Device inventory
Domotz software includes an automatic device inventory of everything on your client’s network, including network infrastructure devices and end-points. You’ll get a full and complete profile of each device on the network including make and model, mac address, location, zone, software version, IP addresses, and more.
A full inventory of devices is pretty handy for both organization and pricing of a customer’s network appropriately.
You won’t be surprised by devices that you didn’t even know were there in the future. We have found that Domotz often discovers devices that clients didn’t even know they had on their networks, a great example are security cameras. Learn more about our network device monitoring.
2) MSP onboarding checklist: Network Mapping
In addition to taking an inventory of all devices, Domotz also includes automated network mapping which gives you a complete picture of the network. The network topology mapping tool automatically plots the endpoints on your client’s network and shows you how devices are interconnected on the network map.
The software will also automatically show you which devices are connected to the individual ports of a managed network switch. If a device gets moved, Domotz will let you know where the device has been reconnected or if it doesn’t get reconnected at all.
Once the network mapping tool has sufficiently mapped the network, you will be able to easily assess the size, and potential headaches, associated with this new client. Providing an overview of this map to the customer is a great conversation starter when it comes to the potential concerns you may have about how to effectively manage this new client’s network.
3) MSP onboarding checklist: Network Diagnostics
Domotz also collects Round Trip Delay (RTD) and packet loss stats for every single device on the network. The Domotz agent pings all devices on a periodic basis and collects detailed network performance information, such as RTD and packet loss stats.
This feature will definitely help you with new client onboarding, because you’ll be able to identify if any devices are beyond acceptable network performance ranges – which likely indicates a problem with the device or the network infrastructure itself. In short, it will help you pinpoint any “bad” behaviors on your customer’s network.
4) MSP onboarding checklist: Initial Security assessment
Assessing your client’s network security is an important onboarding step. It will help you price things accordingly and ensure you are allotting the right amount of time for securing the network if anything needs to be dealt with.
Domotz includes network security scans which automatically scan your client’s network for security vulnerabilities. 3 types of network security scans are performed:
Security Assessment: Domotz performs an internal LAN perimeter scan and external WAN perimeter scan to ensure your client’s network is compliant with the security best practices. If there is any potential vulnerability, you’ll be informed. While Domotz is not a security threat assessment tool, Domotz does provide you with details related to your network that potentially exposes your new client’s network to broader threats.
- WAN Scan – TCP Open Port Scanner: Domotz periodically performs slow TCP port scans against the Public IP address of the monitored network (WAN Scan) and will inform you if any TCP port has been found opened.
- UPnP Port Forwarding Scanner: Domotz performs an internal UPnP scan (LAN Scan) to identify whether UPnP is enabled on the Router / Modem and whether any device on the network is leveraging UPnP to open ports and redirect the traffic.
5) MSP onboarding checklist: WAN Performances
Domotz also includes WAN performance measures including: automated network speed tests, route analysis and downtime reporting. All of this information is included in the monthly report for your client’s network.
You’ll be informed when the network connection is lost/recovered and any new devices that are discovered on the network.
6) MSP onboarding Checklist: Proactive Monitoring
List out what network systems you can monitor for you client
You can bring added value to your new clients by showing them the different network based systems that are on their network and give them the reassurance that you can help monitor those. Great examples include Video Conferencing systems, Voice over IP systems, security and access control systems, guest networks, and even digital signage.
With Domotz, it’s easy to set-up alerts when these types of systems go down, while you do not have to be an expert in these systems, you can easily inform your client, or the expert associated with these systems, prior to those systems being needed. Nobody wants to walk into a conference room and find that the system is offline! Learn more about our tips for MSP profitability and service provider management.
MSP customer onboarding – how much does this all cost?
The short answer – not very much at all. Domotz is a very affordable software for your MSP to use for new client onboarding and for continuously monitoring and managing your customer’s network.
Using Domotz costs a flat monthly charge per month per network for monitoring and managing an unlimited number of devices. You can also move your Domotz software license to another network at any time – if you want to use the software solely for onboarding purposes and don’t want to keep it continuously running.
Of course, we do hope that you find Domotz so useful that you keep the software up and running all the time.
Want to see for yourself? Give Domotz a free 14 day trial with no credit card required or join an upcoming features demo webinar.
Further reading:
- Network Mapping Software – how it works
- What is SNMP and how does it work?
