TSH wants to play at Champions League level with the whole family

After a great journey of 15 years at Microsoft, and an unprecedented adventure to take Visma from nothing to the largest and fastest growing cloud business software company, Reynders is now fully in place at TSH. “After having worked at an American and a Scandinavian company, I find it very nice to now help a Dutch company, with also a Dutch family as investor, to realize their unlimited ambitions.” That goal is to become the leading MSP at the European level. “We want to color Europe Magenta and I am working on that ambition with 200% energy, together with the team. It also completes the circle nicely for me personally, as CEO of the fastest growing buy-and-build MSP platform with the Microsoft cloud as its foundation.”

Consolidation

Reynders sees a number of developments in the MSP landscape. “For clients of MSPs, it’s a difficult time, especially with the uncertain geopolitical and economic conditions. A seemingly toxic cocktail to this is the combination of a tight labor market and stagnant labor productivity. I strongly believe that unburdening companies with a modern and flexible IT environment can give that a positive boost.”

At the same time, much is happening in the technological field. “Driven by developments with artificial intelligence, everything is developing at a very fast pace. A.I. offers perspective but also raises questions. As if that were not enough, the threat of cybercrime is increasing exponentially: 25% of companies are affected. This creates uncertainty, both for clients of MSPs and the MSPs themselves.”

The MSP market is undergoing a strong consolidation trend, which does not surprise Reynders. “Many fine MSP companies have emerged over time. But with the uncertainties mentioned above, plus increasingly complex technology platforms and increasing regulatory pressure, it is very difficult for an independent MSP to keep playing at Champions League level. It’s not surprising that companies are joining a bigger picture, and I expect that trend to continue. I also expect a shake-out. Some clubs just don’t make it on their own.”

TSH family

TSH wants to be there for those MSPs who think in terms of opportunities, but are limited in realizing their potential. Reynders talks about the “TSH family. “For example, I see DGAs who have taken their company to a nice level, but who are hitting their ceiling while they do wish their company a next step. With us, they can keep their entrepreneurship, their autonomy and their own brand. At the same time, they become part of a team and are supported with services and opportunities they could never have gotten off the ground on their own, allowing them to compete at Champions League level.”

He gives some examples of those possibilities. “It is very challenging in the security field to set up a Security Operations Center (SOC) from which you provide a complete end-to-end security service 24×7, from awareness and prevention to monitoring and incident response. With TSH, we are investing heavily in this and our companies can benefit from this. Also in the area of smart procurement and deployment of hardware, which is kind of a necessary evil for many MSPs, we unburden MSPs with a better premium customer experience. We also offer a co-developed private cloud platform, which means MSPs don’t have to keep their own capital-intensive platform up and running when it should actually be replaced or upgraded.”

Expert community’s

The TSH family also shares knowledge, Reynders says. “We are building dynamic communities around every aspect an MSP faces, such as compliance, commerce, support, platform and projects. There is a very clear need among our MSPs to share knowledge and best practices. The communities come together to learn from each other. That also provides opportunities for employees to develop, which makes it easier to retain them for an organization.”

Earlier in the conversation, he used the Champions League metaphor for companies joining the TSH family. “I’m not necessarily a soccer fan, but I like the comparison because it says something about our ambition and what it takes to achieve it. You become part of a team, with about 20 other entrepreneurs with whom you can spar and collaborate. In addition, you can play at the very highest level thanks to the additional support and services.”

9+-thinking

Customer satisfaction is crucial for Reynders. “When I came in here, everyone expected me to set a dot on the horizon in terms of finance. But I did just that in terms of employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. We are fans of the 9+ thinking in this. This focuses on the customer and employee experience. If you score a 9+ in both areas, the other results come naturally. To score such a mark, you always have to go the extra mile than customers expect from you.”

End-to-end security

It is obvious to say that security is of enormous importance to an MSP today. “We really provide end-to-end security,” Reynders says. “We do both protection, identification and also incident response. There is a team ready 24×7 to help if something has happened. In addition, we provide awareness training. We combine modern technology with human knowledge and the right processes, fully in line with all laws and regulations.”

Recently, a supplier discovered a vulnerability in its product. “Then immediately all TSH security managers came together and a solution applicable by everyone was quickly found. That joint effort saves the whole group a lot of time and sleepless nights.”

When you talk about security, you can’t ignore NIS2 either. “A relatively small MSP now sees NIS2 coming at it and knows it has to do something with it. In addition, customers are starting to ask about it. It’s hard to respond to that, let alone take advantage of NIS2. In that too, TSH’s economy of scale is interesting. Therefore, I am sure that every owner of an ambitious MSP, should definitely have a cup of coffee with us to spar about the future.”

This article was written and published by Dutch IT Channel (Dutch)