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Technology Strategy Meeting (TSM)
Technology Strategy Meeting (TSM)

This is our MSP's vCIO/QBR process.

Updated over a week ago

What is a Technology Strategy Meeting? (TSM)

  • A TSM is an evolved QBR process developed by Red Key Solutions since 2009 over the course of 100s of executed QBRs.

  • Other names: Quarterly Business Review (QBR), Technology Business Review (TBR), Strategic Business Reviews (SBR).

  • Performing TSMs/QBRs/TBRs/SBRs like clockwork is a quality of high Operational Maturity Levels (OML) organizations and is critical to obtaining Best in Class EBITA.

Ideal Schedule

  • A quarterly TSM rhythm is ideal, but logistically that is hard to achieve across 100% of your clients because not all clients are high OML enough to participate in a quarterly Technology Strategy Meeting.

  • If properly staffed, your vCIO should be sending Strategy Overviews to all clients, even those that don't schedule or attend meetings so that at the bare minimum your client has the opportunity to see their organization's IT health.

Our schedule:

  • Low Operational Maturity Level (OML) Companies: Yearly

  • High Operational Maturity Level (OML) Companies: Quarterly

  • Aggressive Growth Companies: Monthly

Automated TSM Scheduling

We have automated the TSM scheduling process using Connectwise and now 9 out of 10 TSMs are 100% automatically scheduled by the client.

  1. Scheduling Software
    - We use www.Calendly.com because its easy, integrates with Office365 and Gotomeeting/Zoom
    Best practices:
    - Make team links, not personal so you can shuffle different members into the link
    - Schedule each TSM for 1.5 hours
    - Add 45 minute buffer before and after each TSM
    - Only allow for TSMs Tues/Wed/Thurs/Friday (Save Mondays for catch up and emergencies.)
    - Only allow one TSM per day per vCIO (If you have more than one per day it leaves no time for prep, emails, meetings etc.).

  2. Ticket Type- Ticket>Type>Schedule a TSM
    - Create a Type / Subtype / Item in your system for something like "Technology Strategy Meeting" (Whatever makes sense in your existing structure).

  3. Status
    - Setup tables>Service Boards>YOURBOARD>Statuses>New.
    - Create a status "TSM to schedule".

    Outgoing Email Settings - Mimic the same settings you have for the status that notifies clients that they received a new ticket. (First name, Last name, Email, Subject).

    Body (Modify this in your style)

    Hello [contactfirstname],

    Hope this email finds you well!

    This email is to schedule [companyname]'s next Technology Strategy Meeting (TSM).

    The purpose of this meeting will be to:

    1. Review Strategy Overview report
    2. Review Computers by Purchase date report
    3. Review roadmap
    4. Discuss any future plans
    5. Discuss how YOURMSPNAME is doing
    6. Discuss what YOURMSPNAME could improve
    7. Discuss what you would like to see from YOURMSPNAME in the future
    8. Schedule the next meeting or discuss next approximate time

    Below is a link to schedule your next TSM at your earliest convenience with our vCIO team. Here are the 3 options: https://calendly.com/vcio-team

    Let us know if you have any questions or concerns. If you would like to skip this meeting please reply to this email and we will close this ticket.

    Thank you,
    YOURMSPNAME

  4. Manually Schedule the Ticket
    - Once the client picks the time via calendly the vCIO needs to go into the ticket and schedule it for the same time.
    - SPECIAL CREDIT: If anyone can develop a Zap to do this automatically it would really help the entire vCIO community!

  5. Ticket Template
    - Connectwise>Company>Ticket template
    - Create a ticket template to create a Technology Strategy Meeting ticket for every client the first week of the quarter.
    - Have your ticket template set the Type, Subtype or Item to "Technology Strategy Meeting"
    - Have your ticket template set the Status to "TSM to schedule"
    - Or create these tickets manually to start with that status.

  6. Workflow for Manual Touch
    - If the ticket is not touched in 2 weeks after it gets created, we have created a workflow to trigger an email for the vCIO to reach out and touch base.
    - Setup Tables>Workflows>New

    Description: Technology Strategy Meeting (TSM)
    Rules: Last updated more than 14 days ago AND Ticket Item = Technology Strategy Meeting AND Ticket is in TSM to schedule status.
    Actions: Send email > Send to your vCIO (You can trigger whatever actions you want based on how your company operates.

TSM Players

Scheduled By: 

  • Automated with vCIO or sales admin assistance

Technical Preparation By: 

  • vCIO, Project engineer, Sales engineer, Architect, Senior engineer or Principal.

Attendance:

  • Relationship: vCIO, Account manager, IT Director and/or Principal (For large and important account only).

  • Technical: vCIO, Project engineer, Sales engineer, Architect, Senior engineer and/or Principal.

  • Client: Principal, Office Manager, Primary Contact, CEO, CFO and/or CIO.

TSM Agenda

  1. Introduction
    - Appreciate the time to meet
    - Reframe Technology Strategy Meeting (TSM) purpose
    - Who each person hosting the meeting is and what roles they hold at Red Key

  2. Client goals and objectives
    - Quarterly
    - Current year
    - Long term

  3. Reports
    - Strategy Overview Report
    - Technology Overview Brightgauge report

  4. Roadmap/budget
    - If Q1 - Ask what major plans and moves client is expecting for the year
    - If Q4 - Ask if there are any year end purchases/investments they want to make for tax purposes

  5. Any future plans?

  6. Feedback from technical team

  7. How the MSP is doing

  8. What could MSP improve

  9. Special topics/Announcements

  10. Referral reminder: "Any businesses that can benefit from MSP. We would be grateful for a referral."

  11. Visually inspect the network room



Thoughts?
If you have any thoughts, comments or questions about our process please use the messenger in the bottom right corner and connect with us!

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