Testimonial: UpTime

Time Well Spent: How UpTime Redeem More Time with 365Sentri

Introduction to UpTime

UpTime is a forward-thinking Managed Service Provider (MSP) based in New Zealand, serving clients across the country. Founded by Rob Wellesley, UpTime emerged from a desire to shift from reactive break-fix services to proactive IT management. The company's mission is to minimise downtime for their clients, embodying their name in every way.

With approximately 700 endpoints and 400 users across 40 customers, UpTime specialises in serving small to medium-sized businesses. Their client base ranges from local companies to those with national reach, including ones that must meet international standards despite their small size.

Challenges with Tenant Management

As an MSP, UpTime faced several challenges in managing multiple Microsoft 365 tenants: 

  • Time-consuming configuration: Setting up and maintaining proper configurations for each client took hours, sometimes disrupting client operations 
  • Lack of visibility: Without a centralised system, it was difficult to monitor changes across all tenants, increasing the risk of security gaps going unnoticed for extended periods 
  • Compliance concerns: Ensuring all clients met various security and compliance standards was a manual, error-prone process 
  • Scalability issues: The manual nature of tenant management made it challenging to take on larger clients or grow the business without increasing staff 
“Before 365Sentri, managing multiple tenants could take hours or days. We knew we needed a solution that could give us clear visibility and control. And the time savings keep our costs, and therefore our prices lower, and who wouldn’t want that?!” – Rob Wellesley, Director, UpTime 

– Rob Wellesley, Director, UpTime 

Selecting 365Sentri

UpTime's decision to adopt 365Sentri was driven by several factors that aligned with their operational needs and company philosophy. The ease and speed with which a purposeful relationship with 365Sentri was built instilled confidence in the solution's expertise and vision. The specialised focus of 365Sentri on Microsoft 365 configurations perfectly matched UpTime's requirements, while its cloud-based approach resonated with their commitment to leveraging cloud technologies for efficient service delivery. 

Additionally, the intuitive interface and single sign-on capability of 365Sentri made it easily accessible for UpTime's entire team, making it the ideal choice to address their tenant management challenges, rather than invest in additional employees. 

Implementation and Usage

While still in the process of full implementation, UpTime has already begun leveraging 365Sentri in several ways: 

  • Flexible approach: UpTime uses a test environment to cherry-pick and test ideal configurations, which can then be easily applied across multiple clients  
  • Rapid deployment: New tenant setups which previously took hours are automated, saving hours with minimal disruption 
  • Compliance monitoring: The team can easily check if client tenants meet specific security standards, such as MFA enforcement within a centralise dashboard 

"The flexible approach with 365Sentri has been a game-changer for us. We can now ensure consistency across all our clients without reinventing the wheel each time," Rob explains. 

Results and Benefits

Although in the early stages of adoption, UpTime has already experienced several benefits: 

  1. Time savings: Configuration tasks, or support tickets that took hours can now be completed in minutes, freeing up staff to focus on higher-value activities 
  2. Improved scalability: UpTime can now confidently take on larger clients or multiple new clients simultaneously without overwhelming their team 
  3. Enhanced security oversight: The ability to quickly check configurations across all tenants has improved UpTime's security posture, something that reassures their clients too 
  4. Client satisfaction: UpTime can now implement changes and onboard new clients with minimal disruption to their operations 
  5. Standardised best practices: Using 365Sentri’s customisable blueprints, UpTime can consistently apply the latest industry best practices across all clients 
"Without 365Sentri, it would be time-consuming and overwhelming to take on a large customer, both for us and for them. Now, we can implement what we need to implement without disrupting users, which is really important for service delivery."

– Rob Wellsley, Director, UpTime

Working Relationship with 365Sentri

The trusting relationship between UpTime and the 365Sentri team has been a cornerstone of their successful partnership. UpTime particularly values the open communication they have with 365Sentri's team, facilitating a regular feedback loop and fast response to queries and support requests. This dialogue is underpinned by a shared vision between the two companies, with both recognising the critical importance of focused, efficient cloud-based solutions for MSPs. 

Future Plans

Looking ahead, UpTime sees 365Sentri as a key component in their growth strategy: 

  1. Expanding client base: With improved efficiency, UpTime is now positioned to take on larger clients and expand their services  
  2. Enhanced reporting: UpTime looks forward to utilising 365Sentri for quick, comprehensive reporting to clients and stakeholders 
  3. Automated remediation: The team is excited about the potential for automatic fixing of misconfigurations or policy violations 
  4. Integration with other tools: UpTime hopes to see 365Sentri integrate seamlessly with their ticketing system and other tools 
"With 365Sentri, we're not just managing tenants more efficiently; we're positioning ourselves as a next-generation MSP. The scalability and automation it offers are crucial for our future growth." says Rob. 

– Rob Wellsley, Director, UpTime

In conclusion, 365Sentri has positioned UpTime to scale their business efficiently while maintaining high security standards across all clients. By streamlining tenant management, enhancing security posture, and enabling rapid deployment, 365Sentri is now an indispensable tool in UpTime's arsenal, allowing them to deliver superior service and stay ahead in the competitive MSP market.  

And of course, give the UpTime team, more ‘down time’.