UK MSP partners with Pax8 to support charity sector
Problem
Falling out of love with IT
A few years ago, Tim had fallen out of love with IT. To the point where he was considering quitting the business completely and following his other passion, pizza! But, wary of losing his enthusiasm for pizza by making it his full-time job, Tim decided to give IT one last chance.
Funky Mouse supports a wide range of businesses, and most importantly for Tim, he had nurtured strong relationships with his clients and built a community that he wasn’t ready to leave.
“You connect with the emotional side of your client and their business. These CEOs have been building their businesses for years and years and it’s their heart and soul.
They need someone to facilitate their tech. They don’t want to have to read and learn about all the latest developments themselves. What they need is good partners that can take the information about their business growth away and come back with the right solutions.
That’s what we really pride ourselves on, how we can go into a business, see how it operates, and then identify how the right technology will make the business more efficient.”
– Tim Kidney, ‘Chief Mouse’ at Funky Mouse
Solution
Discovering a like-minded partner community in Pax8
Tim is incredibly community-minded, and he works hard not only to support his client community but also to his local community. He has supported homelessness charities with free pizza events for several years now.
When Tim became a Pax8 partner he immediately clicked with the Pax8 community, and he has made the most of the wealth of knowledge and expertise available to him by attending Pax8 events and expanding his vendor portfolio to better serve his clients.
“I initially thought that cybersecurity is not my thing, but it is Funky Mouse’s thing. I know it is the big subject that everyone is concerned about right now and we did have solutions in place. But it was by going to the Pax8 masterclass and having a well-structured, engaging day that changed my perspective. By the end of the session, I was absolutely buzzing. We’ve now completely upped our game with regard to our stacks and offerings around cybersecurity, and rightly so because now is the time – not tomorrow.”
– Tim Kidney, ‘Chief Mouse’ at Funky Mouse
It was becoming a Pax8 partner that helped reignite Tim’s love of IT and enabled him to combine his business with his altruistic nature. The NFP expertise available to Tim through Pax8 is directly helping his clients and matches Funky Mouse’s ethos and values.
“What Pax8 has allowed me to do is express my personality in a technological career. I was feeling that there wasn’t much community within the IT channel but coming and working with Pax8 has been a really great collaboration for me.”
– Tim Kidney, ‘Chief Mouse’ at Funky Mouse
Benefit
Successful project delivery supported by Pax8 Professional Services
Funky Mouse has worked with LC Ecological Services for 7 years and Tim was instrumental in streamlining their data storage and collection as part of a recent cloud migration project.
LC Ecological Services is an independent ecological consultancy business that undertakes surveys of habitats and protected species, such as bats, for new housing developments. Given the scientific importance of the company’s data on protected species it was essential to ensure the project incurred no data loss.
“LC Ecological Services needed their data moved to the cloud. I looked into it myself and thought I could probably do it, but I wanted to get it right first time, so I needed some professional help.”
– Tim Kidney, ‘Chief Mouse’ at Funky Mouse
I was already a Pax8 partner on the licensing side but for this project I engaged with Pax8 Partner Services. They came up with a statement of work which was accepted straightaway by the client.
We’ve just been through three months of cloud migration with no issues. I used to get so many calls about VPNs dropping out while they were copying large files over and that just doesn’t happen anymore.
“We have a solution that can scale up as they need it to. It means that their data can continue growing without us having to change their hardware or do any more expensive projects later down the line.”
– Tim Kidney, ‘Chief Mouse’ at Funky Mouse
Results
New opportunities to expand NFP solutions align with community-focused business model
Tim is focussed on growing his NFP business and leveraging the benefits of being a Pax8 partner in the process. Microsoft and many other Pax8 vendors have specific offerings for NFPs that can make a huge difference to charities on stretched IT budgets. The right advice can make a significant impact, and this is where Pax8 expertise and Tim’s community-focussed business model can shine.
“I love working with the Pax8 team, attending events and driving that community spirit. It is something that was very much needed in the MSP space and something that I really enjoy being part of. I want to evolve a business that is community-spirited and community-minded. Funky Mouse is currently working with Pax8 to better understand the nonprofit opportunity and it’s definitely an area we want to grow in.
The biggest part of my job is helping people to do something that they can’t do. Whether that be showing somebody how to use technology, or making them a pizza, it is the same feeling. It comes from my helpful nature, something which I really try and instil in the Funky Mouse business.”
– Tim Kidney, ‘Chief Mouse’ at Funky Mouse
About Funky Mouse
Funky Mouse has been operating for over 10 years supporting SMBs in and around Dorset, with all levels of IT infrastructure. Its company ethos is to offer super-friendly advice that won’t bamboozle clients, and with simple channels of communication and speedy resolution times they aim to be an excellent addition to any business setup.