When managing a 300-person MSP with offices throughout Australia, maintaining meaningful MSP client relationships becomes exponentially complex. That was the reality facing Ross Sardi, CEO of First Focus, a leading Australian managed service provider headquartered in Sydney with multiple offices nationwide.
First Focus had experienced significant growth, expanding to multiple locations across the country with hundreds of staff members. As Ross puts it: "We're an MSP headquartered out of Sydney, Australia, but with offices all around the country, about 300 staff."
This scale of operations created unique challenges. Despite having established processes and using ConnectWise as their PSA platform, First Focus encountered significant limitations when trying to manage client relationships effectively at scale.
The established ConnectWise system, while powerful for ticket management, lacked the visual workflow capabilities needed for modern account management. ConnectWise "historically hasn't done very well" with providing visual overviews of work status across accounts, creating an increasingly frustrating experience for both staff and clients.
This visibility gap manifested differently across the organization, affecting each role in distinct ways:
First Focus wasn't simply looking for another tool to add to their stack. They needed a solution that would fundamentally transform how they worked with clients while integrating seamlessly with their existing systems.
The team began exploring alternatives that could bridge the gap between their internal processes and client-facing communications. This exploration led to an important insight about their technology approach:
"What we found is actually sometimes moving away from the more well-known traditional products and finding tools that are really designed to improve not just experience on our side but really work closely with the customers as well."
This perspective shift looking beyond conventional solutions to find tools specifically designed for collaborative work proved crucial in their search. After exploring various options, First Focus discovered TopLeft (previously known as Kanban for ConnectWise) through the ConnectWise marketplace.
Initially, they viewed it through a limited lens: "We initially had thought of TopLeft just as a project management tool." However, as they investigated further, they recognized its potential to go beyond basic project management functionality and address their deeper client relationship challenges.
The real breakthrough came when they realized how it could transform their technical account management process: "We decided to go ahead with it when we were looking at something to use in our technical account management space. We wanted to have a Kanban-style planner board that our TAMs and our customers could work with each other on, tracking actions and doing their day-to-day."
TopLeft offered exactly what First Focus needed: a solution that integrates directly with ConnectWise, HaloPSA, and Autotask, providing real-time visibility for all users including project managers, service managers, technicians, coordinators, and executives that gave them the visuals needed to manage tickets, tasks, and projects with confidence.
Rather than completely overhauling their existing systems, First Focus took a measured, thoughtful approach to implementation that respected the different needs across their organization:
Custom Configuration: The First Focus team worked closely with TopLeft to customize the platform for their specific needs. "TopLeft have been really good at being able to tweak a couple little things that we needed to make it work properly on our side," emphasizing the importance of having a responsive partner during implementation.
Responsive Setup Process: The team at TopLeft was consistently helpful and responsive throughout the setup process, ensuring First Focus could maximize the value from the platform from day one.
Incremental Deployment: Instead of a company-wide rollout that might disrupt operations, they initially focused on the account management team before expanding to service delivery managers, allowing for targeted success before broader adoption.
Ongoing Refinement: The relationship with TopLeft continues to evolve as First Focus identifies new opportunities. "We're still working with TopLeft now on a couple other things that we really like to see in the product or built in for our benefit," highlighting the collaborative, ongoing relationship.
Ross understood that the key to successful software deployment isn't just the technology it's user adoption. First Focus developed a deliberate strategy to ensure service delivery managers, project coordinators, technical account managers, engineers, technicians, and clients all embraced the new platform:
Administrative Access: By giving multiple team members administrative rights early in the process, they fostered ownership and experimentation. "We made quite a few people administrators in the platform to really get them being able to play around with a bit more stuff early on."
Hands-On Experience: Team members weren't just trained—they were encouraged to actively explore the system. "Play with it, see what's possible, change some of the views, change some of the boards," creating an environment where users could discover what worked best for their specific needs.
Leveraging Training Content: First Focus took full advantage of the resources available. "That ability of people to just play with it, see what's possible, change some of the views, change some of the boards, and that hands-on experience has been invaluable."
Client Engagement: The team put special emphasis on client adoption, recognizing that for a collaborative tool, value depends on both internal and external usage. By helping clients understand the benefits, they created a truly connected workflow.
The shift to a visual workflow management approach delivered significant improvements across multiple areas of First Focus's operations, with benefits tailored to each role:
For Technicians and Engineers: Improved Ticket Flow and Focus
Technicians gained a clear visual system that helped them prioritize work and maintain focus. The visual Kanban approach eliminated much of the guesswork from ticket prioritization, allowing techs to see exactly what needed attention first.
"It's been a really invaluable tool to have that single-pane view of tickets visually," allowing technicians to immediately identify where attention is needed and maintain focus on high-priority items.
The PSA integration meant technicians could update tickets, log time, and communicate with clients directly from the visual interface, all while maintaining their ConnectWise data integrity.
Project managers gained unprecedented transparency into project status, with the ability to visualize bottlenecks and address issues proactively rather than reactively.
"We have started to roll it out into our service team now, at least for our service delivery managers to oversee work at a high level," demonstrating how the initial success created momentum for broader adoption among those who needed visibility into service operations.
With TopLeft's PSA integration, managers could reorganize work priorities with simple drag-and-drop actions, instantly updating ConnectWise without the tedious process of opening and editing individual tickets.
Leadership gained insights into operational efficiency that directly impacted the bottom line. The visual workflows made it immediately clear where profit-draining bottlenecks existed, allowing for targeted improvement efforts.
"It's quite a new way of working for our team, and it's only going to get better once they start learning more about that agile way of working," pointing to benefits that go beyond just the technology itself to improve business efficiency.
Because TopLeft integrates directly with their PSA, leadership could rely on real-time data for decision-making without waiting for custom reports or dealing with data discrepancies between systems.
First Focus continues to refine their approach through additional training and capabilities as they discover new ways to leverage the platform. "We're working more with TopLeft on getting more of our team some hands-on training in that area," showing their commitment to continuous improvement.
First Focus's experience offers valuable insights for other service providers looking to enhance their client management and service delivery processes:
Look Beyond the Obvious: Tools advertised primarily for one purpose (like project management) may offer significant value in other operational areas. Don't be limited by conventional thinking about what a tool can do.
Prioritize Adoption: "The key in rolling out any bit of software is adoption and really making as much use of the product as possible." Most organizations only use a small fraction of their software's capabilities—successful implementations focus on meaningful usage.
Enable Experimentation: Giving team members the freedom to explore and configure tools builds ownership and uncovers unexpected benefits. This hands-on approach yields better results than rigid implementation plans.
Start with Clear Use Cases: Beginning with a specific problem to solve creates focus and demonstrable success that can lead to broader adoption. First Focus started with technical account management and expanded from there.
Consider Client Experience: Tools that enable better client collaboration deliver value beyond internal efficiency. First Focus recognized that client adoption was crucial to the platform's overall success.
Leverage Direct PSA Integration: The seamless integration between TopLeft and ConnectWise eliminated duplicated effort and ensured data integrity across systems, making adoption easier and results more immediate.
Explore Agile Methods: Visual workflow management opens the door to more agile approaches that can transform service delivery. The visibility provided by TopLeft enabled First Focus to work in new, more efficient ways.
Partner with Responsive Vendors: Select tools from companies willing to adapt their solutions to your specific needs. First Focus's collaborative relationship with TopLeft has been key to their success.
"What we found is actually sometimes moving away from the more well-known traditional products and finding tools that are really designed to improve not just experience on our side but really work closely with the customers as well... that's where TopLeft have been really helpful in getting the client adoption side working as well."
Ross Sardi, CEO – First Focus
Ross's experience demonstrates that even large, established MSPs can significantly enhance their service delivery by adopting visual workflow management tools like TopLeft that integrate directly with ConnectWise, HaloPSA, and Autotask, bridging the gap between internal teams and clients, resulting in improved operational efficiency, deeper client relationships, and ultimately, better profitability.