So, why use a managed service provider? In short, MSPs help take the burden of tech off of your hands, all for less than it costs for an in-house IT team.
That said, hiring just any MSP does not guarantee success. The selection process of any vendor is an intensive process. You need to find the right balance of expertise, services available, and how they fit into your business’ budget.
It’s no different when looking for a qualified IT service provider. Much like hiring a new employee, a few key qualifications should help you gauge the worth of the company you are entrusting your technology with.
Knowing what to look for is the hard part. Let’s go over a few of the significant things to look for when selecting a managed IT service provider.
Table of Contents
Industry Experience
Whether it’s a new employee or a vendor you are doing business with, you expect them to have experience in their respective industry.
When you look for a managed IT service provider, you want them to showcase a certain level of technological expertise. After all, these will be the people who will be responsible for keeping your organization’s network and infrastructure operational.
The technology landscape has changed quickly in a short window of time, and it will continue to do so. Experienced providers will have a more complete understanding of how these shifts affect businesses, and they can more accurately forecast upcoming changes.
For example, compliance benchmarks move constantly, and businesses that must strictly monitor their customer data will want to be proactive in those efforts.
An MSP with 15+ years of providing compliance services will be able to keep a business ahead of the curve, instead of reacting as compliance standards change.
The same can be said across just about any aspect of business technology, like cybersecurity, communications, and cloud solutions. The more time your service provider has had with technology, the better hands you are in.
Quicker Response Times
No matter the technical issue, be it your whole network or an individual workstation, you want to have it resolved fast.
Any downtime, no matter how long, is lost revenue for a business. Anything less than 99.99% uptime is unacceptable.
The reliability of your IT service provider can be measured in a few ways, easiest of all to gauge is the amount of time employees have to wait before receiving a response. IT Support Guys boasts a 4-second average call wait-time.
Additionally, another measure is the time it takes for techs to respond to an online ticket. How long is each employee waiting in a queue for their issue to be resolved?
Your business can avoid long wait times by making sure your service provider has a distributed help desk. With enough techs on staff, tickets are distributed efficiently, so no tech is bogged down and clients are assisted swiftly.
Of course, how quickly those tickets get serviced is a key measure. If you can get an idea of how quickly tickets are closed, like ITSG’s 94.53% same-day resolution rate, be sure to take note.
Scope of Service
A well-rounded IT service provider will be much more efficient and useful to your organization. You’ll have one company managing your entire environment, so that vendor must be equipped to handle all challenges they face.
When you look for a managed IT service provider, you need to consider the services they offer. Can they craft, monitor, and tend to your network and infrastructure? Can they move you to the cloud, and monitor the cloud once you get there?
You need to count on your MSP for everything from simple fixes all the way to the worst-case scenario. You need a service provider that gives you the attention you need now, with a special eye on the future.
Have any perspective service provider perform a full audit of your environment. This will give you a fuller picture of what you need, as well as the scope of their own abilities.
On-Site Services
For the most part, a lot of the technical issues your employees will encounter can be resolved remotely. Think of resetting a password or fixing a connectivity problem.
With that said, there are some emergency situations that may arise where dispatching a tech to your office or data-center will greatly reduce downtime. You don’t want to find out your MSP won’t make on-site emergency visits once it’s too late.
If you have an issue with physical hardware or cabling, having IT experts nearby can save loads of time, and thus money.
Additionally, if your business ever relocates, you want a team of experts that can use your space to efficiently maximize your IT setup.
Does your business need help with technology management and maintenance? Reach out to IT Support Guys at 855-4IT-GUYS (855-448-4897), your local and reliable managed service provider.
