How To Choose The Best Managed Service Provider For Your Business

Security concerns have taken center stage, and with IT becoming increasingly complex, small and medium-sized businesses have continued to seek the assistance of a managed service provider.

These evolutions have come with issues like information security (management, storage data, privacy), technology integration, and others. But how do you choose the best managed service provider to take care of these challenges? Let’s find out below.

●     Understand your Company’s Needs and MSP Offerings

This is the foremost thing you should check before making a business deal with an MSP. You should identify the gaps, areas of improvement, and existing inefficiencies before choosing a service provider. When you do this, you will be able to find an excellent match to fit your IT requirements.

You should have a good match between your managed service provider offering and your requirements. When you have an excellent MSP, it helps you assess your current situation, perform technology auditing, identify improvement areas and gaps, and lay down a future path.

●     Know the MSP Technical Capability

What is the technical capability of your intended MSP? Certifications and any earned partnerships are essential. In an ideal managed services scenario, your provider should handle the technology vendor needs.

This would save you the time spent juggling between support and hardware needs. There are three things that you should consider.

They are:

  1. What qualifications or certifications can the IT provider demonstrate?
  2. What third-party vendors or manufacturers are the MSPs aligned with?
  3. What is the MSP status with these manufacturers? Is the relationship strong?

●     Experience and Portfolio

You must understand your chosen MSP’s experience with previous clientele and clients, market presence, and portfolio. This would enable you to assess their case studies, testimonials, capabilities, and abilities, which correspond with industry standards.

When you understand these factors, you will be confident to move ahead with your chosen partner.

●     Assess Their Local Presence

Remote management and monitoring are pretty common, and it is an excellent response to your desktop support needs. However, having a local presence has its advantages. An MSP should have good on-site support since heavier IT problems can occur unexpectedly.

Extended network downtime, infrastructure problems, or ransomware can be easily attended to when your MSP is within a short driving distance. In addition, when you build a local level relationship, it will strengthen your ability to communicate and collaborate on your ongoing needs together.

●     Choose an MSP That is Capable of Adapting to Your Company’s Needs

When you outsource your IT services, you need to specify the type of cover you require. Then tour MSP would ensure that the necessary resources are put in place. For instance, you may be considering expanding your customer support service to provide out-of-hours covers without increasing your in-house headcount.

Then as your business grows, you might need to provide an even better service level, which will require additional resources available to handle customers’ calls. Therefore, when you have decided on choosing your MSP, you must discuss how flexible you should be about the changing needs of your business that need support.

●     Your Chosen MSP should be Industry Specific.

Every industry has its own needs in a managed service provider. For example, the healthcare industry would need an MSP that complies with HIPAA. On the other hand, a business that frequently deals with credit cards would need an MSP that complies with PCI DSS.

You should figure out the specific needs that your company needs in any MSP. Then, you should ensure that your company can work with the MSP. For example, you should specify it with the MSP if you want to restrict those who can assess sensitive information.

●     Fast Support Response

You should not be left waiting for hours to get an email or a callback. It just shows that there is much to be desired. You should ask questions to know if your potential MSP has a fast response time for both off and on-site support.

In addition, you should ensure you ask about the availability of remote support. Though a technician can physically visit your company’s building and solve sole problems, they can also solve several IT problems remotely. In addition, remote support can reduce network downtime by solving problems without waiting for a technician to arrive in your office.

That’s A Wrap

Suppose you own a business and require help maintaining, improving, or implementing your information technology systems but are not capable or prepared to hire a full-blown IT department staff. In that case, you should consider an MSP.

Like hiring an accountant to handle your taxes, when you outsource your IT management, you would be able to save money, time, and stress by eliminating the job of maintaining your business devices and networks.

Maria Colombo
Maria Colombo
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