In our digital age, organizations can’t afford to leave their IT department to chance. These organizations need members who clearly understand what your industry calls for and the personnel you need to implement to accomplish your goals.
Managed services providers (MSPs) aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. You need managed IT providers that can analyze your infrastructure, one that understands your long-term goals, and that implements tailored measures to solve the problem in a cost-effective way.
In this blog, we’re discussing how you can find the right MSP for your organization, and what service models to avoid. We will cover the general things you should look for from an MSP as well as some tips to analyze your MSP. Continue reading to learn more about how you can implement the right IT solutions for your organization or as you navigate business development.
What Should Your MSP Have?
Skills
Managed service providers need a roster of employees who understand your company’s needs. You should have an MSP who tailors their packages to the IT services affecting your business and those that might affect the field in the future.
The IT services provider you choose should be able to eliminate the skills gap for your organization. A wide range of services may or may not fit your organization. You need to identify which ones you need first. When you consult your IT provider, they should be able to fill the gaps within your IT department.
Experience
Your MSP should not only understand how to tailor your IT services package based on your organization, they should also understand how your IT department functions within your industry. Without valuable experience in multiple fields, your MSP won’t be able to prescribe a tailored solution that responds to the obstacles your industry poses.
SLAs
Your MSP should define their service level agreements (SLAs). SLAs standardize quality, scope, responsibilities, and delivery time. Your MSP should manage both their team and your team effectively, offer around-the-clock support, and evolve your services as your company changes. The most effective MSPs don’t commit to a static service. They understand how to shape your services to meet your needs.
Accessibility
Your MSP should be able to offer onsite services you can easily access. Doing so lets them monitor your infrastructure closely. It also leads to faster report times, more predictable costs, and increased flexibility in the service delivery model.
If an MSP doesn’t offer around-the-clock service and is hard to reach for customer support, you should consider passing on their services. Your MSP should be responsive and you shouldn’t have to wonder whether you will be able to access human resources that can point you in the right direction and answer your questions.
Holistic Approach
The most reputable MSPs provide a full-service approach to your IT infrastructure. They work together to provide full services that adapt as your company adapts. They improve their processes so you can further benefit from their services. They move people towards their organizational goals without compromising their infrastructure.
Scalability
You shouldn’t depend on a company that doesn’t scale with yours. Your MSP should grow so it can service the needs of your growing company. Scaling MSPs will be able to provide insight and recommendations into the services you need when you expand. Ineffective MSPs will only be able to service the needs of your smaller organization.
Service Governance
MSPs should be able to serve you across a vast distance, no matter where your business resides. They should have the correct governance structure so your business remains compliant, whether it’s a local business or international conglomerate.
Proactive Approach
Your MSP shouldn’t wait for things to go wrong to respond to them. Effective MSPs implement proactive measures so your company responds to issues before they arise. This approach can manifest in cybersecurity or overall services.
Effective MSPs will be able to decipher what you need to implement into your business and act quickly so you’re not compromised by inefficiencies. They can also prevent potential issues of the future, and change course accordingly.
Around-the-Clock Customer Service
Whether you own an eCommerce company or not, your organization will be at the mercy of uptime. You need an MSP that standardizes uptime and implements 24/7/365 monitoring so you operate uninterrupted. It’s an industry standard to offer uninterrupted service no matter what time of year.
Your MSP should feature customer-facing infrastructure, including growing applications. You should be able to rely on your network’s performance for business continuity and implement solutions, such as a remote security operations center (SOC).
Evaluate the Cost of MSPs
You should inspect the various cost structures that MSPs feature to ensure their services match the quality you’re looking for. MSPs offer various price models, including fixed fees, fees based on a number of devices, and those based on monitoring only.
You can hire some MSPs on what’s similar to a retainer basis, where they implement into your infrastructure whenever you need them. Others offer around-the clock services that feature network monitoring and administration.
You might only need supplemental IT services for when something specific happens, and you need a provider that has IT professionals with more advanced capabilities than your in-house team. You might need a full team of professionals to take care of all your IT needs. These factors will determine the overall cost of your IT services.
Hard Vs. Soft Costs
Costs for IT can be split into two categories: hard and soft. Hard costs are those paid directly to suppliers and partners for products and services. Soft costs are those spent due to inefficiencies, downtime, and lost revenue due to IT challenges. While evaluating your MSP, you should do your best to eliminate soft costs. Doing so ensures the cost of outsourcing makes sense.
Questions for Perspective MSPs
The following list provides a roadmap for what you should ask your MSP
- How many clients do you have and what services do you offer them?
- Do you have a brochure with your offerings outlined?
- How do you conduct communication with your clients?
- How do your services give us an advantage over the competition?
- Do you maintain compliance records?
- What does your onboarding and training process look like?
- How do you handle disaster recovery?
- Are you versed in mobile devices, desktop computers, hardware and software systems, and more?
Common MSP Services
MSPs can handle a wide range of services. However, some are more common than others, including detection and response, managed backups, and managed firewalls. Many other services are rising to meet demands. These services include the following:
- Application management
- Cloud services, cloud computing, and cloud infrastructure
- Data center management
- Hardware procurement
- Incident response
- IT help desk operations
- Lifecycle management
- System design and solutions
- Virtualization management
- Vulnerability assessment
What Are the Types of MSPs and Their Capabilities?
Managed service providers range from one to 100-person companies. They can be separated into several tiers. Each tier has its pros and cons depending on the industry you are in and how large your company is.
Low-Level MSPs
Low-level MSPs handle the bare minimum regarding your infrastructure. They feature software installation, monitoring, and notify clients when threats occur. But these companies are largely removed from your company infrastructure.
Mid-Level MSPs
Mid-level MSPs feature foundational support and intertwine enriched monitoring and maintenance that improve performance, cybersecurity, and management.
High-Level MSPs
High-level MSPs are your full-service providers for all your operational needs. These vendors are very similar to having your own IT team. They feature IT specialists without any skills gap so you can depend on your team for all your IT needs.
How to Choose a Great IT Managed Service Provider
Choosing an MSP with around-the-clock service is likely the most important component of implementing a MSP into your organization. First, you should evaluate your organizational needs. You should also choose an MSP based on whether they take the time to evaluate your infrastructure.
At Senroc Technologies, we believe every business deserves the IT infrastructure that fits their operational needs. That’s why our IT professionals can fulfill any gap you have as supplemental professionals or integrate to act as your full-service IT team.
Contact us today if you’re struggling to fill the IT skills gap, need specific IT services, or want to benefit from a high-level MSP who can integrate into your organization smoothly. We offer around-the-clock services as well as thorough training programs that equip your organization with the tools they need to keep your organization safe.
Senroc Technologies is your choice for Denver managed IT services. From cloud-based data services, information technology solutions, technical support, managed security for your data, break/fix solutions, and other data security services, simply dial (303) 350-4055 for IT reinforcements today.
