Here is a list of the top 10 questions you must ask before selecting an MSP for your business
Using pen and paper, couriers and letters, and waiting days to receive a message are things of the past. With ever-evolving technology, businesses need to pace up to stay in the competition. Issues within regulation compliance, cybersecurity threats, and the unlikely surge of Web3 can lead businesses to doom, especially if they have a weak IT infrastructure.
Luckily, with Managed IT Service Provider (MSP), you don’t just have to catch up with your competitors but can shoot right ahead. But how do you trust someone enough to bring you to A-Game? Partnering with an MSP requires confidence. To check for utmost trustworthiness, you, as a decision maker, need to ask your MSP the following questions.
Do you have Enough Resources to Fulfill our Business Needs?
- Depending on your business needs, you may find a company that is understaffed and overpromises. While they want to do their business, you must also look out for yourself. An understaffed MSP can be bad for your business.
This is why you need to know the numerical strength of the company you hire. While it’s okay to work with a small MSP, do they have enough resources to fulfill your business IT needs?
What Services do you Specialize in?
- As mentioned before, their skills need to be according to your requirements. You wouldn’t hire an unskilled team. Likewise, you shouldn’t invest in an unskilled MSP.
Your MSP should help you with your exact needs. Compare their services with your needs and see if it matches.
How Qualified are You?
- Think of it this way: would you hire an underqualified employee who cannot complete essential tasks? Likewise, hiring an MSP who can’t show you how qualified they are would be a grave mistake.
You need to check for their areas of expertise, staff training, and whether their experience and services are good for your company.
Can You Share Your Case Studies and Testimonials?
- Client stories and reviews go a long way. Word of mouth is the most reliable way to find the desired service. Therefore, it’s ideal to ask your MSP about their customer experiences.
Any industry success stories they have worked with will only benefit you in the long run. You can also get in touch with their clientele, if possible, or check their reviews on social and other platforms to see if others recommend them.
- However, most popular businesses will showcase success by handing you their list of cherry-picked references. Which means you wouldn’t be able to see their failures. But that’s okay. Whatever information you receive will aid you by knowing if the services they provide others with success will also be good for you.
How Much Do Your Services Cost?
Getting complete details on pricing is very important. One of your business requirements would also be budget. Knowing the estimated costs of services would help in making a better decision. You can negotiate or find someone else if they are out of your budget.
Most businesses would have a cost page or price list on their website. Check that before reaching out to the company. Moreover, you should ask them if there are hidden charges and if some extra services would add to the cost.
In today’s digital world, businesses require a managed service provider (MSP) to manage the company’s information technology (IT) infrastructure and end-user systems. They provide an extended list of services ranging from IT security and monitoring to managing downtimes. This allows businesses to focus on other aspects, such as finances, manufacturing, and customer care.
MSPs help small and medium-sized enterprises with their technological expertise. Often businesses hire them because they lack the budget to hire an in-house IT team. Government agencies may also hire them if they are facing budget issues. Your business may need them for the following services:
- IT infrastructure management
- Technical assistance for company staff
- Compliance and risk management
- Managing cybersecurity
- Payroll services
- Contract management
But how do you pick the right MSP provider for your business? In a previous article, we discussed five questions you need to ask your MSP service provider; let’s examine five more.
What is Your Disaster Management Plan?
- Whether it’s a catastrophic event in their facility for your business, a management service provider should be able to provide you with a disaster recovery and business continuity plan. This event could be something within the IT infrastructure or a natural disaster. And having a solid plan for both is crucial.
In case of an IT mishap, your MSP needs to be confident enough to provide you with a backup plan to help keep your operations running smoothly.
Do you Handle all Tasks Internally or Outsource Them?
- There may be a chance that your MSP provider is not managing all tasks internally and outsourcing some of their work. While outsourcing may be an intelligent choice, there should always be transparent about it.
You should know which of your information is being shared with the third party. For example, if classified data, such as some specialized contracts, are being shared, that might be an ideal situation. So for data-security reasons, this is a thoughtful and essential question to ask.
Who are Your Outsourcing Partners?
- In regards to the previous question, you should also ask them who their outsourcing partners are and ensure there are high-quality ones for specialized tasks. This also shows vital networking and that others trust them enough to build a partnership.
Will You Help Us Build Our Business Strategy?
- While most businesses may require Managed Service Providers for support, some may also need them to build their business strategy. If hiring an MSP is only additional support, you can move on to the next question.
However, if you need your business to become more robust in IT aspects and provide your customers with a better experience, you would want to partner with your MSP to build a robust IT infrastructure and business strategy.
How Do You Use Automation?
- MSP services come with a plethora of routine tasks. It might make sense to get that work done manually, but automating such processes is also essential. With automation, MSPs can focus on issues requiring more detailed attention.
Automation often alerts managers if manual assistance is required. Moreover, with it, essential steps of each task are carefully covered without missing out.
Some managed IT service providers, such as Henson Group, have developed specialized skill sets for managing cloud services for businesses. We are an award-winning Microsoft Certified Azure Expert Managed Service Provider and offer consulting, migrations, and optimization services for Microsoft Azure. For more information about our managed cloud services, visit hensongroup.com today. Get in touch today to know about us and ask us anything!