5 Signs You Should Change Your Managed Services Provider
April 20th 2016
The definition of a Managed Service Providers (MSP) is “a company that remotely manages a customer's IT infrastructure and/or end-user systems, typically on a proactive basis and under a subscription model”. Over time a disconnect can occur between a MSP and company. It is vital that a company identifies some of these tell-tale signs that it may be time to look for a new Managed Service Provider.
Good communication is fundamental to having a well-run organisation. A good relationship between an organisation and a MSP is that of partners and not “buyer-seller”. For example, here at IT Force we look at how we help your business and not just your IT. As a knowledgeable MSP we look to make recommendations to clients for improvements beyond their hardware.
A key part of a MSP offerings is the ability to scale them up and down as demand dictates. While an incumbent MSP for an organisation might have been able to provide an adequate service initially, as a company growth fluctuates the flexibility of the MSP to scale now or in the future can be crucial to long-term success. At IT Force we allow clients to pick and choose what service offerings they need at that time. The price that they are charged is based on the services they actually select, and they can add or subtract offerings thereafter as required.
Your current MSP might be cheap but are not offering you value for money. Supporting an entire organisation the way it should be supported is costly for your Managed Services Provider. These fees go towards employing top-tier talent, managing ticketing software and delivering the quality of support that your users need to be productive and effective. When a company offers bottom of the barrel pricing – the client is getting bottom of the barrel support. What does that mean? Unresolved tickets, slow response times and poor quality talent on the other side of the help desk.
Trust is always at the forefront of any business relationships. There must be always a level of trust with your MSP or the relationship is no longer tenable. If your MSP is constantly trying to sell you new services or products that they offer, without putting much thought into what your firm actually needs, a level of distrust may build for the MSP. Consulting and recommending additional products or services is not necessarily a bad thing, however, if your MSP is unable to justify the purchase, they may not have your best interests in mind.
Loyalty is often a key trait for good business people. In business, it is critical to stay loyal to good suppliers and other stakeholders who serve the business well. So you’ve been working with the same Managed Service Provider for years but your loyalty to them is having a detrimental effect upon your business. You may have a good relationship with the MSP on a personal level but on a business level it is not working.
If you have identified yourself in some of the above situations, it is important to consider your position with your current Managed Services Provider. To learn more about the benefits of managed services or value IT Force can bring to your company; please contact us at info@itforce.ie