Having a managed service provider by your side is definitely a boon. You can focus on your projects while your IT environment is in safe hands. A Managed Service Provider or MSP takes care of your IT security, business continuity, and in general, your overall IT environment so that you can operate efficiently. An able MSP is a critical support system that you should have if you want to focus on the growth of your business. However, the biggest question is how do you identify your best MSP? There is no brainer that every business is different, and so is their IT requirement. Hence, choosing the right MSP is extremely critical if you really wish to leverage the power of managed services. Here are some tips to help you get started on identifying your best MSP.
Skills and experience help go a long way
While selecting your MSP, look for the skills and experience they have acquired and assess if they can manager your IT infrastructure. Ask specific questions beyond certifications or headcount they have. Instead, check if they would be able to help you to achieve an integrated multi-sourcing strategy that may include your cloud, your in-house resources, and managed services.
Identify your business requirements
Don’t just hire an MSP just because your friend Suresh recommended you or may be Ramesh find it useful for his business. Instead, analyze and write down your business requirements. Each business has its own set of requirements, and so go for the one that can provide solution to your business requirements. Don’t negotiate for pricing until you have your business requirement defined.
Technology to be used
An ideal managed service provider should be using top-notch technology so that potential problems are neutralized before it impacts your business. It should use sophisticated backend technology across all the managed services that you opt for. A good parameter to measure this, by asking specific questions on how much automation they use with minimal human interfere. Keep a tab on the kind of quality and productivity they are promising to offer.
Industry best practices
The biggest reason that you want to have an MSP is because you want your IT infrastructure to be fast and top-notch. To ensure that, I suggest you to go for an MSP who adapts to industry best practices. While choosing one, ask for questions like how the MSP plans to transition from in-house to the provider’s management system.
Suitability to work on multivendor environment
Your ideal MSP should be able to allow you to work on a multivendor environment. For example, it should let you deliver globally and locally, offer multi-language support, able to manage the span of operations across geographical boundaries.
Provide remote and on-site support
Go for an MSP provider who can offer both on – site and remote support. While most MSP providers can provider remote supports, you can definitely give a brownie point to an MSP provider who can come to your premise at least once in a while to troubleshoot when needed.
Minimal response time
An ideal MSP should be on its toes 24 x 7 x 365, because you really can’t afford to have downtime, can you? Ask your MSP to give you an upfront estimate of response time for any given situation. This will help you to know and estimate your downtime beforehand.
Delivering cybersecurity solution
As much your IT infrastructure is important, so is your cybersecurity. Afterall, you cannot afford to leave your IT infrastructure vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Ensure your MSP offers comprehensive cybersecurity solution and safeguard your IT environment at all time.
Check for tenure
Choose an MSP who will stick around as long as you are in the business. Do some quick background checks to verify their past records.
Ask for past client recommendations:
Last but not the least, ask for some past client recommendations, nature of work done, testimonials etc. while selecting your MSP. This will help you to understand their credibility and help you make an informed decision.
So, the next time you are out there to find your ideal managed service provider, ensure you have this checklist with you and that your chosen MSP meets all the above criteria. Alternatively, you can hire us and get things done.
Managed Service Provider Sygitech
