Choosing the Right Managed Service Provider: Factors to Consider

You make decisions every day that affect your business, but few decisions are more important than the decision to partner with a Managed Services Provider (MSP). Determining which MSPs would best meet your company’s needs can be challenging, as they have become increasingly popular, creating a greater pool of providers with varying expertise and experience. As you choose your MSP, it is critical that you take into consideration several factors since you will be working with them for an extended period.

Selection criteria

Before committing to an MSP, it is a good idea to consider a few standardized criteria related to your business goals.

Expertise

The MSP you choose should possess expertise beyond those of your internal IT team as well as expert knowledge and expertise. Determine where these expertise gaps exist and ensure your MSP can play a valuable role in enhancing the capabilities of your existing IT team.

Experience

Ensure that the MSP has experience across multiple industries. It is essential that you work with an MSP whose qualifications and experience have been proven in a variety of different situations.

Managed Service Provider

The methodology that is proactive

The most experienced managed service providers, such as Milestone, take proactive measures to prevent problems from occurring by analyzing data and determining the root cause through root cause analysis rather than relying solely on break-fix technologies.

A good ability to answer questions

An MSP who doesn’t answer your questions specifically or contextually relevant will likely show the same kind of attention and knowledge. During the vetting process, it is essential to challenge potential MSPs.

SLAs that are responsive

Quality, scope, responsibilities, and delivery time are all defined in Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Make sure your MSP offers service-level agreements that are managed, responsive and evolve with the service.

IT Services that are easy to use

You should work with a managed service provider that offers onsite services. They’ll keep an eye on it and let you seamlessly integrate it with your business. The easier it is to get assistance, the faster it is to respond, and the more flexible it is.

The holistic approach

Customer service is at the heart of a great MSP, as is considering how people, technology, and processes work together. MSPs such as Advanced Tech Co focus on process improvements so your people work more efficiently.

Industry best practices alignment

Choose an MSP that operates in accordance with industry standards to ensure that you are receiving high-quality service that includes strategy, design, transition, operation, and continuous improvement of services.

Scalability

Ensure that your Managed Service Provider can help you scale. Look for an MSP who can continue to provide services and recommendations about people and processes as your company expands and your organizational goals change.

A service governance framework

Ensure that the Managed Service Provider provides you with a governance framework around their services. Through Service Governance, the quality and reliability of services will be ensured consistently and transparently.

Conclusion

MSP selection can be challenging, but by considering the factors discussed above, you can make an informed choice. Choose an MSP with a proven track record of providing quality services and exceptional customer support by doing your research, asking for references, and doing your research. Advanced Tech Co offers proactive IT support and top-quality IT management services. Getting distracted by IT issues can be detrimental to your business. They will help you reduce your IT burden and increase productivity by offering small business IT support.