The beauty of outsourcing your IT services to a managed service provider is that these services can help you no matter the size of your business. Your business could be seeking to tap new markets or well-established and doing fine. All the same, you’ll benefit from instant access to IT help and tech knowledge.
What does IT managed services mean? Less downtime for your business and improved IT security infrastructure with enhanced regulatory compliance. IT managed services also means greater flexibility in responding to technological trends.
Also, because the IT field remains in constant flux and your managed service provider will have a stable teeming with IT specialists, you’ll be able to adapt fluidly to technological change to grow your business. Reduced risk, improved security, and greater access to experts?
That sounds great, but how do you know you’re getting the best-managed service provider possible? See how many boxes you can tick in the list below as you search for a world-class managed service provider for your business.
Stellar References
The first box to check in your search for a managed service provider is the managed service provider’s experience with similar companies in your industry. Simply inquiring about a few references will give you an indication of the managed service provider’s customer service skills, as well.
Industry Experience
There’s no substitute for experience in your industry. Consider the regulatory nuances of working in the healthcare industry, for instance. Wouldn’t finding a managed service provider who had years of experience working to bolster the security and lower the downtime of healthcare providers be ideal? Sure it would be.
The same goes for managed service providers helping businesses in other industries. A managed service provider with a track record of successfully working with restaurants or retail businesses is going to be more of an asset if you’re coming from those industries.
A managed service provider with the relevant experience will be able to draw on years of experience to foresee future issues and streamline your operational needs.
Staying Power
A managed service provider should have a long history successfully collaborating with businesses in your industry as well as a promising future. Both a managed service provider’s financial statements and press releases are going to be a good indication of that managed service provider’s staying power.
You need a managed service provider who’s going to be around at least as long as your business!
Transparent Response Times
A respectable managed service provider will tell you their response times for particular emergencies or security risks you could face.
Billing Structure
The managed service provider’s billing structure will tell you a lot about that outfit’s integrity and their true intentions. Exorbitant hourly rates are a red flag that you might be dealing with a fly-by-night outfit.
The most respectable managed service providers will charge based on the job, rather than by the hour because the more respectable managed service providers have the know-how, personnel, and confidence to efficiently get the job done.
Image credit: Service Provider via LeoWolfert/shutterstock