Table of Contents:
- Top 10 recommendations to choose IT managed provider services.
- How do MSPs answer your RFP?
- What is the Agreement about?
- How much is the value?
- What is the MSP Access Control Policy?
- What is the MSP size?
- Has the MSP Help Desk?
- Does the MSP provide surveillance and reporting?
- Is the MSP approved?
- Has the MSP a VCIO?
- What’s the whole MSP package?
A managed IT service provider should contribute to cost management, competitiveness and scalability.
Top 10 recommendations to choose IT managed provider services.
1. How do MSPs answer your RFP?
The first step to selecting a managed service provider is to submit a request for proposal (RFP) to eligible providers that you believe your criteria can be met. The RFP defines the scope of the project and enables the future supplier to know your expectations.
The first thing to look at is how they react to your RFP. In this respect, some of the items you should consider includes:
Have you reviewed the proposal and satisfied your particular needs, or does their proposal seem like something generic they threw up quickly?
- Does your plan accommodate your business?
- Do they offer a timeframe and milestones to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan?
- Does their strategy benefit your company?
- Is there a definition of expectations and deliverables?
- Is your strategy concerned with business continuity?
2. What is the Agreement about?
Many businesses sign up for an IT service provider and fail to get a comprehensive management contract (MSA) explaining the services, software, license, hardware, and work supplied.
Make sure you receive a deal.
The services management agreement should
- Be short yet provide enough information to describe services and prices.
- Include established service criteria and a guarantee of performance.
- Be adapted to suit your company, not simply a cookie-cutter deal.
3. How much is the value?
You must ask yourself whether your relationship with the managed IT service provider is worthwhile. Below is a checklist to help you decide whether your organization may benefit from the engagement:
- Does your managed service provider follow the best practices published?
Every hardware vendor has released best practices to maximize their device in installation, deployment, setup and ongoing maintenance.
- Do they have a well-defined configuration and procedures documented process?
The most successful MSPs will have a written document that describes all their processes.
- Do they offer a baseline performance technology assessment?
This is a simple but essential performance measure since you can’t determine whether it’s better or worse until you have a primary line before you start.
4. What is the MSP Access Control Policy?
Many clients frequently do not think about this when they hire a managed service provider.
Do they hold the keys to the castle, and what can you do if you decide to stop working with them?
Some unscrupulous providers may keep you hostage and refuse to transfer administrative passwords unless you pay cancellation fees or other costs that they might claim to make up for lost revenue. This may create major difficulties when you attempt to switch to another provider.
To prevent such a situation, offer the supplier a duplicate access control admin account and delete the admin password privileges. If you decide not to cooperate with the seller, deactivating or removing the duplicate admin account is all you have to do.
5. What is the MSP size?
There are two sides to this; the first is the size of the business – it’s too large and too tiny.
For small companies
- Their levels of service may decrease if the technician is out of the office.
- Perhaps they could not manage the additional activity.
For large companies
- Among too many technicians, your support tickets may get misplaced.
- No one knows your network or company, leading to a delayed problem response.
It would be ideal for reaching the correct balance by paying a reasonable fee for a medium-sized company.
6. Has the MSP Help Desk?
Several managed service companies do not have a dedicated support desk. There is no mechanism for ticketing and complaint management, and resolution.
Avoid businesses like the plague.
Choose a supplier that takes client support seriously and utilizes suitable methods and processes to handle requests for assistance.
7. Does the MSP provide surveillance and reporting?
Another critical step is to find out whether your managed IT service provider monitors your network and looks for
issues regularly. Find out whether they have a history of contacting their customers if there is an issue before they even realize it.
It allows you to contact your current consumers, speak to industry professionals and seek feedback online. In this respect, Google evaluations are extremely helpful, especially when you use a local business.
The supplier has to be able to report on the performance of your network infrastructure on a frequent basis.
8. Is the MSP approved?
Technicians of MSP are required to be certified.
Several certification organizations certify IT-related jobs of various sorts. These credentials provide you with the confidence and tranquillity to work with experts who know what they do.
9. Has the MSP a VCIO?
Most MSPs offer a VCIO (Virtual Chief Information Officer) service. It involves many actions with your employees and operational levels, such as weekly/monthly checks, quarterly reviews and yearly budgeting and planning.
The degree of service offered relies on your organization, structure, and individuals involved in specific IT jobs. A resource on your team is a shift for your entire IT strategy to offer genuine IT consultancy.
10. What’s the whole MSP package?
Finally, look at the whole product.
Managed service providers typically have little expertise. For example, they can offer you PC or server assistance, but when your phone system has an issue, they can’t help, and they have to enter a subcontractor or can’t help you.
A firm that can provide end-to-end solutions is essential. Your managed service provider is your IT department at the end of the day.
