6 Hacks to Choose the Right Managed IT Services Provider
In the current climate of remote work, continuous availability and anywhere operations, managing your IT and data solutions fully in-house can be challenging and highly resource intensive in terms of both time and cost. Moreover, despite spending so much, there is a chance that your internal IT team still falls prey to myopic understanding of internal business needs and fails to keep apace leading industrial innovations that can potentially increase your competencies manifold. This is where Managed IT Services providers become such a lucrative option for businesses looking to get the best bang for their IT spends while keeping costs predictable and manageable. The value of the global managed services market was estimated to be at $185.98 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $356.24 billion by 2025. In fact, data from MarketsandMarkets suggests that the managed service provider industry will reach $282 billion by 2023 – a 56% surge from last year’s numbers.
In its essence, Managed IT Services Providers enable businesses to enable significant degrees of efficiencies in processes, operations, and cyber security while enabling lower costs than investing in infrastructure and teams upfront. Today 64% of organizations say they use some form of managed IT services.
But outsourcing is much more than just a cost-saving exercise as can be evidenced today with nearly 64% of organizations using managed IT services. As companies struggle to survive and thrive in an increasingly competitive and highly proficient market, innovation has become a strategic differentiator in separating the proverbial wheat from the chaff among managed services providers.
In this article, we provide you with a detailed guideline on 6 Hacks to Choose the Right Managed IT Services for your Company to address your unique business needs.
What Are “Managed Services”?
Unlimited IT support and services and access to some of the industry-leading IT tools and technologies relevant to your niche – all at a highly predictable monthly rate or other flexible models that suit to the needs of your business. That is managed services in a nutshell. Break/ fix model of IT is simply too inefficient and time consuming to be able to provide your business with the competitive edge it so desperately needs. Managed IT services ensure round-the-clock uninterrupted services at all times and most importantly brings some of the industry’s best technical minds into play into devising technical solutions for your business that truly drive value. They help you monitor and prepare for threats by securely backing up your most valuable and sensitive data and ensuring business continuity should the worst happen. They are designed to keep you one step ahead of the evolving industry trends in infrastructure and can help you future-proof your business by offering strategic guidance and direction in both business and technology for business.
6 Hacks to Choose the Right Managed IT Services for your Company
- Industry Experience – While you should always be on the lookout for MSPs who are forward thinking by nature and proactive in introducing new efficiencies for their clients – you should also consider the depth and breadth of their actual industry experience. Generally, the best fit for your business will be managed service providers who have a track record of delivering outcomes in your specific industry. Familiarity with the industry enables MSPs to anticipate potential problems and pitfalls in your infrastructure and be able to anticipate your operational needs that may not be readily apparent to others.
- Level of Skills & Expertise – The MSP you bring on board is expected to function as an extension and significant enhancement of your internal IT team. As such, the depth and breadth of skills available at your MSP’s disposal is critical. Be sure to thoroughly inquire about the skills and knowledge of their staff, especially those serving as your POCs. It’s also important for them to quickly adapt their skillsets around growth and scalability of your enterprise.
- Good References – References are critical in establishing an IT support company’s track record and credibility. If possible, always go with local vendors who are trusted by businesses in your industry or, geographical location. If not offered voluntarily, you should ask for references regarding the MSP’s industry experience and customer service record. It’s also important to verify beforehand if the MSP is conversant with your specific business challenges and focus before you entrust them with your mission-critical enterprise infrastructure and applications. Your Managed IT Services Provider should be able to guarantee your peace of mind 24*7*365 and not cost a piece of it. That’s why when or if they go out of their way to keep you abreast of business and technical innovation and strategies being employed by your competitors to great results – you know that you have a business partner you can bank on.
- Billing Structure – Billing can affect more than monthly payouts – it can help build or eradicate trust in a vendor based on the company’s integrity. While MSPs often offer a host of flexible payment options, you should take care to avoid hourly charges and focus more on flat fee-based service providers and payment options that prove mutually beneficial to both parties.
- Long-standing client relationships – Choose providers with a track record of long-standing client relationships and glowing testaments from old clients. This proves that the MSP pays close attention to individual business needs and is attentive and proactive in meeting client needs over time. That’s the kind of support you want for your business – MSPs who can provide quick resolutions and effortless support whenever needed over the years. You can also insist on regular reports from customer satisfaction surveys and face-to-face meetings that can allow the MSP to deeply integrate with your business strategy.
Customization – While over-the-counter MSP services are great, you should look for providers willing to customize their services and offerings to match your specific business needs and goals.They should be able to offer customizations so you can optimize, adapt, and enhance your existing infrastructure to best support your business. The MSP you choose should also be proactive in offering creative solutions around technical problems instead of always trying to upgrade and utilize the latest and greatest technology solutions. IT Consulting USA could be a good place to start looking for companies offering a wide range of customization options.
