When choosing an IT support company, it’s not always clear what you should be looking for, or who you should work with. Often, it’s a case of balancing service with price. But, those with the fanciest packages might not be a good fit for you – and nor might the cheapest. Often it’s a combination of multiple factors, the most of important of which (in our opinion) are outlined below.
Choose a partner
Any part of your business that is outsourced is essentially an extension of your organisation. You are paying someone to bring skills and qualities to your company that you don’t have or don’t have the time to do. Your IT support is no different.
When you onboard an IT support company there will be a lot of activity as they establish the what, how and when of improving your IT. After that period, the incumbent company should get on with managing your IT. If you find yourself fielding constant calls from your IT MSP or your team dealing with issues they shouldn’t be, it’s a sign the company you’ve outsourced to isn’t up to scratch.
They should, in all reality be getting on with managing your IT and leaving you to focus on running the core aspects of your business. Otherwise, what’s the point of outsourcing?
Plan for the future
Your IT is as much of a strategic enabler to your business as the marketing and sales departments. Your business success and readiness for growth are in part dependent on your capacity to scale your IT so that it can support that transition.
An MSP should have the plan to help you to achieve that. Moreover, they should meet you where you are now and focus on optimising your current IT environment for your existing operational needs. At the same time, they should be factoring in plans to improve and scale your IT to match your ambitions ahead of time – retrofitting IT to meet company demands rarely works.
Neither, it should be said, do cookie-cutter growth programms. Each company’s needs are unique. An MSP worthy of the name will conduct an audit of your environment and set a roadmap for improvement that aims to reach industry benchmarks for best practices as part of the overall growth plan.
We don’t have any issues
Lucky you! Joking aside, an MSP should be proactive and not reactive. The days of break-fix IT is dead, and certainly not conducive to success in the modern business environment. No organisation can afford constant IT disruptions.
So, if it’s been a while since you had to speak to your MSP take it as a sign that they are doing their job well and not that you never have any problems and can therefore do without them. All companies have IT issues – it is those that aren’t disrupted by them that have industry-leading IT environments and who are able to focus on their core business.
Have we been ghosted?
As stated above, all businesses have IT issues. If it takes your MSP days or even weeks to respond to problems, then it could be a sign they aren’t up to scratch. Equally, if you have repeat issues that don’t seem to be fixed properly (or are papered over), then that too is a sign that you might not be getting a good service.
Now, clearly, some problems are harder to fix than others and will naturally take longer to resolve. If that’s the case, it’s reasonable to expect regular communication from your MSP. Good communication is key to good business and goes a long way to fostering strong working relationships. If you feel you are being kept in the dark by your IT support company, or if they are unresponsive or unwilling to talk, then that too is a sign that you should move on.
Need a new MSP? Pick the wheat and not the chaff. Give us a call on +44 (0) 203 137 7273.