Does Your IT Managed Services Provider Need to be Replaced?
Maybe you have been with your IT Managed Services Provider (MSP for quite some time, or maybe it is a newer relationship. They seemingly do an ok job for your business, so you don’t really give them much thought. Staying with your MSP out of habit could be unintentionally harming your business. That decision could cost you money, productivity, and even unplanned downtime.
Switching MSPs doesn’t have to be hard. An experienced MSP will step into your current IT environment and services without affecting your productivity at all.
Here are a few signs that it is time to switch to a new Managed Service Provider:
- Are your current technologies up to date? Cloud solutions are the cornerstone for businesses to succeed in this modern world. You need to ensure your business has remote capabilities, and proper collaboration tools. Not to mention running old and lag technologies is a huge security risk. If you are not running Microsoft 365 in your business and your MSP has not been beating you over the head about it, that should be a red flag.
- Is your current MSP maintaining their reputation? If your MSP represented several clients that have been in the news for having been a victim of a security breach, would you know about it? If you are feeling unhappy with the level of service you are receiving, ask your MSP if you could speak to some other clients so you can compare situations. If they are reluctant to connect you to other clients, cue that red flag again.
- Delayed response times. Calling a helpdesk and leaving a message with no response or acknowledgment can be frustrating, especially if you are in the middle of a crisis. You deserve to be acknowledged, and in a timeframe that you find acceptable. Don’t be afraid to ask what standard response time is and compare that to other MSPs. You may be surprised what you find.
- Unresolved or lingering problems. A big red flag is if you have multiple help desk tickets open with no plan of action. Ask yourself if you feel confident your problem is going to be solved and that you can speak to how they are going to get you from point A to B.
- Proactive vs Reactive. If you only hear from your IT MSP when your bill is overdue or when they are responding to you reaching out to them, you should be questioning how valuable they consider you as a client. If you MSP only responds as a break-fix model, you need to run, not walk away from them. Your MSP should have a plan in place to proactively upgrade, update and regularly check your network and systems. They should be helping you move your business forward.
Change is hard, but you deserve an MSP that is going to be a trusted partner and have your back in good times and in bad.
If you want an IT MSP that is upfront and transparent and has experience helping clients reach both their short-term and long-term goals, look no further. 2W Tech is a technology service provider and managed service provider that has been helping clients achieve success for over 30 years.