Tips on choosing a Managed Service Provider for your business
October 23, 2018
The Managed Service Provider industry is growing at a rapid pace. If you are reading this, you are likely aware that small to medium businesses in nearly every industry are looking to outsource their IT Management, data management and other IT Services to Managed Service Providers (MSPs). Some MSPs specialize in specific verticals while others are more general in the type of businesses serviced and the type of managed IT services offered.
By the very definition of Wikipedia, “Managed services is the practice of outsourcing on a proactive basis certain processes and functions intended to improve operations and cut expenses.” The managed service provider model for IT has gained traction over the last decade and in many cases replaced the traditional break fix model in IT. Choosing the right MSP is a way to reduce cost, improve efficiency, and adopt the latest technology very quickly. When choosing an MSP is important to understand how the operate along with strengths and weaknesses. This article focuses on the best way to evaluate whether an MSP will be the right one for your business.
Here are a few things to look for when choosing an Atlanta managed it services provider :
1. Are they providing Monitoring and Service 24/7/365? – Any MSP worth its weight will provide proactive service and remote monitoring of your technology resources 24/7/365 days per year. Remote monitoring should include monitoring of all workstations, servers, firewalls, switches, websites and routers. All of these are critical to business continuity and should be non-negotiable.
2. Examine their Service Level Agreements (SLAs)– Service level Agreements define the commitment between client and the provider and the agreed upon in response times for incidents and IT service requests. Make sure it includes measurable response times and defined service availability for issues service requests.
3. Do they understand your industry? – Many MSPs focus on being generalists while a few specialize in certain fields, such as, hospital, healthcare and accounting. Some industries, like healthcare, require special care when it comes to HIPAA compliance. Make sure your MSP has the experience and, if necessary, the certifications to support your business requirements.
4. Do they offer both onsite and remote support? In many cases, a good MSP will be able to respond to and access hardware remotely to troubleshoot. In this case, it’s important to have a company that has a tested remote management and monitoring service. Some cases require an engineer to travel onsite. Make sure that the response time for reported issues is defined in the SLA that I discussed earlier.
5. Check online Reviews – It’s easy to check an MSP’s track record by looking at their online reviews on sites like Facebook and Google. Just do a quick Google Search of the business name and you should be able to see the company’s reviews.
These are just a few recommendations for choosing a Managed Service Provider. I recommend you spend the time to ensure that the Managed Service Provider you are speaking with is a good fit for your company. The extra effort will save you time, money, and a lot of headaches.
TrueITPros is an Atlanta Managed Service Provider delivering managed IT Services, IT Support, and Digital Marketing to small and medium sized businesses. Our IT consulting service includes supporting clients both locally and remotely as needed. TrueITPros service area includes the metro Atlanta area including the following cities: Dunwoody, Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Marietta, Norcross, Decatur, Buckhead, Kennesaw, Duluth, Snellville, Brookhaven and Lilburn Many of our clients have multiple locations and out of state locations too.
If you are looking for IT Support in Atlanta please call us at (678)534-8776 or email us.