5 Questions You Need to Ask Managed IT Service Providers Before You Sign
Choosing a Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) is an important step for any business. An MSP can give you instant access to IT skills integral to the growth of your business. But not all IT services providers are created equal – it’s important to ensure that your prospective MSP’s skills align with your needs and that they will be able to respond when you need them. That’s why we created this guide of five questions you should ask a prospective MSP before you sign an agreement. Let’s dive in….
1) Can you clearly define what is within the scope of the agreement and what is not?
It can be disheartening to realize that the IT services agreement you have doesn’t cover certain situations. IT services providers sometimes support only a limited range of hardware and software, meaning that to be covered, you’ll need to replace costly equipment that may be perfectly useful. In this regard, we do two things at Kirk ISS to help prospective clients:
1) Our agreements are clearly worded as to what falls within the scope of support and what doesn’t. That way our clients know whether they are getting good value for their support agreement.
2) We take an inventory of the hardware and software and look at the best ways to support them without having to replace them.
Keeping existing systems running helps defer costly IT expenditures and protects your business’ cash flow, letting you focus on growth.
2) What is your average ticket response time?
When IT issues arise, you want to be confident that your MSP will be able to respond. Ask for the them to provide metrics for ticket response times and escalation paths to gain some visibility into their track record for resolving tickets of varying complexity and severity.
3) Do you offer on-site services or is support entriely remote?
Remote support can be a quick and convenient way to resolve many day-to-day IT issues, but there will inevitably come a time when you need a qualified engineer on-site – quickly! That’s why its important to know if your MSP has locally-based resources available should you need them.
In the Cayman Islands, it may be days before an off-island service provider can get the relevant expert to your office to assess and remediate your IT problem. Kirk ISS has a team of on-island IT experts certified in a range of IT disciplines ranging from servers and storage to telephony. What’s more, our on-island warehouse stocks a diverse inventory of spare parts, so you don’t just get an IT expert at your door quickly, any associated hardware is also often just a call away.
4) Do you provide reports for your IT services?
Transparency is vital when it comes to knowing whether you’re getting good value for money from your MSP. Be sure to ask any prospective MSP about the types of reports you’ll receive and the frequency with which you’ll get them. Ask for a sample report to provide a visual reference as to what to expect. This way if there are any metrics not tracked as part of their standard reporting, you can ask them to work with you on getting them built into the standard report you’ll receive.
5) Can you offer references or customer success stories?
Most MSP’s will claim to be very responsive to their customer’s needs, but the proof is often in short supply. Vocal endorsements from clients, particularly businesses similar to yours, are a great barometer for whether you’ll be in good hands.
Kirk ISS provides reference sites and customer success stories with our proposals, so that you can be confident that we have the knowledge and experience to meet your unique needs.
Choosing the right MSP for your business…
Having dealt with hundreds of businesses of varying sizes and across diverse industries, we can say that there is no “one size fits all” approach to IT services and support. Your MSP must be flexible to your changing needs and willing to be a partner in your company’s journey. By asking the above five questions, you’ll be well on your way to a shortlist of qualified IT service providers.
Learn more about the IT services we offer by downloading our brochure. If you would like to schedule a free one-on-one needs assessment, please get in touch and a member of our team would be happy to help.
