Regardless of their size, more and more organizations depend on technology to streamline operations and facilitate growth. Yet, keeping up with rapidly changing technology while managing information technology (IT) systems can be tricky.
If you are dealing with the burden of managing your business’s or organization’s IT, hiring a managed services provider (MSP) can be a strategic move. To help ensure you select an MSP that aligns with your company’s needs and objectives, you need to know what to look for in a provider.
The Benefits of Partnering With an MSP
Managed services providers (MSPs) are indispensable in IT management, providing key offerings ranging from cybersecurity to network monitoring.
You might not have the resources to hire a full-time team with the same capabilities as an MSP. However, by relying on outsourced IT services from a company like Morefield, you have more affordable access to highly skilled professionals with a wealth of IT knowledge.
Beyond responding rapidly to technical issues, managed service providers can help prevent issues from occurring entirely and keep downtime to an absolute minimum. Downtime can cost large organizations up to $9,000 a minute. The 24/7 support and monitoring offered by most MSPs are vital to remaining competitive and maintaining continuity in the digitally driven landscape in which your business operates.
When working with an MSP, companies can also prioritize strategic goals and initiatives as they no longer have to deal with time-consuming IT tasks each day. Working with a MSP allows you to boost productivity and efficiency for your employees and equipment, allowing you to serve more customers and reduce operating expenses.
6 Things to Look for in an MSP
MSPs play a crucial role in the success and growth of businesses, so selecting the right company is essential. To help you identify a suitable partner, here are six things to consider:
1. In-depth Expertise and Industry Experience
An MSP with expert skills and significant experience in your industry is nonnegotiable.
Although there may be many providers, only some will have worked in certain industries. Whether you work for a health care, educational or governmental organization or are a business owner, MSPs with experience in your vertical are better equipped to grasp your unique needs and challenges. Plus, they’ll have the necessary knowledge of any relevant regulations to help you stay compliant.
Along with evaluating a provider’s industry experience, you should check:
- Years in business: Seasoned companies with many years under their belt are likely to be reliable problem-solvers.
- Past and present clients: An MSP’s client base can give you insight into the types of businesses and organizations they work with. While big names can indicate the provider’s level of proficiency, clients operating in industries similar to yours are also a green light.
- Reviews and references: Contact both past and existing clients to learn about their experiences and how satisfied they were with the services they received. Reviews and testimonials are also valuable resources for gaining insight into the MSP’s reliability and performance.
2. Comprehensive IT Services and Scalable Infrastructure
If you are looking for one partner to provide end-to-end support, a versatile MSP with extensive service offerings is a must. Various services are crucial when selecting a provider, such as:
- Network management: Your network is paramount for keeping your information safe. You need a dedicated team to maintain your network’s security, connection and peak performance.
- Cloud solutions: Few businesses function without cloud services. Look for an MSP that can manage and secure your cloud environment.
- Cybersecurity: Security solutions are vital for securing your systems and data. Look for services such as employee education, vulnerability assessments, endpoint detection and response programs, and data backup strategies to protect your business from possible threats.
- Data backup: To safeguard files and folders from natural disasters and other losses, backup as a service (BaaS) is becoming increasingly common for businesses spanning many industries.
In addition to reviewing an MSP’s services portfolio to ensure your business’s or organization’s current needs are met, you must keep the future in mind. You need a provider that offers flexible services and can scale its infrastructure according to your company’s growth and technological advances.
3. Security and Data Protection Best Practices
In 2023, more than 3,200 data breaches were reported. Also known as data leakages, breaches typically result from intrusions from external attackers who gain unauthorized access to bank account information, credit card numbers, financial records or social security numbers.
Data is the lifeblood of many modern organizations, so security should be a top priority for your chosen MSP. Security measures such as data encryption to prevent unauthorized access and an effective system for identifying potential intrusions are critical. The right provider can help shield your organization or business from cyber threats and data leakages, mitigating the risk of operational downtime, loss of customer trust and other ramifications.
4. Reliable Disaster Recovery Solutions
Vandalism, weather disasters or other outages can happen without notice. An IT disaster recovery plan can save the day and ensure your operations continue in an emergency. As their name suggests, these plans contain detailed steps to manage disasters that are either natural or caused by humans, allowing businesses to make a speedy recovery.
A suitable MSP will be able to help you prepare for future emergencies, secure your data, and offer you peace of mind that your business can recover from an otherwise catastrophic event. Your provider’s disaster recovery solutions should include:
- Regular data backups: Backups help ensure your data is available should the recovery plan need to be implemented.
- Frequent testing: These plans must be tested frequently and updated as needed. Doing so allows you to make the appropriate changes ahead of time rather than becoming aware of faults while dealing with a disruption.
- Off-site storage: Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) is a cloud-based protection solution. With DRaaS, your company can use an off-site server to back up and store its data. This way, you can avoid the loss of important data if the disaster is on-site, such as computer theft or hurricanes.
5. 24/7 Customer Service and Support
Due to the nature of IT management, time-critical concerns or questions are expected. Before selecting an MSP, ensure they will be available when needed. While your business or organization isn’t operational 24/7, your network and security are — and so should your MSP.
In addition to evaluating a provider’s availability, you should consider the level of customer support they offer:
- Responsiveness: Timely responses can solve minor issues before they escalate. Determine how quickly an MSP resolves general inquiries and more severe problems or emergencies.
- Communication channels: The channels you use to report an issue must be accessible and easy to use. For example, your provider could use a ticketing system or require you to phone them.
- On-site support: Although many services can be offered remotely, partnering with a local MSP can be hugely beneficial as they can provide hands-on assistance. If you are based in Pennsylvania or Northern Maryland and are looking for managed IT services, Morefield is happy to help.
6. Transparent Contracts and Pricing
Understanding the Service Level Agreement (SLA) is vital — these contracts generally outline specifics such as uptime guarantees, response times, problem resolution procedures and more. SLAs should state whether there are any penalties or termination clauses, building the foundation for a dispute-free partnership.
MSPs should also be transparent about their pricing model, whether a flat fee, billed per device or user or a tiered plan. Be sure to ask if there are any extra costs for specific features or services.
Although cost can be a deciding factor when choosing a partner, remember to consider the total value your chosen provider offers. This can include their level of expertise and the quality of services you will receive as well as how they will help you reduce downtime and boost the efficiency of your organization’s IT processes. As these outcomes may increase profitability, the services from an MSP are a worthy investment.
Partner With a Top MSP
If you want to streamline your business’s or organization’s IT, Morefield is here to be your trusted partner. With years of experience, we are a top MSP in Pennsylvania. We work with companies to integrate and optimize their technology, including manufacturing businesses, legal and financial services, health care facilities and nonprofit community organizations.
When you partner with us, you will gain access to highly qualified engineers and technicians and experience who provide consistently good service with industry-leading response times. We also have remote offerings that can resolve various issues, from fixing faults to upgrading software. To learn more about our managed services, contact us online.
