So, you’ve been working with your IT Support Provider for a while now, things are ticking along, you’re being supported, tickets raised are being addressed, and you have a ‘regular-ish’ update meeting with your account manager probably about once a month. Things are good, right?
Let’s face it, if you’re even slightly concerned about your IT support partner’s management of your services or, their performance, you’re not in a good place. At SPC IT, we put our client’s needs at the heart of everything we do as a Managed IT Service Provider, we are responsible for so many business-critical services!
Here are just a just few:
- Hardware maintenance
- Cabling and infrastructure
- Cloud services
- Patching and updates
- Cyber security
- System monitoring
- Remote working solutions
- Backup and data recover
- And your solution provider partnerships – HP, Apple, Microsoft, Datto etc.
The list goes on.
Your incumbent IT Support Provider is also there to ensure your solutions are maintained, that they stay operational, reliable and, cost effective, and should a better solution be available, they’ll ensure you’re made aware.
Here are some of the reasons why changing your MSP might be the best option
Reactiveness
Reacting to client issues, updates and concerns is the name of the game for your MSP, right?
They should be there to address any concerns and be in the thick of it if:
- You’re a target for a cyber-attack;
- When your programmes need refreshing;
- If you request new hardware, software;
- Or you need patches, networks and end-points checked?
Well, no. Being reactive means acting following an event… The literal dictionary meaning is ‘showing a response to a “stimulus”.
You want to be working with a proactive managed service provider, one that’s on the ball, delivering value and proactively managing your systems and solutions. Your MSP needs to be forward thinking and pre-emptive.
Firefighting
Similar to reactivity, the firefighting we mean relates more to issues, problems, downtime, etc. Your incumbent IT Provider should be ensuring they’re in-the-know, recommending new software solutions or hardware upgrades, and training staff for them. They should be ensuring your teams are prepared when a new Apple Mac update is released, delivering training or updates on new software solutions, and detecting outdated equipment and software licenses.
They should also be monitoring the Dark Web for any sign that your data has been compromised and running regular phishing training and testing in-house, ensuring that no hacker could dupe your teams.
Always on the ‘take’
Despite confirming above that your MSP should be reactive and recommending updates and new solutions, this shouldn’t mean that you’re always spending money with them. Yes, you will need to invest continuously to ensure your business IT solutions are reliable and secure, delivering what your business needs, but your hand shouldn’t always be in your wallet. Your IT Support Partner should be incredibly mindful of your budget, and the correlation of that to your needs.
Connected and Accredited
Business is built on relationships
“If you believe business is built on relationships, make building them your business.”
– Scott Stratten
Your managed service provider has to be connected, they need to be working with the best-in-class providers and businesses. They should have partnership statuses for relative suppliers and businesses that offer them. For example, they may have a Microsoft, Silver, Gold or Platinum Partnership status, have qualified to be a Datto Platinum partner or have an IASME Gold certificate and Cyber Essentials Plus.
Their investment in themselves and their professional relationships with suppliers will have a direct impact on your solutions, the quality of service that you’ll receive, and your overall effectiveness.
Inclusive and encouraging
On top of all that service delivery and technical stuff, the MSP you choose to work with should also be ethical. They should be looking after their staff, providing rewards and incentives, their employee churn should be good, they should be investing into their neighbourhood, supporting charities and sharing good news.
So, now we’ve laid all that on the table, be honest, are you really happy with your MSP?
We know it’s a daunting task to consider changing your provider, and we also know just how many fingers they’ll have in many critical ‘pies’. But you really should be working with a provider you trust. Like SPC IT.
Fear not – changing IT provider, isn’t as big a deal as you’d first think.
To find out more about changing your IT Support Provider, get in touch, we’ll be happy to chat things through with you.