When evaluating your current MSP or searching for a new IT provider, it is important to assess their capabilities to determine if they will help your organization operate in alignment with your needs. According to a Fortunly survey, 49% of businesses say that outsourcing their IT functions frees up key resources to focus on their core business. Your Managed Service Provider (MSP) should understand your business needs and future goals and take the necessary steps to help your organization achieve them. When considering what to look for in an IT provider, choose a partner who has the expertise and experience to satisfy your IT service delivery expectations, cloud uptime requirements and security needs, all while remaining within your budget. An efficient MSP will exceed their guaranteed IT response time and resolution time, making your organization a top priority. Below discusses 3 fundamentals to look for in an IT provider:
IT Service Delivery & IT Response Time
You should not be waiting weeks for tickets to be completed or left wondering when your issue will be resolved. Your service level agreement (SLA) with your IT provider should have clearly guaranteed IT response times. The right provider will surpass their safeguarded response time and complete the issue even quicker than stated in your contract. It is important to look at an MSP’s IT response time to resolution time, as that is when the issue will actually be resolved.
Ensuring your IT partner has multiple levels of expertise to resolve issues quickly and efficiently is an important piece of IT service delivery. An IT provider who has layers of dedicated escalations is a key component to quick response time and resolution time. Your ticket should promptly reach the person it needs to in order to get the issue completed so you can keep your operations running efficiently and effectively.
Cloud Expertise & Cloud Uptime Confidence
Cloud expertise and experience are important components to look for in an IT provider. When working with an MSP, you want to make sure they have the application knowledge and expertise to ensure your cloud environment is running properly. They should have the ability to manage your cloud, perform upgrades and make necessary changes to the environment to meet your organization’s specific needs. Working with a provider who can help you manage and operate across multiple cloud deployments is key to successful cloud delivery. You can seamlessly operate in the cloud with the right provider who has the application, industry and cloud experience and expertise.
While the cloud already provides a great level of resiliency to your IT stack, it is essential to have an MSP with the level of expertise to successfully perform in the environment. They should understand your cloud uptime requirements and build a redundant and scalable environment based on your needs to ensure your cloud operates efficiently. Look for an IT provider with a proper backup and recovery plan in place to help ensure a strong cloud uptime rate and keep your cloud running effectively in the event of a breach or disaster.
IT Partner with Security Expertise:
An effective IT provider is one who knows how to ensure that your data stays safe and secure. Your MSP should have a strong understanding of cyber security best practices and understand how to identify potential threats in the landscape. By proactively managing and supporting each aspect of your infrastructure, you can avoid unforeseen vulnerabilities and unpredictable fees.
When deciding what to look for in an IT provider, it is important to choose a MSP who also has a deep understanding and working experience of your regulatory requirements. Whether they are industry related or customer driven, ensuring compliance should be a top priority. The right partner will help build an environment that is safe and secure, while also understanding the compliance features that need to be in place to meet your security requirements.
With the right IT provider, you will have more time to focus on what you do best – running your organization. Your provider should have the proper tools to meet your cloud uptime expectations and IT service delivery needs, while also ensuring quick IT response time and resolution time.
CompuData, a Philadelphia IT Company, providing best-in-class IT solutions to help organizations succeed. With over 50 years as a technology innovator, CompuData’s expertise spans a wide range of services from Accounting/ERP software solutions, Cloud Hosting & Managed Cloud Services, Managed IT Services, and Security solutions to help grow, protect, and streamline operations. The CompuData team takes a holistic approach to meet customers’ needs and create technology solutions to position them for success.
