6 Ways To Tell It’s Time To Switch Your Managed Services IT Provider
So, you’ve had the same outside Managed Services or IT Provider for years. Today, after looking at your year-to-date expenditures or a rash of reoccurring issues, you begin to wonder if you’re really getting what you pay for. Is it time to break off the partnership and switch IT? Is the cost of moving to a new provider worth the effort?
1. Recurring Issues
If you seem to experience the same problems over and over, you may need to find a new provider. Repeated problems indicate they don't track issues correctly, or they just put duck-tape over problems and hope they go away. Failed backups, low memory, and PC or server crashes are all examples of problems your MSP should know about before you do. A good MSP should prevent issues from happening and explain what steps should be taken to ensure they don't happen again.
Affiliated uses comprehensive monitoring systems and sophisticated incident databases to detect and resolve problems before they disrupt your business. When an issue happens, a we have the documentation and systems in place to fix it and an efficient process for resolving the issue immediately and making sure it doesn't occur again.
2. Lag In Response Times
Are you waiting longer and longer to hear back after you submit an issue? Are you the one notifying your MSP of high-priority issues such as internet outages or a server crash? Do you need to check-in on the status of issues because you haven't heard from your MSP in days or weeks?
There are a number of reasons this could be happening. Perhaps they haven't invested in the technology necessary to properly monitor and track your systems. Maybe they are short-staffed.
The bottom line is downtime can be extremely frustrating, disruptive, and, ultimately expensive.
At Affiliated, we believe that responding immediately and communicating with you frequently is the key to your success. When you email a support request or call, you will get immediate confirmation that it was received.
In addition, a technician will be responding within an hour or two (depending on the issue) with an update. If we are unable to resolve it right away, we will give you some indication of when you can expect a resolution.
We understand time is money and react accordingly as if it were our own business.
3. They Fail To Understand What’s Important To Your Business )Or Haven’t Tailored Your Plan To Fit Your Needs)
MSPs often focus on offering services the way that works for them and not necessarily in a way that works for you. A knowledgeable MSP recommends improvements beyond hardware. They provide direction for improved workflow, training, and software systems. They have invaluable industry-specific insights into what can work well and what might not be right for your business. For example, the legal industry is inundated with industry specific systems - your MSP should know the ins and outs of systems tailored to your industry.
Affiliated works across a wide-range of vertical. That is why we tailor every one of our service agreements to fit the needs of your business. There are no boiler plates. It needs to work for you.
4. Your Team Is Left To Troubleshoot Technical Issues On Their Own
If you have noticed that your staff is having to solve tech issues on their own, it's time to consider switching MSPs.
Your team shouldn't have to spend hours Googling how to troubleshoot their system. That won't happen with Affiliated.
Anytime there is an issue, we will resolve it through our experienced and responsive helpdesk, leaving your team to focus on what's most important.
5. You Don’t Have A Comprehensive Security Or Incident Plan In Your Back Pocket
A successful MSP company should ensure that you are proactively safe from online threats rather than waiting for you to be attacked and then responding. Instead of dealing with cyberattacks as they come, a good MSP is able to target vulnerabilities in your system and shut them down before it becomes a problem.
All of our Managed Services and Infrastructure agreements offer a base threat protection and risk mitigation plan. Our advanced IT Risk Management program with ongoing proactive security program solutions provides another level of protection including:
- Effective security policies and procedures
- Risk assessment and mitigation
- Regulatory compliance Incident response
- Team education and awareness for detecting security threats
- Industry and government standards-based risk evaluation scoring process to provide your leadership with an ongoing view of their organization's risk exposure and remediation path.
6. There’s A Lack Of Vision And Strategy
Your business is growing and evolving, requiring new technologies and changing strategies. Your MSP should proactively help you navigate the technology minefield and provide guidance based on your unique business needs.
That is where we excel.
Affiliated is an experience team of business and IT strategist. We are also business owners who understand the value of proactive planning that aligns your IT with your business goals throughout the entire organization.
That is why we go beyond just IT to understand both your business and vision so we consistently deliver beyond your expectations.
