How To Choose A Managed IT Service Provider (MSP)

As businesses expand, so do their technological requirements. Regardless of your commercial IT environment, you need technology services to keep your business operating as it should, your employees productive and your clients satisfied.

Finding the right managed services provider can save you both time and money.

Managed services allow you to combine your current IT staff and infrastructure with a specialized IT company to manage your network, servers, computers and all other technology needs.

If you need to function at peak efficiency but don’t have the manpower to handle a big on-site IT staff, finding the best fit for a managed IT service provider is of the utmost importance.

It’s critical to select the proper and most experienced partner for your managed services requirements. Here are the top 10 things to look for when choosing a managed services provider.

What to Evaluate in a Managed IT Services Provider

1. Availability

You don’t work 24 hours a day, but your technology, networks, programs and systems do. That means you need a partner who is available 24x7x365 to match the needs of your technological systems. When selecting any managed services plan, make sure the company you’re working with is available as quickly as it would take you to make a phone call.

It’s critical for your business’s success.

2. Fast Service & Response Times

Your provider must be accessible at all times, but they must also respond promptly to your requests and issues. Make sure your IT company isn’t routing calls to a call center; instead, consider a company that responds in a timely manner to your most critical issues. This ensures limited downtime and increased productivity.

Look for guarantees of response times.

3. Annual IT Planning

A quality managed services provider will sit down with you and assist in your technology planning for the future. With advice and expertise for annual planning as well as insights to saving money and boosting efficiency on technology, proactive managed services can help your business progress.

Make sure your MSP looks out for your best interests — present and future.

4. Data Disaster Backup & Recovery Planning

Are you prepared if your company is damaged by a storm, vandalism, data breaches or other outages and threats? An experienced managed services provider can assist you in planning for the future, safeguarding your information and ensuring that your irreplaceable data can recover from a potential threat or breach.

Verify that your MSP offers reliable data & backup recovery services.

5. Credible Cloud Services & Daily Backups

Using a managed services provider to guard your data is a fantastic way to make sure it stays safe and sound. You’ll want an MSP that offers multiple options when it comes to backing up your data. Best practices suggest the US-CERT 3-2-1 method is best in securing your data. You’ll want to ensure your provider offers this protection with 3 copies of your data, 2 locations where the data lives and 1 off-site, cloud-based location for data storage. Check that your service provider offers automatic and continuous backups on a remote server for protection.

Ensure your MSP has multiple storage options.

6. Quality & Respected Vendor Partnerships

An advantage of working with a managed services company is that they can take care of the technology vendors for you, saving you time on research and support. Make sure you look at who they collaborate with and ensure that they have an understanding of the products to enhance and optimize your immediate IT environment.

Partnerships with respected vendors can keep your business in safe hands.

7. Local On-Site Maintenance & Support

Check for onsite service availability before you pick a company. Using a local supplier is an excellent way to guarantee that you receive the finest care possible.

With faster response times and quicker turnarounds when an issue arises within your technological environment, local MSPs can give you the peace of mind that your assets will be protected and safeguarded to the fullest degree.

Avoid uncertainty with impersonal companies when you partner with a local MSP.

8. Security Testing & Monitoring

A managed services provider will assist you in protecting your network from cyber-criminals and hackers. Make sure your plan includes regular security testing and monitoring for potential vulnerabilities within your system and network. For the best results, you’ll want a managed IT service provider that follows a process such as NTS’s:

1. Understanding your specific technology environment
2. Setting up an Active Alert System
3. Actively monitoring your systems and networks
4. Investigating any issues detected
5. Alerting you of any issues that may be found
6. Directing you on ways to resolve issues
7. Documenting the findings
8. Analyzing the data for patterns
9. Ensuring safer technology
10. Eliminating patterns of issues

Make sure the MSP you choose has a streamlined process.

9. Employee Support

If your employees are having difficulties with technology, there will be an increase in company downtime and your levels of productivity and efficiency can suffer. Make sure your IT managed services provider is both accessible and responsive for fast answers on all technological inquiries. In tandem with remote access to solve issues promptly, quality help and service desk support will enhance your entire IT environment, ensuring your employees are well-educated on the products, systems, softwares and networks they’re using.

You’ll want an MSP that offers ongoing education and training.

10. Proactive Maintenance

When you’re a rapidly expanding business or organization with new employees, it’s all too easy to halt productivity, profitability and efficiency when your technology ceases to function. A managed services provider will ensure that all your IT technology, networks and systems are being actively monitored and maintained. As to avoid future headaches, subject matter experts from your managed IT service provider are crucial.

Make sure you choose a company with a reputation of proactive maintenance.

Managed Services For Your Bottom Line

Managed services providers can offer a wide range of benefits to your business, from improving efficiency by saving time to reducing costs associated with problems before they occur. An MSP can offer significant value to your organization and increase your bottom line in a variety of ways. Finding a reliable partner who will look out for your technological needs can help your company or organization grow to the next level.

With qualified subject matter experts and years of experience, NTS provides comprehensive and adaptable IT managed services for all sectors and company sizes.

You’ll have access to professional experts that will monitor and remedy technology problems throughout your organization 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Developing a personalized IT managed services plan based on your company’s unique requirements, NTS is dedicated to safeguarding your environment.

Get in touch today to talk about your security.