Hiring The Ideal Managed It Service Provider For Your Business

It can be overwhelming to hire a managed service provider (MSP) to manage your  IT infrastructure and all of your business IT needs. There are a variety of different aspects to consider when selecting a MSP to help your business operate more efficiently and maintain your business operations 24/7. For this reason, you should take the time to explore your options and ensure that your potential IT management understands your needs and goals.

Benefits of hiring a MSP

Hiring a MSP to manage your operations and improve your IT infrastructure has its benefits. Here’s a recap of the benefits that a MSP provides:

1. A MSP provides proactive IT support, identifying potential problems and preventing them from becoming major problems.
2. A MSP takes on the responsibility to manage IT vendors to ensure you receive the service you need to have a successful business.
3. While A MSP focuses on sustaining your company’s IT infrastructure and other related IT services, you can take the time to focus on other areas of your business such as growing it.
4. An IT management is equipped with a variety of knowledgeable and experienced IT specialists to cover all of your needs.

12 Questions to ask your potential MSP

Choosing to contract a managed IT service provider is the first step. However, it is essential to do a proper, thorough research when hiring a MSP. Here are 12 key questions to ask before making your selection:

• Do you understand my business goals and needs?

This is probably the most crucial question to ask when weighing out your options to select the ultimate MSP for your IT business needs. Your potential MSP is an IT expert who understands your business and recognizes your business goals, needs and vision for your business to succeed. Your managed IT service provider will help you achieve your short- and long-term business goals. Overall, by the end of the day, you should feel confident that the investment you make in your business technology needs is worth the cost.

• How long have you been in business?

A MSP who has been in business for 5 years or more demonstrates longevity, experience and knowledge to handle all of your business IT needs.

• How many employees do you have on your team?

You should hire a team of experts that can manage your IT needs. By having a team of professionals, all of your needs will be taken care of. Ultimately, your MSP will have a group of experts specializing in different areas of IT to handle any situation or issue.

• How many clients do you have and are you willing to provide references?

Your potential MSP should be willing to share information about their business including an estimate of clients he has and has had throughout their time of being in business as well as provide some references of their existing and/or past clients. This will let you know if he is a trustworthy, reputable, reliable IT expert.

• Will I get the latest technology?

IT professionals at managed services are proactive in developing the latest technology for your industry and operations. Since their work is to keep your technology running at all times, they ensure that you benefit from the latest and most efficient technology in the market. By specializing in IT and serving multiple clients in your industry, they understand the technology platform better and will therefore, deliver the best and latest technology.

• How are your services integrated with our operations without being a distraction?

The IT services provided are customized to meet your daily operational needs. IT professionals study your systems and needs to ensure that the solutions provided are unique and complies with all your services. The technicians also work with your internal team to make the efforts collaborative and to run smoothly.

• What is the cost for your IT services?

The pricing of managed IT services is based on your needs. You only pay for the services you receive. This means that the services are affordable regardless of the nature or size of your business.

• Will I be able to speak to a live person if a problem arises or if I have questions

It’s a great sign – and convenient to have access to a help desk phone number that gets answered by a live person. It’s also good to have other options to contact your MSP including e-mail, chat, contact forms. However, it’s better to be able to call a number in order to speak to someone when necessary.

• Do you offer on-site or after-hours support?

Probably most issues can be resolved remotely; however, in case of an emergency, your MSP should provide on-site and after-hours support. It is important to be able to rely on a team of IT experts when unexpected issues occur.

• Do you monitor our network remotely and provide proactive support?

An MSP’s main responsibility is to monitor and manage your IT network and keep it running in a continuous, error-free mode. By receiving proactive support, potential problems are resolved before becoming actual problems and therefore, will not negatively affect your business. This results in less downtime, less hardship on your staff and longer life-span for your equipment.

• What do your IT services include?

IT management professionals provide different services and plans. Find out what services and plans they offer. This will help you understand the types of services they offer and to decide on the plan that would best fit your specific needs. Likewise, your potential MSP should also evaluate your business needs in order to provide their professional recommendation on the best plan to fulfill your needs.

• Do you provide detailed reports on all activities performed on my network and when do you provide reports – daily, weekly, monthly?

Your MSP should be performing updates and maintenance activities in order to fulfill your IT needs and prevent issues from occurring. He should also provide a thorough report of the tasks performed and the reasons for those tasks. You should also be informed when you would receive these service reports. This will help you keep track of the tasks performed and feel at ease that the work required and agreed upon is being completed and that other unnecessary tasks are not being performed that are outside of the project scope.

Hiring a managed IT service provider to manage your IT infrastructure is the right choice but you should research and review your options before making your decision. Taking the time to speak with a MSP about what you are looking for and what he has to offer, will help you see if he is right for you and your business.

We hope these questions provided will assist you with the selection process.

About Zimega Technology Solutions
Zimega TS is an innovative Managed IT service provider Texas company. We are experienced in provision of these services with a team of highly trained and specialized technicians. We specialize in such services as Cisco Voip, Windows Server, System Center Configuration Manager, System Center Orchestrator and PowerShell Scripting, among others. Contact us for a detailed package designed to meet your specific IT needs.