6 Steps to Judge if it Is Time for a New IT Managed Service Provider

Before renew your IT MSP, you should do a re-evaluation, Learn 6 steps to judge if it's time to change for a new IT managed service provider

By Claudio Pires
Updated on October 13, 2024
6 Steps to Judge if it Is Time for a New IT Managed Service Provider

Before you renew your IT MSP, you should do a thorough re-evaluation by consulting your IT team, looking at budgets, and assessing the benefits.  In this article, you’ll see six steps to judge if it’s time to change for a new IT managed service provider.

As a general rule, when we find something working for us, we stick to it.  We generally don’t like change (and the risk that comes with it), and often, we are happy to carry on the status quo unless something needs to be changed. A great example here is the IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) paradigm.

As soon as the IT MSP contract is signed and the system is installed, it becomes a habit for the subscribers – for better or worse.  Users often get complacent with what they have come to expect from the vendor and carry on with their daily work. The big picture of whether the vendor is delivering value for the price they charge is often overlooked in day-to-day work.

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MSP has become part and parcel of our modern work technology. So, it is not relatively easy to judge their effectiveness. These are the six easy steps –

Reputation To Judge IT Service Provider

Reputation is not a piece of cake. A reputed company will always do its best to protect it. A company earns goodwill and a positive reputation after it has delivered results to its customers. It automatically draws in customers. Here comes the question, how to know which company is reputed – due diligence in research.

Existing and potential subscribers must regularly research the MSPs. Researching has never been so easy. A simple Google search can bring out all the reviews of a company. As a result, may be a time to change your IT managed service provider (MSP)

Check out the comments and complaints. Find out how many satisfied vs. unsatisfied subscribers you see. Use your industry connections to find industry peers who will share their feedback on their user experience with a particular vendor.

Service Level Agreement

By law, the MSP must safeguard the Service Level Agreement (SLA). The MSP should give the subscriber a straight-forward jargon-free SLA. They must also ensure the subscriber has explained everything before signing up to commence the engagement.

If your MSP is not delivering the results they promised in the SLA, you can hold the vendor accountable and ask them to “show cause” and provide alternative solutions.  Some issues you may experience with an IT MSP are security issues, unrecoverable data, unplanned downtime, inconsistent invoices, outdated equipment, etc.

Security precautions are a must for companies to protect data and apps for both customers and the company. So, it may be a time to change your IT managed service provider (MSP).

Getting in Touch To Judge IT Service Provider

Interrupted services disrupt the flow of work and hamper productivity. As soon as the issue occurs, getting in touch with the MSP is your first step to resolving the issues. These issues can happen anytime, anywhere. This is an important feature you can assess about your MSP. Ask how fast you can get a hold of their customer support.

Many MSPs nowadays provide 24/7 support services. Many of them may not be keeping that promise, especially during the late hours of the nights, weekends, or holidays. This is one of the considerations for choosing the perfect MSP. The more convenient it is to get in touch with the MSP, the more reliable they are.

Response Time and Friendliness

The speedier the resolution, the sooner your employees can get back to work. If most of the responses from the MSP are too slow or unfriendly, that is a red flag. A competent MSP sets itself apart with their customer service and reliability of their system: the less downtime and the faster the issue resolution time, the better the vendor.

Most of the customer support functions have been automated with AI. The automated chat services are the first responders. In addition, If they cannot resolve an issue by guiding a customer through instructions, they will connect the user with a live agent, advise their approximate wait times, and provide a call-back option.

The friendliness and ease of doing business with customer support personnel are critical – and can be a great metric to measure your MSP The customer service agent may not always get the grasp of the precise issue, but they should empathize with the subscriber’s frustration. If they cannot provide a satisfactory solution, they should follow-up on with alternative resolutions or workarounds. The customer should never be hanging when it comes to IT services.

Recurring Issues To Judge IT Service Provider

If there are recurring issues, no matter whatever the reason behind that, something needs to change. So, the MSPs deal with sophisticated incident databases and comprehensive monitoring systems. Any recurring issues indicate a critical weakness in their system, and it can leave your data vulnerable.  Therefore, a permanent resolution of recurring issues is a “must-have” for evaluation criteria for MSPs.

Here is a simple guide if you are concerned or confused about observability and monitoring.

MSPs should have the documentation and systems in place to prevent and inform about recurring issues, or at least the capability of giving a solution instantly. Otherwise, show them the door.

Blame Game

This is a definite red-flag in a vendor. Issues and errors will happen.  You need to check to see how the vendor resolves the problem.  If they are not resolving the issue and instead, playing a blame game without providing a solution, they are bad news. The MSPs should take steps to solve the issues no matter whoever is responsible for the problem. It is also their job to find the “root cause” and the implications rather than expecting to get the full picture from the subscribers.

If any MSP starts the blame game. In addition, it may be time to hit the ‘game over’ button on the MSP, and the subscriber must look for new and better options.

Summary To Judge IT Service Provider

The rise of information technology has transformed our entire world. It has made the world a “global village.” Access to information and technology has become a basic necessity. So, businesses pay handsomely to ensure their IT needs will work.

So, be sure always to evaluate your IT Managed Service Provider to ensure they provide the value they promised.

Claudio Pires

Claudio Pires is the co-founder of Visualmodo, a renowned company in web development and design. With over 15 years of experience, Claudio has honed his skills in content creation, web development support, and senior web designer. A trilingual expert fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, he brings a global perspective to his work. Beyond his professional endeavors, Claudio is an active YouTuber, sharing his insights and expertise with a broader audience. Based in Brazil, Claudio continues to push the boundaries of web design and digital content, making him a pivotal figure in the industry.