Things you should be asking a Managed Services Partner

Featured article by Emily Roberts, Independent Technology Author

If you’re looking to free up time in your business, then you may be considering working with a managed services partner. These partners can make the day to day stuff much easier, as they take care of all your IT needs, before you need them. If you want to pick the right partner, then you should be asking the following questions.

What can I Expect from your Helpdesk?

In the case of an IT emergency, you want to know that someone has your back. For this reason, it can be very useful to know the company’s helpdesk hours and waiting times. You don’t want to be left waiting for hours in an emergency, so make sure you know this in advance.

Do you have Security Measures in Place?

Your managed services partner is going to be dealing with your data, so you want to make sure they’ll be keeping it secure. If they’re performing data backups, then how will they store this information?

Your details are important to you, but you also want to make sure that your partner places the same emphasis on them too. You can ask about their server security, physical security and more to learn from them.

How Long has your Business been Operating?

When you’re picking an IT managed services partner, you’ll also want to consider how long their company has been around for. You don’t want to go with a company that could close overnight and end up not being there when you need them most. That’s not to say that established companies are always better than newer ones, but it is a consideration that you may want to think about.

What Packages do you Offer?

There are lots of levels of service to pick from a provider usually, so you’ll want to know what each package entails. They may even allow you to take elements of one package to another, if you want to tailor make your own.

It’s worth asking this if you feel that there are parts of the service that you may not use, as you could get a better deal overall just choosing the parts that work for your business.

How can I Switch from your Service?

Business relationships can naturally come to an end, as is the case with managed services too. While this can create some upheaval, you ideally want to work with a partner that will make this easy for you. Even at the start of the process, you want to have an idea of how you would migrate from their service should the occasion arise.

You don’t want to be stuck with a partner that won’t do this or makes the process harder for you, as this can be a major red flag.

Working with a company that takes care of your IT can take a massive weight off your mind. Prepare these questions to chat through and you’ll be much better placed to pick a partner that will provide you with the best level of service.