In 2022, it’s so important for businesses to work with a trusted IT support provider. With technology moving at an incredible pace, cyber criminals are becoming ever more creative and effective. Businesses can’t be nonchalant about their IT or they’ll be left behind, and at greater risk.
The consequences of working with outdated, unsupported, ineffective IT and systems, could be catastrophic. With an IT support provider by your side, your business can benefit in many ways. Your IT partner will be able to recommend tried and tested solutions, apps and programmes; they’ll be experts in cost-effective software solutions, well-versed in many technical services and fully capable of upgrading and maintaining your networks and hardware.
With a Managed Service Provider (MSP) on your side, you’ll also benefit from user training for applications, programmes, and systems, which will improve your team’s effectiveness and your cyber security. By defining and managing remote working solutions and practices, your IT partner will ensure that your business is far more agile.
So, now you’re thinking about outsourcing, what are the factors to consider when outsourcing IT support, how can you best select your IT support provider, and what should you expect from your chosen partner?
What to look for in your outsourced IT solution partner
Expertise
A good MSP will be continually training their teams, providing training programmes for solutions, systems, and threats, along with advancements in technology and new service releases. This should go hand in hand with industry specific training/ education in line with clients’ trades and general qualifications. They should be encouraging their staff to attend relevant national and international events and undertake additional or complimentary training.
To ensure their teams can provide exceptional service, they should also be developing their staff by encouraging professional training to develop their careers.
A trusted MSP will be able to provide you with references, testimonials, even arrange a call with a current client. They will be able to provide their ticket response statistics or case studies and have client reviews to prove their ability.
Communication.
Communications with your prospective or incumbent IT partner should be clear and open: you should be well aware of your terms of service, your contract, and your SLAs. You should receive timely support, regular ticket updates – should times be extended – and confirmation of ticket completions. Everything should be in writing and agreed, and your expectations for services, support, and updates managed.
Confidentiality and good security
Trust should go without saying: your IT partner has the ‘key’ to all your systems, passwords, and accounts, so you must have complete trust in them to keep your data, passwords, teams, and systems safe. Your cyber security needs to be robust, so you need to have faith that they’re working with the best-in-class providers, and that their specialised internal cyber security experts are on-the-ball and readily available should you need to call on them.
You also need to depend on your chosen outsourced IT provider to safeguard your company confidentiality, so being able to trust them is important. You must be confident in your IT partner’s reputation and advice, the services they suggest and deliver, and their pricing structure too. Ensure it’s clear how your service provider will be guaranteeing confidentially and the security of your systems and data. MSPs work with many businesses, and some of their customers may be your direct competitors, so that may also be a consideration.
Have agreed KPIs in place, regular progress meetings in the calendar, and an NDA.
Regulatory Compliance
Is the company able prove their own compliance, and are they able to ensure yours? Do they provide IT backup and disaster recovery solutions, and have industry alliances, certified partners, or accreditations with key providers such as Microsoft, Dell, or IBM for example? Have they achieved Cyber Essentials, and are they effectively adhering to GDPR?
Making the move to outsourced IT or changing your IT partner can be daunting. At Rad Group we’ve got 50 years of experience on our side, we’re committed to listening to our clients, work with complete transparency, and deliver the services your business needs and will benefit from. … why not find out more about us?
Contact our professional team to talk to one of our IT specialists.
