The market for managed services is booming. Statista predicted that the global market will grow to over $300 billion by 2025. These IT services are outsourced to managed service providers (MSPs) staffed with experts who specialize in service areas so they can augment your company’s in-house IT team
The MSP landscape is crowded, and not all MSPs offer the same type and quality of services. When looking for an IT service provider, you should have some qualifying criteria in mind. What you want out of an MSP might depend on your business goals, but other qualifications are almost universal.
Here are 5 things your company should look for when choosing an IT service provider:
1) Proactive Approach
In the past, IT service providers took more of a reactive approach. You turned to your MSP only after something went wrong. That is not what you want out of an MSP.
Today, your company should seek out an MSP that takes a proactive approach, working to prevent problems before they occur. Top MSPs provide around-the-clock monitoring through a network operation center (NOC) or security operations center (SOC). By monitoring the network, the MSP can detect malicious activity or potential bottlenecks and prevent a breach or shutdown.
2) Availability
The MSP’s service level agreement (SLA) should guarantee at least 99.999% availability. Availability is the key to maintaining credibility with your customers and ensuring employee productivity.
When evaluating an IT service provider’s SLA, look for the level of availability they promise. Also, demand clarity on what the MSP will be providing in the way of business continuity and data protection services. These services are the key to maintaining high levels of availability.
3) Security Monitoring
Security is paramount in today’s risk-prone environment. Cyberthreats, such as ransomware, loom over every business, no matter the size or industry. Your MSP should provide security monitoring to protect your company against these threats.
Monitoring is a full-time job that monopolizes your in-house IT staff. That’s why monitoring services are a core part of managed services. An MSP can staff an entire SOC that is dedicated to monitoring your company systems.
4) Backup and Disaster Recovery
Your MSP should be able to deliver data protection and disaster recovery services. Backup and recovery strategies can be challenging to develop and test. An IT service provider will ideally provide a comprehensive data protection solution and ensure it is effective when needed.
Working with an MSP that provides disaster recovery services will save your company the expense of creating a secondary data center. Some MSPs may even offer disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) through the cloud, enabling your business to meet ideal recovery point objectives (RPOs) and recovery time objectives (RTOs).
5) Location
When choosing an IT service provider, look for a sweet spot as far as location goes. Ideally, an MSP should be close enough that staff members can make on-site visits to fix problems or conduct consultations.
Looking for the Intangibles in an IT Service Provider
Some qualities you should look for in an MSP are easier to find and identify than others. Intangible characteristics, such as trustworthiness, are more difficult to pin down but are still important.
Another ideal quality is the ability to build long-term relationships with clients. When you partner with an IT service provider, you want it to be for the long term.
Pegasus Technology Solutions can meet all your tangible and intangible criteria for an IT service provider. We offer a wide variety of IT services, from Managed Cloud to Managed Cybersecurity and Professional Services.
Our team takes a consultative approach, working closely with your company to understand your needs and goals. We stand out from other IT service providers because of our responsiveness, enterprise-level processes, and relationship-oriented team of professionals.
