11 Signs You Should Look For a New IT Support Provider

Switching an IT support provider is a very big decision. However, this decision is mostly born from necessity. Sometimes this move can paralyze your business for a short period of time. It will take some time to set up everything with a new IT support partner.

The incompetence of some IT providers can arise after you have done some work with time. The worst case is when this incompetence is hidden. You are not even aware that your IT provider is incompetent. Online reviews can easily be faked. Thus, you can’t rely on online reviews. However, there are some obvious red flags that you should look for.

11 signs you should switch your IT support provider

1. You are always having IT problems

This is the most obvious sign. Downtime can reduce your staff productivity. It can be very costly for your business. You can lose revenue due to downtime. Thus, you should ensure that your business is not facing frequent downtime.

Most businesses are working with IT support providers because they want to avoid downtime. It is difficult to calculate the true cost of your IT. However, downtime can still be very costly for your business. If you are facing too many IT problems, then this is a clear sign that your IT support provider is incompetent.

Experienced MPSs like Bleuwire help their clients in reducing downtime. They are using a proactive approach to reducing the possibility of downtime. Bleuwire will constantly monitor your systems and network for errors. This will ensure that they can fix your network before something big happens. In case of downtime, they will help you in quickly recovering your systems and network.

2. They are not delivering business results

You should ensure that your IT support partner is providing a decent ROI or return on investment. If they are suggesting the latest tech, then you should probably look for a new partner. Every technology is not going to be a good fit for your business. A good IT support provider will understand your business needs. They will only suggest technologies that are good for your business.

The ROI that they are delivering should be defined in strict terms. Some IT providers are using vague terms for defining their ROI. They might tell you that your business is more available because they have installed another internet line. However, this won’t help you in estimating their ROI. They should tell you about how they saved you from an outage. Also, they should tell you how much money you have saved by reduced downtime.

Your IT support provider should also try to follow good frameworks like ISO 27001. These frameworks will ensure that your IT support provider is improving with time. This continual improvement will help you in saving a lot of money in the future.

3. They don’t understand your business

There are hundreds of IT providers available in the market. They can help you in fixing your PC and network. However, they can’t help you in implementing a good management system or in finding the right tech stack for your business.

Your IT provider should also provide good and effective guidance to your business. They should understand your business opportunities and challenges. Your IT provider should also have a rough understanding of your sector. They should attend workshops and events in your business sector. This will help them in understanding your sector.

If your business is operating in a regulated industry and your IT provider doesn’t understand the regulations, then your IT provider can’t help you in creating good solutions. They might help you in implementing basic solutions. However, these solutions won’t help you in providing value to your customers.

IT provider that doesn’t understand your business needs will only help you in day-to-day maintenance. However, you need an IT provider that actually understands your sector. They will help you in finding the best technology for your business. If your IT provider understands your business, then you will have a great partnership with time. They will actually help you in meeting your business goals.

4. You’ve outgrown them

Sometimes your business can outgrow its existing IT support partner. Their IT support partner won’t have the skills, size, and experience to match your pace. If your IT provider has a small team, then they won’t have enough bandwidth to meet your growing demands. In simple words, your growth will outpace their IT support.

If your IT support provider is not at the right size, then they won’t have access to the processes that they need for handling a large business. Most IT support providers already know their limitations. However, very few IT support providers will admit their limitations. This can affect your business growth. You might need to deal with incorrect solutions and slow service. This can also lead to a big security breach as your IT support provider can’t protect your business from attackers.

5. Your IT partner doesn’t take security seriously

Some IT support providers are not cyber-secure. Your IT partner will have access to all your data and devices. Thus, it is important to make sure that your IT partner is providing good security to your business.

If your IT support provider is not following the best security practices, then it is a good time to look for a new IT partner. Imagine the damage that they can cause to your business. They might leave your client database misconfigured. Due to this, your entire database will be stolen by criminals. You might need to deal with fines and penalties if you are operating in a regulated industry.

Make sure that your IT partner is following the best security practices. This will ensure that they can actually protect your business from attackers. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire have access to a large IT security team. Thus, they know about the best security practices. They are using the best security tools available in the market for protecting their client’s networks.

6. Your IT provider won’t accept their responsibility

Both the clients and IT support providers are responsible for protecting the data from attackers. The IT support partner is responsible for looking into the client’s risk profile. They have to make sure that the systems are kept at optimal performance. The client is also responsible for this. They have to follow the guidance provided by their IT provider. If they are not following the advice of their IT provider, then they can’t blame their partner.

If something is not working properly, then clients need to prove that they have followed the provider’s advice. Also, they need to prove that they were operating at a certain level. IT support providers need to explain what happened and how they are fixing it. They also need to explain how they are going to prevent this in the future.

If your IT provider is blaming you whenever something is not working, then you should look for a new partner. A good IT provider will always accept their responsibility and work on fixing the problem. They will offer you solutions that can fix the problem.

7. Poor communication

This is another very simple sign. If your IT provider is not communicating well with you, then you should look for a new IT provider. Sometimes you need to follow up with your IT provider for finding out what is happening with your business. This is a clear sign that your IT support provider is not a good fit for your business.

You don’t need to waste your effort, energy, and time on bad communication. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire will proactively communicate with your business. They will tell you about all the things that are happening with your business. This will ensure that you don’t need to waste your energy on poor communication.

8. Your partner is focusing on contractual details

Experienced MSPs know that they will be successful when their clients are successful. If your IT provider is often telling you that they don’t cover this service, then they are probably interested in supporting your business. They are only trying to fulfill their SLA contracts.

If you have already signed a contract that doesn’t offer phone support, then you shouldn’t expect it from your IT partner. However, if your IT provider is not treating you as a partner, then it is a clear sign that you should look for a new partner.

A good IT provider will assist you with issues even if they are not mentioned in the contract. This will help them in building a good relationship with you. IT providers that only follow their contract will often see you as a source of revenue. Due to this, you will never have a good relationship with them.

9. They always talk tech

Some IT providers will throw a lot of tech jargon at their clients. If your IT provider is talking tech only, then you should look for an exit point.

This approach was the cause of the downfall of Business Intelligence in the early 90s. There are many providers that are still pushing the latest tech only. They don’t understand that businesses don’t want new hardware. Every business wants results and good ROI.

Your IT partner should be talking in the language of your business sector. They should understand the risks and rewards of your sector. This will help them in creating an optimized solution for your business.

10. They’ve been bought by another IT provider

If your IT partner is getting acquired by another business, then you should start looking for a new partner. There will be a period of disturbance during the whole merger deal. The pricing, SLAs, leadership, and culture will also change about the deal. This will change the quality of the service provided by your provider.

Your priority will also decrease after this merger deal. This will impact your availability of resources and response time. Founders or leadership teams mostly leave after the merger deals. If this happens, then the CEO who had a good relationship with your business will be changed by someone who gives priority to short-term profit. The new CEO will look for ways to maximize their profit as they want to get a good return on their investment. If you are dissatisfied with the service after a merger, then you should start looking for a new IT support partner.

11. Your IT is outdated

Modern businesses rely on the latest technology. They are using technology for providing services to their customers. This is true for almost every modern business. Customers expect a certain level of IT functionality from every business. Even the financial sector was forced to build apps for their users. If you are still using outdated technology, then it will decrease your revenue. Your old customers will move to other better businesses. It will become very difficult to attract new customers.

If your MSP is only focusing on maintaining your infrastructure, then you should look for a new IT support provider. Your IT provider should also focus on improving your IT infrastructure. They should help you in upgrading your legacy technology. However, this doesn’t mean that your IT provider should implement every new technology. A good IT provider will help you in finding the right technology for your business. They will help you in improving your business operations by implementing new technology.

How Bleuwire can help your business?

More than 70% of businesses change their IT support provider every year. This simply means that they don’t have a long-term relationship with their provider. Bleuwire focuses on developing long-term relationships with its clients. They will help you in aligning your IT and business goals. This will ensure that IT will actually help you in growing your business. Bleuwire follows all the best IT security guidelines. Thus, they will help you in protecting your business from hackers. You don’t need to worry about downtime if you are working with Bleuwire. Bleuwire will use a proactive IT support approach. This will ensure that they can find issues before they actually damage your business. If you need more information regarding IT services, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™  services and solutions in how we can help your business.