There are hundreds of MSPs available in the market. If you need an IT MSP, then you should narrow down your choice. Otherwise, it will be difficult to find someone with the expertise and experience you need. In this article, we are going to discuss 9 factors that you should consider when seeking IT support. Finding a trusted MSP can help you in improving your productivity. It will help you in protecting your customers and providing good services to your customers. If you are not working with a good MSP, then your business will be vulnerable.
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Experience
First, you should understand why you are hiring an IT services company. For example, some SMBs want to improve their IT infrastructure. Some SMBs want to focus on their IT security. Make sure that you understand your needs first. This will ensure that you can choose the correct IT provider.
You can narrow down your options by checking their expertise. After that, you should use experience as a filter for narrowing down this list. Make sure that you are working with a company that has operated for a few years. This will ensure that these companies won’t disappear overnight.
They have won the respect and trust of their clients. Thus, they are still operating. You can learn more about MSPs by visiting their website and checking client reviews. Look for an IT provider that has certifications too. Certifications are not the best way to assess an IT provider. However, a good IT provider will ensure that their IT experts are certified.
You should also check if the IT support company has worked on a similar project in past. For example, if you are a healthcare provider then check if your IT support partner has worked with healthcare providers. This will ensure that they understand all the compliance and regulations which come with your business. These companies will have an easy time helping your company. You can rely on their expertise and experience.
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Certifications and ongoing training
IT is a constantly changing field. It is important to ensure that your IT partner is keeping up with the rapid pace of development. An IT professional needs to continuously learn new technologies and frameworks. They can never become a true master of IT.
Thus, ongoing training is very important for IT professionals. This training can be provided by the IT support team company. They can also seek out help from other companies. However, the main thing is that they should constantly upskill their IT employees. Their IT employees are going to be working with you. Thus, you should ensure that they are ready.
Training is very important for every IT provider. You also don’t want to hire an IT company until they have good IT certifications. Certifications like CDP, CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, CISSP, CISA, CompTIA A+, PMP, and MTA will ensure that your IT support team knows about their basic stuff.
It is difficult to cover all these certifications in this blog post. However, we will give you an idea about these certifications. MTA or Microsoft technology professional is given to IT professionals who have a basic understanding of MS fundamentals. This includes areas like networking, databases, Windows OS, Windows Server administration, and software development.
CompTIA A+ certification ensures that your IT support team can repair issues with mobile devices, hardware, networking, and operating systems. Make sure that your IT team is renewing these certifications before they expire.
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Availability and Response time
A network outage can badly hurt your business. You might be preparing some dossiers for a big client. However, your computer network goes down during the meeting. You will call your IT team and ask them to immediately fix the network. However, they respond that they will get back to you after a few hours. You can’t afford to wait that long as you have big deals to close.
These situations actually happen in real life. Thus, you should have a contingency plan for dealing with these situations. You want your IT support staff to be available when you need them the most. This can be on weekends or even on holidays.
Thus, you should ensure that your IT support company is always available. They should promise a good response time to your business. This will ensure that they will be available when you need them the most.
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Right tools
Make sure that your IT support company has access to the right tools. This will ensure that your business can also benefit from the best IT tools available in the market. For example, good MSPs like Bleuwire have access to the best remote monitoring tools. This remote management and monitoring tool will help them in monitoring your network. Thus, your IT infrastructure will receive 24/7 attention from your IT support staff.
If there is some issue in your network, then your IT support company will immediately catch it. This can help your IT support company in minimizing downtime. Reducing downtime will help you in maximizing your input. It will also improve your bottom line.
This will help you in reducing your customer frustrations. Your customers will notice that you are immediately responding to their problems. This will ensure that your customers will be happy with your company. Thus, the customer retention rate will be higher. They will learn to trust your company more.
If you are not addressing these problems, then it will hurt your brand reputation. Customers will struggle to trust your company and business. Thus, you should look for a good MSP. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire are offering 24/7 IT support to their clients. They are also offering 24/7 monitoring to their clients. Make sure that you are getting a similar deal from your IT support partner. If your IT support partner is not using the right tools, then you should look for a new company.
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Reputation
You should check the internet before you choose any IT services company. Make sure that you are visiting Google My Business listings. This will help you in understanding if you are working with a good MSP. You will find the reviews from clients of the company.
Make sure that you are reading multiple reviews for every business. If their clients are complaining about response time, then you should think twice. Similarly, you can check other issues that their clients are experiencing. If you are going to work with them, then you might also face the same issues.
Try to talk with different clients that also belong to your own industry. You can learn about their experience. This will help you in understanding if the IT support company is good for your business. Other clients might suggest to you some other IT support company.
Make sure that you are working with an IT support company that has a strong reputation. They will work hard to maintain the same reputation in the market. Thus, you can ensure that you will get access to the best IT services.
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The right services
Every business will have some unique needs. Thus, you should look for an IT company that can offer the services that you need. For example, you might be still using traditional computing and want to switch to cloud computing. Thus, you should ensure that your IT support partner can help you in the cloud migration process. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire are helping SMBs in enabling digital transformation. They will help you seamlessly move your data and applications to the cloud. This will ensure that you can enable remote work.
You should create a list of IT goals. After that, you should ask your managed IT support company if they can help you in achieving these goals. You should check the track record of your partner. This will ensure that you are working with the right business. Your IT provider should create a unique plan for your business. This will ensure that they can actually help you in achieving your goals.
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Proactive approach
Many businesses are still using the break-fix model. In this model, you will look for an IT professional when something goes wrong. This model leads to unnecessary stress and downtime.
Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire are offering a proactive approach to their clients. They will use a proactive approach to learning about your IT needs. Bleuwire will first check your current infrastructure. They will provide suggestions according to your IT goals. This approach will help you in avoiding potential issues.
These solutions can help you in avoiding future IT issues. It will help you in reducing unnecessary downtime. Your team will remain efficient and productive with the proactive approach. AÂ proactive IT approach can help you in avoiding various IT problems. Thus, you should ensure that your MSP is following a proactive approach.
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Security
Make sure that your IT partner is using the latest tools and technologies for protecting your business. They should ensure that security is the most important priority for them. Your confidential data like your trade secrets and customer information is very important for your business.
Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire will help you in creating a unique IT security strategy for your business. They will help you in protecting your IT assets from attackers. Thus, you don’t need to worry about managing your own IT security. They will use the best IT security tools for protecting your business. Bleuwire will also help you in following government regulations and IT security compliance. They will ensure that your business is compliant. This will help you in preventing unnecessary fines and penalties. In case of a security breach, Bleuwire will help you in quickly recovering your data and systems. This will help you in minimizing the damage caused by a security breach. However, the main focus is always on avoiding security breaches.
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Pricing
Almost every business is outsourcing IT support for saving money. If you want to focus on your core business, then you should consider working with an MSP. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire can also help you in solving your capacity problem.
You should have 2-3 different companies on your list. Try to get a quote from these companies. Gathering multiple quotes will help you in understanding the market standard price. If some company is charging more, then you should check if they are offering something extra. Maybe they have access to better tools and technologies.
Your choice shouldn’t be based on price alone. Many SMBs go for the cheapest option available in the market. This can be disastrous for your company as you might not get IT support when you need it. Thus, you should review all the other things with the pricing structure. If you think that you are getting good services and pricing is justified, then you should go for the IT support company. Make sure that you are working with the best option in the end.
Conclusion
If you are looking for an IT support company, then this is not a decision that you can take lightly. You should look for an IT team that can provide good IT service to your business. They should help you whenever something wrong happens with your business. Make sure that your IT partner can provide you support during nights, weekends, and sometimes even on holidays. Your ideal IT team should also continuously learn and adapt to new technologies. This will ensure that they can use the latest tools for helping your business.
Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire can fulfill all these criteria. They have access to the best IT professionals. Thus, you don’t need to worry about hiring your own in-house IT team. They will help you in regularly monitoring your network. Bleuwire is using a proactive approach to helping its clients. Their main aim is to prevent downtime. This will ensure that you can provide good services to your customers. Customer retention rate will automatically go up if your network is always up. Thus, you should seriously consider working with a good MSP like Bleuwire. 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.