Is Trust an Issue with Your IT Provider?

How can you verify your IT managed services?

Business owners and leaders are responsible for ensuring efficient and effective operations. Employees rely on management to maintain a high-quality work effort, be productive, and keep providing products and salaries. Effective IT Providers help businesses run more productively. The problem is, how can you validate that what your IT provider is offering is right?

Maybe you’re not tech-savvy and aren’t up on all the latest hardware, software, applications, API standards, or cybersecurity. Perhaps you are simply busy with the company’s business goals and don’t have time. After all, that’s why you have an IT Managed Services Provider. 

However, if you feel like your IT is sliding into a dark hole, is chaotic, problematic, or diminishing productivity, then it’s time to measure the quality of your IT provider’s performance. 

Keeping abreast of the state of IT is important to ensuring your business is protected and productive. This guide provides tips for confidently verifying IT provider performance and quality to ensure your business is secured and set up for success.

Key Takeaways:

• What are common misconceptions about IT Managed Services?
• What are strategies for managing the quality of IT Managed Services?
• What are best practices for choosing a reliable IT Managed Service Provider?
• Learn how to minimize risk and improve IT decision-making with your IT Provider. 

What are common misconceptions about IT managed services?

Common misconceptions about IT managed service providers include: 

• Security: Security refers to system and data security. Many feel that a third-party IT provider may steal business-sensitive data. Sometimes companies resist handing over necessary passwords and access information. After all, you are handing over the keys to the castle, so to speak. 
• Control loss: A loss of control over the business and its systems. Many organizations find it difficult to hand over control of IT infrastructure systems to strangers. As mentioned earlier, handing over control may be seen as setting the business up to get ransacked. 
• Cost: Many organizations believe the cost varies based on inflated charges for support services. Inflated costs for misunderstood services can result in a wealth of distrust between providers and customers and make it difficult to budget. 
• Communication issues: Businesses often fear they won’t ever hear from an IT Managed Services Provider after the keys to the castle are handed over, the contract signed, and the first few months of services paid for. What about in an emergency? Who can they contact at any hour? Will bad applications and slow performance bog down employees?
• Bad performance, network crashes, and failures: Most IT providers aim to provide a valuable service to as many clients as they can manage. By providing businesses with teams of IT experts, providers build credibility and the skills of their team members. Having an experienced and effective IT means providers can use them to cover more customers for higher-quality results.

Granted, some of these things may happen. But, overall, the most common misconceptions are just that – misconceptions. When businesses sign a contract with an IT provider, they are responsible for understanding what the contract says and covers before signing. Review it with the IT provider and ensure you both share a common understanding of the terms and details. 

Validate your IT Managed Services information and performance using the techniques typically employed by highly functioning customer service centers. 

What are strategies for measuring the quality of IT managed services?

Strategies for measuring IT provider performance include: 

• Tracking performance over time for support responses, including response time and length of time before the issue was solved
• Identify strengths or weaknesses in IT support 
• Determine the cost per ticket
• Conduct surveys or monitor communication boards to gauge customer satisfaction levels 
• Determine how often first-contact resolution occurs
• Determine the average time it takes to solve issues or perform maintenance
• Track system downtime and mean time to resolve issues
• Track any security incidents and response times, and actions taken

By measuring the above, you’ll get a sense of the overall performance of your IT provider using actual data. 

Does your IT provider relationship still not feel good? Simply ask for proof, evidence of need, and relevant case studies or examples. Research online to see if the request sounds reasonable. Or, if you know anyone in your business circle that’s tech-savvy, ask them to review the request for validity. 

Remember that the fact you don’t trust your IT provider is telling the truth is a red flag. If your IT provider relationship is not a strong business partnership, it may be time to find one that is. 

What are the best practices for choosing a reliable IT managed services provider?

Best practices for finding a reliable, quality IT-managed service provider: 

• Do your research 
• Find a provider with firsthand experience in your industry
• Confirm there are no language barriers
• Ask for references and contact them to find out communication effectiveness 
• Ensure scalability so you don’t have to change providers to move forward
• Make sure they understand your business needs
• Check for certifications and partnerships with industry leaders
• Review their customer service history and online reviews
• Do you feel it’s a true business partnership?
• Start with a pilot or test project

Experience in the technology associated with your business industry is essential. Having a business partner who understands the industry helps meet your needs. Also, with industry knowledge, the provider can provide more targeted services unique to your needs. 

For example, if you’re in the healthcare industry, you need an IT provider that understands HIPAA compliance and security requirements. The more industry-specific knowledge a provider has, the better for building a solid business partnership.  

To enable more effective and efficient communication, find providers familiar with your native language. When there’s a language barrier, technical concepts are difficult to understand clearly, creating many  communication issues. Look for providers that match your language and cultural needs for smoother and more effective communication. 

Ask for references to evaluate the IT provider’s communication processes, technology, and style. Find out how often they communicate with customers and use what channels. Ask about project management practices and tools used. References are a great way to accurately assess customer service responses for providers. 

The quality of a provider’s customer service can also tell you about its scalability. As your business grows, your needs will likely advance. The same happens with a managed services provider. Ensure they can cover your needs over time. Don’t get stuck with a provider who can’t support your growth potential. 

Remember, an IT Managed Services provider should be a partner who works with you to achieve a common goal. A true partnership relationship requires that each values the relationship and receives value from it. People like doing business with people they like – a solid working relationship generates the most ROI. 

Need a business partner that’s focused on your success? 

Let Endsight assess your system and create a workable and budget-friendly IT support strategy for the long run. Scalable, achievable, and secure – all in one place. 

Providing quality law firm IT support requires an effective business partnership with clear communication and trust. 

Endsight has a strong, successful following. Read more to discover why our customers chose us and why they stay. You’ll never have to worry about communication failures, inaccurate information, or poor performance. We work with you to develop a thorough and detailed IT strategic plan, and we can implement and manage it for you. Get your free assessment today and see how Endsight can help. 

Looking for a high-quality and responsive IT support provider? Check into Endsight. Find out how Endsight can help you build your business through a strong, supportive, and equitable IT partnership.