The IT infrastructure has become the backbone for most organizations as it is intertwined in every aspect of a business. When a technology component fails, it can have serious ramifications for a business, such as lost sales, compromised data, productivity issues, and much more.
With such a dependence on IT, many organizations have turned to Managed IT Service Providers to remotely handle certain aspects of their IT operations – or even their entire IT function. Such a reliance on these Managed Service Providers makes the selection process for the right vendor critical.
A few years ago, we published a couple blog posts on this subject: “Understanding Cloud: Tips on Selecting a Managed Services Provider” and also “What to Focus on When Choosing an Infrastructure As A Service Provider.” Both provide important, and still relevant, points to think about when determining if your current partner is the right one for you or if you are selecting a new partner.
In addition to considering factors such as the Service Providers service offerings, the robustness and scalability of their infrastructure, their customer support, and their pricing, it is important to emphasize the value of the people on their team! These individuals may be people you interact with on a daily basis, so it is critical that you are able to build a strong working relationship with them that will enable effective collaboration for both strategic and tactical initiatives.
We recommend that when selecting a Managed Service Provider, you make sure to find a partner that has a highly qualified staff of certified technicians in the technologies you have implemented or plan to deploy. Find out what their processes are for keeping up with the latest and greatest technologies, because if they do not remain up to date, neither will you. Lastly, select partners that are innovative thinkers that will not only be efficient in ensuring the day-to-day tasks are handled, but will also provide strategic guidance on new technologies.
The right partner can make all the difference.
