Almost a third of data breaches in 2020 involved small businesses. Cybersecurity has become more important now than ever as businesses are constantly targeted, and a cyber attack can be absolutely devastating for even the most established company.
Improving your IT security is probably one reason that you’ve been considering hiring a managed IT service. And it’s a smart move to do so.
But before working with just any old MSP, there are some crucial questions that you should ask to ensure that you choose the best partner.
Check out these 7 important questions to ask.
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What Services Do You Provide?
If you’re considering hiring managed IT services it’s important that you find out exactly what they can offer your business. What are the capabilities, expertise, and experience of the MSP?
You need to understand what they will be providing, along with what they won’t be providing and what is expected from your side. You want to find an MSP that has a varied range of services that meets all of your business needs and requirements.
For example, check out these IT services offered by one of the best IT managed providers in Atlanta:https://www.teamspring.us/it-services-in-atlanta/.
You should also find out if the MSP is contractually committed to specific products, such as Microsoft Office 365, as this may not work for you.
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How Are They Going to Improve Security?
One of the biggest benefits of hiring a managed IT provider is that they can increase your IT security. This is vital nowadays when hackers have become more advanced and all of our sensitive information is stored online. A breach of your network could be a massive disaster for your business.
Find out what measures the MSP plans to take to improve your current security. Additionally, ask them how they will respond to a security breach. You need to be able to trust that the company you choose will be able to respond to a data breach quickly and effectively.
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What Are the Fees?
This is an unavoidable question that is important when you’re outsourcing IT or any work for that matter. The company that you choose to work with should have a flexible cost structure based on the scale of service that your business needs.
You want to be able to pay only for certain services if your business is still in its infancy, and then scale up your services as your business grows. Ensure that you fully understand the costs involved and the services provided.
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Is There a Help Desk, What Is the Knowledge and Response Time?
Another benefit of outsourcing a managed IT company is that you have constant access to your service provider through a help desk. If an MSP doesn’t have a help desk then you should consider another company as this is one of the greatest offerings.
You need to find out whether the help desk is available 24/7, what the response time is if not, and the level of knowledge and expertise of the staff running it. Find out how accessible the help desk is – for instance, are there multiple channels of communication?
Not all help desks are created equal and this is one aspect of an MSP that will be to your greatest advantage.
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How Do You Prevent Downtime?
Employee productivity is vital for a business to be successful. One of the reasons that businesses choose to outsource IT services is in an attempt to prevent downtime.
Find out how the managed IT service plans remove redundant systems and upgrade infrastructure to minimize employee downtime. This is important not only for downtime in-house but also how the MSP prevents downtime in their own company, too.
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How Will Your Services Support Productivity and Growth?
What you want is a managed IT provider that is a partner. This means that they support your productivity and growth. When you’re looking for the best company to work with, make sure that they are willing to tailor their services to meet your needs.
A one-size-fits-all approach is something you want to avoid when choosing an MSP. They should know the best way to grow your business and achieve your goals when it comes to information technology, workplace transformation, and more.
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What Happens When My Infrastructure Goes Down?
The worst-case scenario is if your entire IT system crashes completely. This stops you from conducting business or protecting your sensitive data. It’s an absolute disaster. This would happen because of a cyber attack or infrastructure failure.
You need to know that the managed IT company that you hire is prepared for disaster. Find out what their game plan is when your entire infrastructure crashes and how they are equipped to effectively deal with a crisis like that.
They should have a minimum plan in place if your network fails in order to restore your data and get your system running again.
Make the Right Choice When You Hire a Managed IT Service
There are plenty of benefits for your business when you hire a managed IT service. However, to take full advantage of those benefits you need to ensure that you work with the right company. Don’t forget to ask these seven questions before deciding on the best MSP.
It’s important to decide which services are important to you and then find the company that can best provide them.
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