As a Managed Service Provider for many organizations, including those in the healthcare and small business industries, we are proud of our commitment to providing exceptional technology services including AWS, security, compliance and IT support to our clients. When initially researching and starting the consultation process with a Managed Service Provider, there are some key questions you may want to include in your screening of said organizations. Knowing how your MSP would handle issues ranging from emergency security scenarios to the more mundane daily IT support fixes is critical to choosing one who will be able to handle your unique organization’s technical issues.
Technical Competencies
One of the most important aspects that you will want to know about a Managed Service Provider is how good they are at what they do. How technically competent are they at their services? Questions that you may want to ask to hash out the level of skill and experience would include:
What are your technical strengths? For instance, do they work within a certain software or have expertise in government regulations like HIPAA?
What services are within and outside of your scope? An upfront answer to this question will help your business know if its services are limited or if they can scale up as your business grows. It will also help your company fully understand if areas of technical services are not included in their repertoire.
Does the MSP have certifications and licenses in certain areas that would help support or boost your business? Added certifications and experience in certain technical areas can help support your company as it grows and matures.
Business Quality
When hiring a Managed Service Provider, it is critical to know how they run their business and how they will be able to meet your company where it’s at. Questions to consider when meeting with an MSP should include questions about their pricing and contractual hours, the flexibility of the contract, and additional costs for infrastructure or management fees. Here are a few questions to ask to flesh out the nitty gritty details when hiring an MSP.
What are the terms of the contract? What is included and missing from the contract?
What is the pricing and is there a tiered option to scale up or down when needed?
How big is the staff? This will give organizations a better idea of how they will be able to service their needs in balance with other organizations.
Is the contract flexible and does it include additional infrastructure or software your business may need?
Are there available references of clients that could speak on their behalf? Recommendations from current or former clients will go a long way to determining if this is the right fit for an MSP for your business.
Security Questions
We all know that the world of technology requires a comprehensive security plan. Ask key questions to determine how safe your data and networks are under the care of the MSP.
Who will have access to the data at your organization and what methods will be used to protect it? It may be important to you whether there are multiple clients hosted on the same system.
How are disaster recovery and backups handled?
These are all important questions to ask as you hunt for a professional and experienced Managed Service Provider for your organization's technical needs whether they are security-related, IT support-focused or deal with compliance issues.
