By Shayon Mazumder, director
If you’re reading this article it’s likely that you fall into one of two camps: You have a Managed IT Services Provider and you’re questioning just how good of a job they are doing or you’re thinking it’s time to find a technology partner so you can focus on your business.
Technology is essential to doing business, depended upon for day-to-day operations, yet according to a recent Google study, 80 percent of small businesses aren’t taking full advantage of what’s available. Innovation will help to solve many of the biggest challenges facing small businesses (a remote workforce, cybersecurity, compliance, and providing a competitive edge) but, it’s tough to know what you don’t know and well trained IT professionals are hard to find and expensive to hire.
Managed IT Services can help companies manage their IT services needs without hassle. In addition to staying current on technology, monitoring it 24/7, and ensuring its security so their clients don’t have to, they can also help optimize costs. By helping to reduce expensive downtime they can increase productivity and efficiency without the need for an internal IT staff.
Demand for IT experts has increased since the global pandemic and due to rising cybersecurity threats and the proliferation of cloud and mobile technologies. Companies need and want a true IT Services partner. They need expertise and support to ensure the reliability and security of their networks and infrastructure, enable employees to work remotely, and also stay ahead of problems that can be costly to fix. But, not all managed IT Services providers are equal.
To determine if your current partner or a potential partner is right for you, ask yourself these five questions:
1. Is your Managed IT Services Provider managing your account strategically?
The best IT support company will look beyond your immediate needs to see how they can add value to your business. They have specialized infrastructure and skilled IT experts to help them integrate with the teams they support, enabling them to become strategic advisors, rather than just IT support.
Make sure you have an IT Solutions partner that can move the needle for your business, listening and understanding your unique needs and then providing ideas and technology that can make a difference. You deserve an advisor you can trust as a dependable technology partner that’s committed to helping you increase your productivity, profitability and operations through expert IT support and services.
2. How flexible/scalable is your agreement?
According to a 2021 Report on the State of IT, COVID-19 has been a catalyst for business transformation. What worked for your business and your budget last year may not work as well today, and swift adjustment is often necessary.
In response, 76 percent of businesses plan on long-term IT changes, including increased spending on cloud and managed services and decreases in other areas of tech spend.
It’s likely your IT needs have changed, too, and you should be able to make changes to the agreement you have with your Managed IT Services Provider without penalty. Look for an IT Solutions partner that provides flexibility and can help scale your business.
3. Are you paying for licensing without getting overcharged for it?
Software licensing costs can quickly accumulate, eating up a large percentage of your overall IT budget. Aberdeen Strategy and Research estimates that companies are wasting as much as 37 percent of software costs, spent on software and services that go unused or are rarely used.
Regularly auditing or monitoring the services and applications in use across your organization and evaluating the associated contracts and licenses can identify unnecessary costs.
There’s another significant opportunity to offset costs—vendor funds. Many Managed Services Providers charge MSRP for the tech they purchase on behalf of their clients. Unsuspecting clients don’t realize that their providers are usually buying at a discounted rate. They should pass these savings onto their customers, offering licensing discounts and vendor funds whenever available.
4. How experienced and knowledgeable is your team?
Turnover for IT professionals, especially since the emergence of COVID-19, is a pressing challenge for all companies. Working with a Managed IT Services Provider enables you to mitigate against this talent risk and rely on their bench for strength.
Does your IT Solutions provider’s team provide the breadth and depth of talent your business needs to continually evolve? The team should be well stacked, offering experience, specialized expertise (for instance, knowledge of data management and the latest security trends), and certifications in multiple disciplines. Is it a team of junior techs or 10 well-qualified individuals with a breadth of experience in both IT and managed services?
Most importantly, ask yourself how confident you are in your team’s ability to solve your problems and stay ahead of new ones. Do they know enough to plan for the unexpected?
5. Are they a (likable!), trustworthy extension of your team, available when and where you need them?
Ninety-five percent of companies surveyed switched IT Services Providers because they were unhappy with the service they received. It’s understandable. We all want to work with people we like and trust. In return for our trust, we depend on them to be upfront and reliable.
You want IT specialists who are committed to getting to know you, your teams and your staff. No one wants to explain an issue to someone new each and every time a problem arises or wait for someone in another state to book a flight for an on-site visit. You want a Managed Services Provider who knows you and your business and guarantees around-the-clock access. The better you connect and work together, the better they understand your business and the quicker they can recommend effective solutions.
Thinking of Making a Change? Let’s Talk!
Your business deserves the best. If you’ve discovered that it’s time to partner with a new IT Services Provider, let us introduce ourselves.
MRE Consulting IT Managed Services has been solving IT issues for Houston—recently ranked the second fastest growing tech hub in the nation—for 27 years. We give our clients—notably small and midsize manufacturing, legal, healthcare, energy and real estate development firms— the confidence to focus on and grow their business while we provide the technology expertise they need, when they need it.
As a local Houston business, we understand our clients’ challenges because we’ve had them, too. We differentiate ourselves from other IT Solution providers by being an advocate and a trustworthy team member, helping our clients cut costs and budget for the IT services they need today and proactively plan for the future with customized technology solutions, contract flexibility, and guaranteed service. As a Microsoft Gold Partner and Cloud Solution Provider, we provide full consulting services across Microsoft’s offerings.
We treat our customers’ businesses like our own and we’re committed to strengthening relationships, providing accountability, and evolving our expertise to continually meet their changing needs.
