Unsatisfied with your IT provider? Maybe they aren’t aligning their strategy to your business goals, applying a proactive approach to your technology solutions or are simply using a standard pricing model that exceeds the needs of your business… aka they are far too expensive!
But if technology isn’t your strength, it’s natural to fear that you may be taken advantage of if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
For this blog, we’ve compiled a list of critical questions that you should ask all prospective providers before you consider signing a Managed Service Agreement (MSA) with them.
LET’S GET STARTED.
How long are your clients locked in for?
Do you operate month-to-month, or will I need to review a new contract every 12-24 months? Is there a trial period for incase I realise that the support that was promised is not what is being delivered?
Will we have a dedicated Account Manager?
Is there going to be a person within your business who understands our technology needs and more importantly, our business goals? Someone who will check in with me regularly to confirm that we are satisfied with our level of support and offer proactive solutions?
Where are your Help Desk staff located?
When I need to pick up the phone and talk to someone right away, will they be based in Australia? Do I need to worry about communication roadblocks, such as time zones or language barriers?
Do you have guaranteed response times and what are they are?
How long will it take to hear back from an engineer? Will they acknowledge my tickets and get back to me later? Do you prioritise certain customers over others?
What actions are taken when we lodge a support request outside of business hours?
Will my support request be sitting in a computer system until someone on your Help Desk gets around to looking at it? Do you have an emergency line that I can call on weekends and public holidays?
Do you audit what devices, licenses, subscriptions we are paying for?
Can you regularly check what devices and employee accounts are covered under our agreement? With people coming in and out of our business, we don’t want to be paying for licenses we are no longer using.
How often do you run maintenance on the devices under our Agreement?
Do you run maintenance? Is there advanced warnings or downtime? What sort of things do you check for when you do maintenance?
In the event of any kind of disaster, how will we regain access to our data?
Is my data going to be stored in the Cloud? Backed up where? How long will it take to get back? Are your disaster recovery plans generic, or tailored to suit my business?
What software applications are you most familiar with?
Do they prefer one Office suite over another? Do you support niche applications that are industry-specific?
Do you offer training?
My staff are diverse in ages and technical ability. Are you able to provide general or product-centric training so that they can boost productivity and build their confidence?
If your provider hasn’t got you feeling confident, then they must be incompetent.
So, there you have it folks! The top 10 most critical questions you must ask prospective managed service providers.
Use this list as a guide and make the shift with peace of mind.
Whether you are looking into signing your first Managed Services Agreement, or wanting to switch to a better provider, get in touch with our team to discover the Myrtec difference.
IT’S TIME TO UPGRADE YOUR IT PROVIDER. WE WORK WITH BUSINESSES THAT ARE COMMITTED TO RISING TO THE NEXT LEVEL. IS THIS YOU?
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