Choosing a Qualified MSP For Your Business

Apr 25, 2022 | Managed Services

Choosing a Qualified MSP For Your Business

Not all MSPs, or managed services providers, are created equal. An MSP that’s not a good fit for your company can cause more harm than good. Think about the reality of that for a second. 

It is important that a business carefully considers its needs and uses careful selection criteria to choose the right MSP to take care of its technical needs. 

What does the right MSP look like? Namely, you’ll want to look at:

  • Does the MSP specialize in cybersecurity?
  • Do they understand your business?
  • Does the MSP offer multi-vendor support?
  • Do they have strong reviews and referrals?
  • Is the MSP aligned with your business goals and plans?

Let’s look at each topic and discuss its importance.

MSP & Cybersecurity

Not every managed services provider specializes in cybersecurity. When they don’t, it significantly increases the chance of cyberattacks to the business. This results in lost time, lost data, and great liability for a business. 

MSPs that specialize in cybersecurity have strong security policies in place and use encryption to protect your data. They have a plan for how to respond to a security breach and will educate your employees on cybersecurity best practices. 

Bottom line, you should feel confident that your MSP is doing everything they can to protect your data.

Does the MSP Understand Your Business?

The size of your business will factor into your choice in an MSP. Some managed services providers only work with small businesses, while others only work with large enterprise companies. 

The MSP you choose needs to be a good fit for your size of business. Your MSP should also understand the industry you’re in. Some managed services providers specialize in certain industries, while others handle a variety of businesses. 

If your industry is highly regulated, such as healthcare or financial services, you’ll want to find an MSP that understands the different laws associated with your industry.

Does the MSP Offer Multi-Vendor Support?

Today’s IT environment contains a quick-changing combination of traditional IT hardware, software, and network products combined with the hybrid cloud environment

Find out if the MSP you’re considering offers multi-vendor support, which means they can provide support for a variety of different types of technology. This is important because it ensures that your MSP will be able to support your existing technology as well as any new technology you need to implement in the future.

Additionally, your MSP should leverage their pre-existing relationships with vendors within your industry. This will create better visibility into defining which emerging technologies are right for your business.

Does the MSP Have a Great Reputation?

The right managed services provider will have great reviews and referrals. This gives you an idea of the quality of their services. Some publish reviews on their websites, and you can do a simple Google search to see what their past and existing clients say about them. 

Look at annual reports, financial statements, the size of their client pool, and ask them about their annual retention rate. This will help you understand the quality of their services and the value they bring to their clients. 

Is the MSP Aligned with Your Business Goals?

What are you hoping to achieve by working with a managed services provider? Make sure your MSP can help you meet those goals. 

The right MSP partner for your business will not only understand where your businesses is headed, they will also have their own business practices defining how they work with, and relate to, the businesses they support. 

The Brightworks Group has a human-focused approach that considers that not every business is the same. We help maturing businesses achieve complex business goals. Contact us today to discuss your IT business needs.