Signs You Need To Change Your MSP

Does it feel like your business isn’t a top priority for your current MSP? That’s a common sign you need to change your MSP, but it’s not the only one. Learn more about what you can do when there are indications that your MSP is falling short.

How Do MSPs Support Your Business?

Whether you run a small or mid-sized business, MSPs can be a great tool. MSPs are third-party providers of IT services, and they exist to support or replace your in-house team. MSPs detect and resolve issues within your IT systems, helping to increase uptime, improve data security, and maintain business continuity. With an MSP by your side, you won’t have to deal with IT problems on your own.

The Most Common MSP Problems

Here are some common signs you need to change your MSP:

Issues Aren’t Resolved Promptly

One of the biggest benefits of partnering with an MSP is that they can help you reduce IT downtime by solving issues faster than your in-house team. Downtime is one of the most expensive issues a business can deal with, as it prevents them from being able to perform their normal tasks. It’s important to get back online as quickly as possible. As such, a fast response time is essential. A good MSP should provide you with 24/7 support for any issue that comes up and clearly communicate how they address it. If you’re stuck waiting, that could be a sign you need to change MSPs.

You Constantly Deal With the Same Issues

A good MSP proactively manages all of your IT issues. They should constantly monitor and support your IT systems to protect your business from data breaches and server crashes. However, if the same issues continue to crop up, your MSP likely isn’t solving the root of the problem. Your MSP should dig deep enough into your IT issues to provide long-term solutions. If you notice that you’re constantly dealing with the same problems, that is a sign you need to change your MSP.

Your Business Isn’t a Priority

Your business and your MSP should form a partnership. Your MSP should be invested in your success and provide technical support that helps grow your business. Your business deserves intentional, customized IT support, not some cookie-cutter service package. If it feels like your business isn’t a priority for your current MSP, it might be time to find one that values your success.

Your MSP Isn’t Flexible

Flexibility is crucial when it comes to partnering with an MSP. As your business grows, your MSP should be able to scale its services alongside it. They should provide day-to-day support and look for ways to ensure success in the future. If your MSP is unwilling to be flexible with changing business needs, that could be a sign you need to change MSPs.

How To Choose a Managed Services Provider

If you’re seeing signs you need to change your MSP, you should thoroughly evaluate any potential future partnerships so that you don’t deal with the same issues again. Here are some important questions to ask your MSP when considering a switch.

Do Their Services Match Your Needs?

When it comes time to change your managed service provider, you first need to assess your business’s IT requirements. Do you need to improve your connectivity or strengthen your cybersecurity? Or are you looking for someone to fully manage your day-to-day IT needs? In order to know which MSP is right for your business, you need to know the services you currently have as well as what you might need in the future.

Once you determine this, you should compare the list of services you need to the ones that the MSP offers. For example, if you’re seeking to migrate some of your business applications to the cloud, you’ll need to ensure that the MSP offers cloud services. If not, you’ll need to consider other options.

What Are Their Cybersecurity Options?

In such a fast-moving digital world, staying up to date with the latest cybersecurity trends is essential for your business. A good MSP provides you with a range of services surrounding cybersecurity, such as penetration testing and security assessments, data encryption, or remote management. These services help your business maintain data security and can prevent the risk of cyberattacks, data breaches, or data loss.

Do They Have Disaster Recovery Planning?

When choosing a managed services provider, it’s important to consider if they include disaster recovery as part of their SLA. You never know when disaster will strike, so it’s necessary to come prepared with a plan. A good MSP will help you establish a means of recovery for the issues most likely to affect your business, whether that be a power outage, server crash, or cyberattack. In most cases, this involves backing up your information to a redundant data center, where it can be easily accessed and used to restore your system to its original state.

What Level of Support and Monitoring Do They Have?

Regardless of your industry, maintaining continuous uptime helps your business stay ahead of the competition. A good MSP helps you achieve that by consistently monitoring your network and identifying any potential problems before they become disastrous. Because it’s impossible to fully prevent any disaster, they should also implement server failover, which automatically takes over from your primary server if it goes down. With this level of proactive support, you can stay ahead of the curve and adapt quickly to unforeseen circumstances.

Do They Have A Transparent Service-Level Agreement?

Transparency is key when working with an MSP. You need to know what services are available to your business as well as how you’re being billed for them. A thorough SLA should contain all of the information you need to know about the level of service you’ll receive from an MSP, such as:

• The length of the contract
• Termination clauses
• Included services
• Guarantees regarding response time and uptime

Your SLA prepares you for what to expect at every step of the partnership.

Choose Blue Net as Your Next MSP

If you’ve identified some of the signs you need to change MSPs with your current provider, turn to Blue Net. We offer a wide range of IT solutions for your business, such as network design, cybersecurity enhancements, 24/7 monitoring, and cloud migration. Give us a call today to see which of our managed services are right for your business.