Tech It Up! Your Guide to Choosing a Managed Service Provider

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Businesses spent more than $75 billion outsourcing network security last year.

That statistic underscores the need for managed IT services. You want to make sure that your data is secure, and your network is set up to meet the goals of the organization.

It’s not always easy to do if you hire the wrong IT firm to manage your networks. Whether you’re a small business hiring a managed service provider for the first time or an enterprise organization, you need to know what to look for in IT service providers.

Keep reading to learn the top things you should look for in managed IT service providers.

  1. Level of Experience

There are a few things that you need to know upfront. You have to know what you want a managed IT provider to do. You also have to know the systems that you already have in place.

A managed service provider can offer everything from technical support to security to cloud management.

One of the mistakes to avoid is to hire a managed service provider that has expertise in one system, such as AWS. That certification is great to have, but it’s useless if you use Azure or another system.

  1. Your Budget

How much can you reasonably spend on managed service providers? You also have to weigh that versus the cost savings and potential losses if your business was targeted by hackers.

Even if you have a limited budget, you can still work with a managed IT provider. It would be for a limited range of services.

  1. Scalable Services

Does the managed IT provider have the bandwidth to grow as you grow your business? You want to work with a provider that allows you to scale up and down as you need to.

A service provider that has constraints won’t be able to grow with you.

  1. Proactive Troubleshooting

The top managed service providers are great at spotting issues before they become major problems.

These providers will spot the issue and bring it to your attention. They’ll also give you solutions to fix the problem.

Not all service providers act this way. Many wait until there’s a problem before they act.

  1. Availability and Response Times

You never know when your network will have an issue and you need to contact someone for help. It could be in the middle of the night or it could be on Sunday afternoon.

You want to know in advance when support staff is available. You also want to know how long it takes for someone to respond to technical request issues.

Hire the Best Managed Service Provider

A managed service provider can take over some or all of your IT networking needs. Managed service providers have areas of expertise that have to line up with your business needs.

They also have to fit within your budget and offer the option to expand services as you grow your business. The best-managed service providers are highly proactive and focus on prevention. They’re also reliable and responsive.

For more tips on all things technology, be sure to take a look at the other articles on this site.

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