Guide to Evaluating MSPs

Many Managed Service Providers come with costs organizations are not factoring in:

• Possible interruptions in IT services that could affect operations 
• A decline in customer service and longer response times impacts efficiency
• The need to buy and implement new tools that align with the new provider's system 
• Limited access to specific IT skills, requiring the need for several vendors 
• Fewer service hours available, or charges for 24/7 help
• Many IT service contracts have limited and inflexible scopes, impacting overall contract costs
• Limits on the number of help desk tickets

The MSP market is saturated with little regulations, and often many MSPs are lacking in strategic vision and complex systems. On top of that, evaluating services becomes a challenge with the many different pricing models and services vendors offer. That is why knowing the right questions to ask MSPs during the evaluation process is pivotal to empowering organizations to make the correct choice for their business.

• How do you maintain your clients’ security as well as your own?
  • Is your company SOC 2 Type 2 Compliant? 
  • What alerting and reporting is in place to ensure that our company is secure and compliant? 
• How is Customer Service Measured? 
  • What is your average response time? 
  • What is your average resolution time? 
• What is the process to get help?  
  • Is there a limit on how many tickets users can submit without extra charges? 
  • Do clients get a live person when they call in? 
  • If yes, do they stay on the phone with you until the issue is resolved? 
  • Do you offer dedicated teams to your clients?
  • How many average years of experience do help desk employees have?
  • How many average years of IT experience across your company? 
• Do you manage our other vendors if needed? 
  • Do you make sure IT problems are fixed even if they are not within your areas? Or do you have our team work with the other vendors directly? 
• What is your experience in Linux, Macs, Windows, Cloud and Networking and Life Science Platforms? 
• Do you have specific technologies you require your clients to use? 
• What is included in the device support? When does support fall out of the scope of services? 
• How are user accounts created and removed?
  • How are devices for new and departing users provisioned and recovered?
  • Is asset lifecycle management for on site and remote employees included? 
• How are on-site services delivered?
  • Are dedicated engineers available to be assigned for regular visits or are on-site services outsourced to a subcontractor?