Is An MSP Right For Me? What to Look For In Choosing an MSP

Before we get into everything else, let me take a second to introduce you to Luis. Luis is the managing partner at a successful law firm. He spent decades studying and practicing law. He has assembled a team that is a force to be reckoned with in and out of the courtroom. He spends his days working with his clients, reviewing case law, and building the best arguments he can, all while managing his team. In short, when it comes to law, Luis is an expert. However, things aren’t like they were when Luis began practicing law decades ago. Gone are the days of giant filing cabinets and one or two computers. Now all of his important documents are in cyberspace, and his team all uses computers for everything. Luis knows he needs to always have his network in tip-top condition, but he isn’t a computer expert, he’s a legal expert. His partner told him about outsourcing with an MSP, but what does Luis need in an MSP?

An MSP or managed service provider is at it’s best, a company that partners with you to manage all of your network needs. The cost of an MSP is usually far less than it would cost to hire a full time IT department. An MSP also gives you access to cutting edge technology at a fraction of a cost, as well as experts on hand when you need them. However, not knowing what to look for in an MSP can cost you in the long run. What should you look for when partnering with an MSP?

CUSTOMER RETENTION/SATISFACTION

When it comes to choosing the right MSP for your business, looking at their other customers is key. Some offer case studies, which you can read to see if the problems the MSP has solved for others is relevant to your business. Read testimonials and reviews. See if they are from other business owners in your sector. Remember, not every MSP specializes in your field, so you want to choose a partner that is right for your business. Like any other services, MSP’s are not immune to turnover. What is their customer retention rate? On average amongst managed service providers, the retention rate is about 81%. Some go lower, others such as Delval Technology Solutions which boasts a 98% customer retention rate, go much higher.

RESPONSE TIME

When your network goes down or you run into other tech issues, an expedient response could be the difference between a minor inconvenience and a catastrophe. A delayed response to an inquiry or a problem can cause downtime that costs you money and productivity. It can also give enough of a gap to allow a small problem to snowball into a major one. Luis and business owners like him and yourself need a partner that treats you like their only customer when you have an issue. Many MSP’s offer a dedicated help desk that your employees can send any issue they have be it a lag, a forgotten password, or a system outage to and get a real time response. You want to find out if your MSP offers onsite technicians and where they are located. This is why working with a local outfit, such as Delval Technology Solutions, can be beneficial to your enterprise. A local MSP will have local technicians, meaning they can get out to you when you need them to, not hours or days later.

GROWTH POTENTIAL

Scalability is a word that suggests rapid growth for your business. For someone like Luis, it’s being able to add junior partners, assistants and paralegals without sacrificing network quality or using more resources than needed. For your business it could mean the need for more licenses for new hires, more bandwidth, faster connections, and better software and the ability to house more users. A proper MSP like Delval Technology Solutions backs you as you grow by providing you the tools needed for seamless scalability.

SECURITY

When choosing an MSP you want to partner with a company that is as dedicated to your security as they are theirs. Every week, the newswire is filled with cases of malware, spyware, hacking, and breaches. These are problems that require expertise to solve and a focused proactive approach to avoid. As we said before, like Luis that most likely isn’t your area of expertise. An expert partner can assess and monitor your system, properly train your staff, prepare your protocols and compliance, and help you turn your network into a nearly impenetrable fortress.

That’s only part of the security equation. Just as the relationship you have with your clients is built on trust, so should be the relationship between your company and your MSP. After all, all of your company and customer data, your financials, and proprietary information are on your network, which you have entrusted them to run. Fact of the matter is that hacking attacks on MSP’s have increased since the beginning of 2020. Making sure you have an MSP, such as Delval Technology Solutions, that is diligent about their security is paramount to your security. They should have multifactor authentication in place on their network, should monitor their own systems, run tests for their vulnerabilities, and constantly update their own security, just as they do for you.

SAVINGS

Employing a fully staffed IT department is a costly endeavor. In fact, the average IT Manager alone will run you around $125,000 annually to keep them in house. Having a full staff that includes auditors, technicians, and a helpdesk can run you upwards of a quarter of a million dollars a year. With a proper MSP like Delval Technology Solutions, at your disposal gives you all of the perks of having an in house staff at a fraction of the cost. A great MSP is like having a team of experts, auditors, technicians and specialists at your side, without having to break the bank on personnel.

Luis looked hard for the best MSP he could find. When he found them, his network of headaches became a network that made headway. He didn’t have to worry about downtime, breaches, and other issues like he did in the past. He was able to focus on his expertise, his business and his clients,and so will you.