How to Learn More About Your IT Business Needs

Decision-makers should be familiar with their IT business needs in their search for an IT service provider. When deciding whether or not to you need IT support, you must first have a solid understanding of your organization’s IT needs. The most successful relationships between businesses and their IT partners occur when decision-makers can determine what parts of their IT environment need attention from a specialized third party, and what tasks can be left to their internal IT staff if any. Below is an excerpt from our eBook “The Ultimate Guide to IT Outsourcing” that covers the questions you should answer prior to beginning your search for an MSP:

Questions to Ask Yourself to Understand Your Support Needs

IT Business Questions

How many employees do I have?

To identify your IT business needs, it is essential to know the scale of your needs depending on your business size.  If you don’t consider your staff size, you run the risk of getting something that is too big or small for your company. Companies that need IT to support 1,000 or fewer employees gain the most value from outsourcing their IT to an MSP. Much of the value behind outsourcing IT comes with a scale of economy – the cost of the MSP’s expertise is shared amongst its client-base. 

How important is 24×7 support access?

When a critical IT failure or incident occurs, you want to ensure the IT business needs of your organization are covered. Hiring an in-house department that is available overnight, on holidays, and during weekends is both hard to organize and costly. A good MSP already has a U.S.-based service desk open 24×7 to handle these situations. If you need IT support and are interested in learning more about our MSP services, contact us today.

How large is my IT budget? 

Access to an in-house IT staff can be phenomenal, but it comes with a price that reflects the luxury. Hiring a respected, reliable, and experienced full-time IT professional is expensive, and there are more costs to consider than salary alone. You also need to consider IT training and certifications, which are expensive and take away time from your IT staff. Whether you have a large or small budget, we can find solutions to meet your IT business needs.

Does your company handle or store any sensitive data? 

If one of your IT business needs is storing sensitive personal data (e.g., social security numbers, health records) we recommend taking proactive and preventative measures to protect those assets. These can include training employees, maintaining anti-virus, and conducting regular security assessments. An MSP with a dedicated security department has the expertise required to provide your organization with the steps you can take to ensure your data is safe.

Do I use any proprietary software? 

If your company uses a proprietary software program essential to your organization, we recommend having someone in the office who knows the nuances of that program. An MSP usually has ways to deal with these situations but does not have the same expertise as an in-house IT person. If you need suggestions on how to put in place a training strategy for your in-house IT person, we are here to help.

What is your company’s growth trajectory? 

Many growing companies face similar technical challenges as they grow, including:

• A lack of easily scalable technology (e.g., servers)
• Limited budget to hire and retain technical talent
• Dependence on arduous and manual technical processes

A good MSP can alleviate these challenges by implementing best practices and managing your technology so you can focus on maintaining a positive growth trajectory. 

Win with Our Managed IT Services

Overall, before deciding which MSP to use to handle your business’ IT needs, you should conduct an audit identifying some critical factors that should influence your decision. If you need help or insight into how to make this process seamless, contact our team. We’ve helped businesses of all staff and budget sizes and we’re here when you’re ready to begin the process. Contact us today to get started. 

This was just one of the 18 pages of valuable insight into how to choose your IT MSP. To read the rest of the eBook, “The Ultimate Guide to IT Outsourcing,” simply fill out the form below.