Managed Services Providers are not all the same, and the really good ones are great at what they do. Unfortunately for some organizations, they have never dealt with a truly great managed services provider. Perhaps they’ve been neglected by their provider or pushed off. Maybe they’ve dealt with a provider that was taking advantage of their lack of knowledge about technology. Poor past experiences with IT partners are a huge driver for misconceptions once a company finds a really great IT provider. But what are these misconceptions? Here are four incorrect assumptions that companies have with reputable managed services providers:
When stuff isn’t working – it’s always their fault
Of course your IT provider is in charge of your technology. It’s their job to manage it proactively and help avoid issues. But it’s also their job to make recommendations for how to improve your technology. If management or ownership isn’t taking these recommendations seriously, it can cause issues at the user level. Your provider is there to help you. Not every single thing that happens is their fault, particularly when they’re making improvement suggestions for your company technology. Never take your frustration out on your technician or provider until you have a full understanding of the entire story.
They don’t know your business.
A really great IT provider not only has experience in your industry, but takes the time to become intimately familiar with the intricacies of how your business operates. They’ll have a strategy manager on staff and help your business innovate as it grows and evolves. They’ll not only have a close understanding of how your technology and business applications work together, but they will document all your processes and applications so that every technician in the company has the same understanding of your technology. They know your business, and they know your industry. Give them some credit and let them help.
They aren’t empathetic of your issues.
It’s our goal in life to make sure that our clients are up and running and that they’re efficient. If you’re not efficient, you’re unhappy and unproductive. If you’re not productive, the company’s bottom line and culture is impacted. We want our clients to succeed and that means we want their employees to succeed. Every issue matters to us. From a small printer problem to a massive internet outage – a good IT provider WANTS to help. Don’t think that we don’t care.
They just want you to spend money
One of the most important things to consider when selecting your IT provider is trust. You want a company that you can trust to make the appropriate recommendations based on your best interest, your business goals and your budget. If you are worried about them taking advantage of you, you should never sign up with them to begin with. Your relationship with your MSP is a true partnership that should never be taken advantage of. If you think that your provider just wants you to spend more money or is taking advantage of your lack of knowledge, you should look for a new provider.
You know what they say about assumptions. Your MSP should be there to make sure that your technology is working, to have an intimate understanding of your business and industry and empathize with your issues. If you think that they’re taking advantage of you or are truly ignorant about your business or don’t care about your true needs – it’s likely you’re partnered up with the wrong MSP. Take the time to explore the partnership in detail before you sign up with a provider and make sure that it’s the perfect fit.
The 4 Stages of Better Technology Adoption
