Many small to medium sized businesses are making the move to a managed service platform. Whether to streamline the budget or optimize the productivity of your IT staff, outsourcing a portion of your network infrastructure is often the perfect solution for business dilemmas.
If you find yourself unable to keep up with technology trends, your IT staff is constantly overworked and behind schedule, or your client base is frustrated with their experience – managed services provides offer relief. If you are in the market to outsource some or all of your IT department, you can read these FAQs to get started.
Most companies, no matter the size, have the same concerns. They want to make a profit. They want to keep their customers happy. They want to have a stellar reputation. They want to be a contributing member of the community. And they want to provide a work environment where morale is high.
Since businesses of all kinds have the same basic goals, it should be no surprise that they often have the same questions when looking to partner with managed services providers. Here are some of the most common questions we hear.
Managed Services Providers: FAQs
Where are you located? We live in a virtual world, and remote access is a way of life. In fact, the very reason you are looking into managed services providers is that you are willing to house much of your network offsite. So why does it matter where the network operations center is physically located? For all the offsite and remote capability, sometimes you still need an onsite presence and rapid technical support. Having a local presence can be both a comfort and a life-saver in an emergency. With a Sarasota or Bradenton area presence, you can be assured of the support you need, and can build a relationship you trust. We aren’t a world away.
What are the skill sets of your IT staff? Anyone can put a few servers in a room and offer remote services and cloud computing. You should be willing to ask for the certifications and specialties of the team who will be working on your account. Your managed services provider should be willing to prove their deep bench of expertise, both for what you need now, and for the IT network services you may need as you grow and expand. Important – be sure to ask if they outsource much of their work. Another layer of outsourcing is harder to understand responsibilities and to manage day to day operations.
What hours do you operate? Let’s face it. People shop at all hours of the night, and check their account status before the sun comes up. Your information and your network have to be available to your clients 24 x 7, and so your support and monitoring should be available 24 x 7 as well. Tasks such as updating software patches and installing new versions of OS are often best achieved overnight when they won’t affect employees, so it is important to understand the hours and availability.
Can I tour your facility? If you take a tour of their operations center, you can meet the personnel at the managed services provider, see how they handle different clients, and ask any questions about their policies and procedures. By touring, seeing the infrastructure, speaking with your new “team” and understanding the operation, you will feel much more comfortable with the outsourcing process. Take this opportunity to share your IT challenges and allow the professionals to explain and show you how they can help.
At Alliance IT, we are committed to your growth, productivity and success. What can we answer for you?
