A managed service provider offers plenty of benefits to small-medium sized companies, especially those who lack in-house resources like IT. An MSP can cut costs, increase productivity, manage security, and come with a slew of other helpful factors to keep a company stabilized.
However, not all MSP solutions are ideal. Sometimes businesses change agreements or even to opt out of an MSP. It’s important to focus on the reason you hired your managed service provider. When that MSP continues to under-deliver, it may be time to switch. Here are four signs that indicate it’s time to switch out of an MSP.
Recurring IT Problems
Nothing is more frustrating than IT related issues. It’s doubly so when your MSP can’t seem to put a lid on them. When experiencing prolonged IT problems, be that network downtime, viral intrusions, or other loss of services recur on a frequent basis, it’s better to looking for a new MSP.
Service providers have to be proactive about issues, catching them as they occur or before they do. If your MSP seems to “react,” this is problematic for your organization.
Frequent Service Loss
Part of the risk which goes into utilizing an MSP is the fact that your services are tied with them. That means if you run virtualized servers or use their VoIP software, anything that disrupts them will do so to you as well. This usually isn’t an issue, as minor downtime will happen now and again (usually for service updates). But much like the mentioned IT issues, if this is a routine problem you should look for a different provider.
Unsecure
An MSP acts as a vanguard against most cyber threats – or that’s how their services are often advertised. At no point should your business information be at risk in the hands of a service provider. They should catch threats before they happen, instead of dealing with intrusions.
Any time they’re put at risk, so too is the information the MSP handles for you. So, if said MSP deals with a high volume of malware intrusions or third party attacks, your information is no longer safe and it’s time to switch.
Rising Cost
Above all, companies look to an MSP to save costs. But when the price is unfavorable, you’ve got problems. Flexible, scaling price models are often the virtue of managed service providers, especially those that work with you and your needs without an established contract. This is because the nature of IT services is always changing, with decreased or increased demand. Therefore, services utilized should reflect that.
Managed service providers create a well of options for businesses, but sometimes there is need to switch. If you MSP is showing any of the above problems, it’s probably time to choose another. Stratosphere Networks is a leading provider in managed services. Contact us today with questions about what your MSP should be doing for you.
