How to Help Yourself Make the Right Decision

Confident Choices Start with the
Right Information

INTRODUCTION

Many business owners spend hours learning all about cybersecurity, infrastructure management, and other complex topics when they decide to outsource IT. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with doing this research if it interests you. However, it shouldn’t be a necessity before you speak to IT providers.

There’s no need for you to become an IT expert in order to choose a good IT partner. Instead, all you need to do is ask the right questions. Treat your IT partnership like any other business deal. Think about why investing the time, effort, and money will be worth it in the long run.

This guide is here to help non-IT experts make smart IT investment decisions.

Narrow Down Your Options

Your first step is to research partners and narrow down a list of the best candidates. With the managed services provider (MSP) market set to hit $731 billion by 2030, you can’t possibly talk to every provider in the country. Start by narrowing it down to about 3-5 possible options.

Take a look around at various managed service providers out there. Consider what they offer and, more importantly, how they offer it. Resist the temptation to seek simple “yes/no” answers to your qualifying questions.

The following table lists 5 common questions people use to narrow down their IT provider candidates. It also includes better alternatives to these questions that can help you pinpoint providers who truly stand out.

The Usual Question & The Better Alternative

  • How much do they cost?
  • Are the quality and necessity of their services worth the price?
  • Do they provide ___ information technology service?
  • How do they deliver ___ service? Does it make sense for my business?
  • How many support tickets will they close in a day?
  • Will they provide adequate answers to support questions? How do they ensure it?
  • Do they seem tech-savvy?
  • Do they know how to leverage technology for business?
  • Do they respond to issues quickly?
  • What do they do to stop the issue from happening in the first place?

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Evaluate Each Candidate

Once you've narrowed your options down to 3-5 candidates, it's time to evaluate each one in detail. This more focused list will make it easier to schedule discovery calls and dive deeper into their services.

Dig a bit further into what makes them stand out compared to others. It’s not enough to simply look for the same services that every MSP offers. You must consider what your business needs are, why your business needs it, and if the candidate aligns with your goal.

Imagine you’re purchasing a new house. If you don’t have kids or a dog, do you really need a big backyard? Would you buy a house with a big backyard just because other people like it? That doesn’t seem worth the landscaping work if there’s no benefit.

However, there may be unrealized benefits. Perhaps you don’t have kids or a dog, but you do enjoy hosting parties.

Truly take the time to consider why your business needs IT services. This will leave you better equipped to seek a partner who can meet them. Returning to our yard example, if you want it for parties instead of children, there’s no need to pick a yard with a play structure.

Getting back to IT instead of houses, the following chart showcases common MSP services, why a business can use them, and what to look for in your candidates based on your needs.

Cybersecurity Services

YOU NEED...
● To protect sensitive information such as financial or healthcare records
● To prevent data breaches for online transactions
● To restrict access to certain documents to authorized personnel within your organization

WHAT TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT THEM
● Are they familiar with compliance regulations relevant to my industry?
● Can they protect your data if it’s online?
● Do they mention internal cybersecurity controls alongside external ones?

Cloud Services

YOU NEED...
● To reduce your overall infrastructure costs
● To make your data more accessible to employees working in remote locations
● Flexible and secure storage for temporary data files

WHAT TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT THEM
● What does their cloud migration process look like? Does it optimize costs?
● Are they dedicated to one cloud service or would they be willing to explore options?
● Do they also offer cloud management services after migration?

IT Consulting

YOU NEED...
● Guidance on how to mitigate technology risks
● New ideas on how to stay competitive in an increasingly digital business landscape
● Help getting your IT department on board with your business strategies

WHAT TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT THEM
● Is there any process in place that involves an assessment of your current technology?
● What do they do to get to know your specific business needs?
● Do they mention anything about roadmap planning or project management? If so, what?

IT Support

YOU NEED...
● Guidance on how to mitigate technology risks
● New ideas on how to stay competitive in an increasingly digital business landscape
● Help getting your IT department on board with your business strategies

WHAT TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT THEM
● Is there any process in place that involves an assessment of your current technology?
● What do they do to get to know your specific business needs?
● Do they mention anything about roadmap planning or project management? If so, what?

Network Management

YOU NEED...
● To upgrade your system after business expansion
● To ensure security and network reliability for all employees in the face of remote work
● To stay in control of who can connect to your network

WHAT TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT THEM
● Do they help with network set-up or just monitoring? “Network support” means a lot of things.
● Do they mention anything about uptime or reliability beyond security incidents?
● Is “access control” or “identity management” ever brought up?

Guiding businesses toward confident IT partnerships through clarity, strategy, and the right questions.

Ask Them A Lot Of Questions

It’s important to ask a lot of questions on every discovery call. Don’t let any candidate off the hook. Seek clear answers or reasonable explanations for why they don’t have an answer. A candidate who dodges questions is a dodgy candidate – for multiple reasons.

First, they could be hiding something. This could be a surprise extra cost, a poor track record, or something else. Second, it could be a sign that they’re not as much of an expert as they say they are. Remember this quotation, often attributed to Albert Einstein.

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

It’s also important to note that what they answer doesn’t matter as much as how they answer it. If their answers aren’t clear or direct, this could indicate that they don’t have an organized solution to your problem. Even if they provide an impressive testimonial, there’s always a chance they just got lucky.

Not Just Any IT Company, Find the
Right Partner

Every IT company you meet is going to try to impress you with their technology expertise. While it’s important to have an expert on your side, you also need someone with business acumen. Just like how not every business owner knows IT, not every IT person knows business.

Without both skill sets, your partner won’t be well-equipped to align your technology with your goals. Choosing someone with both is a much more sensible decision.

That’s exactly why Verdant TCS is the go-to partner for businesses across the country. We know business best practices as well as we know tech. That means we know exactly how to pinpoint the solutions you need to make your IT invisible.

Talk to us today to start maximizing productivity and minimizing technical interruptions.