Working with a Managed Services Provider (MSP) can be an excellent decision, allowing you to outsource many key business tasks to an experienced third-party team while leaving your employees to focus on what they do best.
However, it can be tough to know where to start. Without knowing exactly what you need from an MSP service, it’s easy to get confused, make the wrong choices, and even set your progress back.
In this article, we’ll look at the dangers of not knowing what you need when it comes to MSPs. Then, we’ll walk through some key questions to ask to help you get clear on your goals and make an informed and appropriate choice.
Why Work With an MSP?
There are many good reasons to consider working with an MSP, such as:
- Cost savings. The right MSP can help streamline your operations, reduce waste, and save money overall.
- Access to cutting-edge technology. MSPs can provide tools that you might be unable to access or afford on your own at a reasonable monthly price.
- Access to experts. MSPs are typically highly experienced in certain areas, giving you access to invaluable skills.
- Scalability. It’s much easier to scale your business with an MSP. Since you won’t need to invest huge sums in upgrading your entire infrastructure, you can simply use your MSP’s resources.
Working with an MSP will keep your organization up-to-date, efficient, and able to grow. That’s why it’s so important to find the right MSP service for you.
The Dangers of MSP Confusion
When you embark on a new relationship with an MSP, it’s essential to know what you’re looking for, what you need, and the specific goals you want to accomplish.
It’s all too common for businesses to approach this process with no idea — or only a vague idea — of what they actually want from an MSP. This can lead to several serious issues.
You’ll End Up With the Wrong MSP Service
There are many excellent MSPs out there, but they won’t all be right for your goals, organization structure, industry, and specific challenges.
If you end up engaging with the wrong MSP service, you’ll fail to actually solve the problems and make the changes needed to drive your organization forward, and instead end up spinning your wheels.
You’ll Be Distracted From What You Actually Need
When you don’t know what you need from an MSP, it’s easy to become fixated on the wrong things. For example, you may mistakenly believe that your organization really needs to improve efficiency, but the real problem is a lack of adequate cybersecurity.
In this example, you could find yourself engaging with MSPs that specialize in reducing friction and streamlining processes while your organization is all the while at massive risk of a data breach.
It’s a Waste of Money
Being unaware of what you actually need can lead to large expenditures on the wrong MSP services, which don’t really help your organization solve its problems or achieve its goals. They do, however, do an excellent job of draining your budget.
Questions to Ask Before Working With an MSP
How do you ensure you connect with the right MSP service from the start? The key is to get clear on the specific services and support you really need — which means asking some critical questions about your organization.
What Are Your Goals?
What do you actually want to achieve with the help of an MSP? Potential goals could be to improve security, digitally transform, recruit new talent, or scale your organization.
A thorough assessment of your company, focused on identifying key areas for improvement and current strong points, is a good starting point and can help create a clear and focused roadmap.
What’s at Stake?
What happens if you don’t work with an MSP? What are the worst-case scenarios for your organization if you don’t address some of your weak points?
From a security standpoint, the stakes can be incredibly high. The global average cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.45 million, according to IBM. Taking this into account can help you prioritize the aspects of your security that need the most attention and focus your search on MSPs that specialize in those areas.
What Are Your Priorities?
Assessing your goals, weaknesses, and what’s at stake will help you form a list of priority areas for your organization. This might include specific areas of security like endpoint security and cloud security, along with things like latency, connectivity issues, and data management.
Making a list of priorities helps you be more intentional in your search for an MSP, narrowing down your choices to those who can help the most.
What’s Your Level of IT Maturity?
Your IT maturity level is a major factor when choosing an MSP. IT maturity refers to the technology, infrastructure, and knowledge in your organization as it relates to IT. Your maturity level will have a big impact on the MSPs you target, as it indicates what you can currently handle, where you need to improve, and what you specifically need to focus on.
Work with DYOPATH
At DYOPATH, our managed services encompass a wide range of areas from IT outsourcing to disaster recovery.
We can help you identify the key areas where you need support, guiding you as you build a stronger, more capable, and more secure organization.
Contact us to find out more.
