Price is important, but the benefits of using a managed services

provider (MSP) can quickly evaporate if you choose the wrong MSP.

More and more organizations are choosing to outsource, and as a

result, a number of companies have entered the MSP market.

Some of them are well-qualified; others are simply trying to take

advantage of a market opportunity. Here are five key questions you

should ask before making your selection.

How long has the MSP been in business?
Like any business, there are an art to offering managed services. So one way to
separate the experienced MSPs from the wannabes is by asking how long they
have been in business. If they have been in business for some time, they will
probably have addressed any service delivery issues they may have had when they
first began. Length of time in business is also an indicator of financial stability.

What kind of support do they offer?
One of the reasons you choose managed services is to turn your headaches over to
someone else! If the MSP’s support is weak, you need to manage both the MSP
and the problems you thought you were outsourcing when you hired them.

So here are a few questions to ask:

• Do they have a support center that is staffed 24/7/365 (as opposed to being on call)?
  
• Do they have formal ticketing and escalation procedures?
  
• Do they monitor your services or are you expected to bring them to their
  
• attention?

What kind of redundancy do they have?
You will have asked about the platforms they use and made a decision about how
robust those platforms are. But don’t forget to ask if the platforms are redundant.
Even the best platforms fail from time to time, so it’s essential that there be backup
to ensure that service is not interrupted.

What quality of service do they provide?
This is probably the most important question, of course. You will find learn quite a
bit about their service quality when you check their references. Be sure to ask
what happens when there are issues: Does the MSP respond quickly and take
ownership of the problem?

Another key indicator is the MSP’s service level assurances: Do they have formal
SLAs? Do they cover what you’re buying? And do they have “teeth”? The
willingness of an MSP to offer SLAs that have significant penalties in the event of
service interruption is a sure sign that the MSP is on top of its game; an MSP
won’t be in business long if it has strong SLAs and can’t deliver!

How willing is the MSP to work with you to meet your specific
requirements?
Your company or organization is unique; it’s often that very uniqueness that has
enabled you to succeed.

Unless an MSP is willing and able to tailor its services to meet your specific
requirements, you may find that you need to bend the way you operate to the way
the MSP operates, and not as it should be – the other way around.

You can tell quite a bit about the MSP’s flexibility during the sales process. Do
they ask a few questions and then send you a quote, or do they take the time to
listen to what you need and develop their proposal accordingly? And since no
MSP can meet every requirement, are they forthcoming about what they are able –
and not able – to do, so that you can make a fact-based determination of how well
the MSP’s offerings fit your needs?

The other question to ask concerns their product or service roadmap. Your needs
will evolve over time and it is important that what you think is important is also
important to your MSP.

© Appia Communications, Inc., 2006