6 Signs It’s Time to Upgrade Your Managed IT Service Provider
Breaking up is never easy—even more so if it’s a service provider for your business.
But, often, it’s necessary. And as a growing business in a digital world, there may come a time when you need to break up with your Managed IT services provider.
Instead, it helps to think of it as upgrading instead. Here are 6 signs it’s time to upgrade the Managed IT services for your Adelaide business.
1. A lack in expertise
Your Managed IT services team should be IT experts. The core of their role is to take care of your IT needs, and stay on top of emerging IT trends, new technologies, and best practice protocol.
So if your managed IT service provider isn’t delivering on these requirements, if they’re making promises they can’t keep, or if their service level agreement seems to change at a whim, then it’s time to upgrade to someone who delivers a higher level of expertise.
2. Not providing proactive services
SImilar to expertise, when you engage a Managed IT service provider you expect them to manage the full scope of your IT. They come on board as your IT partner, and take care of the assessment, planning, and long-term IT strategy for you.
You rely on them to map out your business long-term IT needs, and then put processes in place to ensure your software, hardware, network, and security is managed, backed-up, and upgraded proactively. So if this is occurring, it’s time to move on.
3. Slow response times
You rely on your managed service provider to keep your business up and running. Server crashes, software errors, or hardware failures can be an annoyance. Network or internet outages can be disastrous. If these occur, your managed service provider should be on top of the problem immediately. They’ll let you know what’s going on, and how they’re fixing the problem.
If you’re left waiting for your managed services provider to respond, they can cost you dearly.
For a small business, critical outages and internet downtime can cost you anywhere up to $2,000 per hour.
If they’re not delivering on their defined response times, it’s time to look for someone new.
4. Cracks in your security
You can’t take any chances when it comes to your business’ data security. So if you start to notice cracks in your Managed IT services’ security provision, then it’s time to reconsider who you’re partnering with.
Their security systems need to be up-to-date. They need to be the ones proactively patching your software, upgrading your systems, and reviewing your network architecture for vulnerabilities—not you.
At a minimum, they should provide you with The Essential Eight security model. While this may not always be obvious, it should be a given. You shouldn’t have to check if your data is being backed up automatically, or if your firewall and antivirus software is doing its job.
If they’re not providing you with a regular security update, or at least have a security portal where you can access this information yourself, it could be an indication their cybersecurity services aren’t as mature as your business needs them to be.
5. Poor customer experience
A Managed IT services provider should act as your partner. Their role is to integrate seamlessly with your business and deliver on your IT needs. So you’re within your rights to expect a certain level of customer service.
If you find it difficult to interact with your Managed IT service provider, if you’re walking on eggshells every time you speak with them, or worried about requesting support, then it’s time to move on.
Also, how they treat their own staff says a lot about their priorities. Regular new staff is a sign of growth—but if they have a rotating carousel of staff leaving, then it’s not a good sign for how they treat their clients, or your vendors.
6. They’re not growing with you
You’ll know if your managed service provider isn’t growing with you.
They might struggle to provide timely service. They might not have the staff available to provide the support you need. They might not be across the latest tech.
They may also have defined client profiles in their agreement—and if your business reaches a certain number of users, then it may be time for them to cut you free.
Discover Managed IT support for your Adelaide business that grows as you do
If it’s time to upgrade the Managed IT services for your Adelaide business, GPK Group is here to help you take the next step.
So don’t think of it as a break-up: think of it as an upgrade. Get in touch with us today to discuss a Managed IT solution for your business.
