Managed services providers (MSPs) offer a wide range of benefits to the companies they work with, especially for small and medium-sized businesses who may not be able to afford to acquire IT infrastructure on their own.

But because of the importance of these vendors to the operations of a successful organization, business owners must take care when choosing their provider.

One of the best ways to determine whether an MSP is right for you is by asking each vendor a series of illuminating questions, and then choosing the one that provides the best answers — as well as the best solutions for your needs.

Here are four questions to ask any managed services provider before you hire them.

1. What competitive advantages can your managed services provide?

Every successful organization works to improve themselves or make the company better in some way.

When you choose a vendor, even outside of managed services, you’ll want to choose one that makes your own business more competitive or more attractive to your target customers in some way.

2. Are there any services you offer that could use improvement?

Most providers will try to avoid this question in their sales conversations, but this is an answer you’ll want to have before you make your final decision. As a business owner, any blindspots in your vision can be costly.

If one of their weaker services is one that’s crucial to the day-to-day operations of your business, you may want to consider finding one that specializes in that instead. Similarly, if your company plans on expanding into new territory, your MSP should offer features you’ll need to scale further.

3. Will my situation require a layered approach with another partner?

Managed services providers specialize in different things — and consequently, they can’t be everything to every business. In some cases, working with an MSP may require you to outsource a portion of your service needs to another company that complements your current managed services offerings.

Although it’s not necessarily a bad thing, you’ll want to know about this now so you can account for any changes in budget or service offerings — you may find that a layered approach will actually save you more money in the long run instead.

4. Can you tell me about your business continuity and disaster recovery plans?

No business is immune to natural disasters or catastrophes — not your business, and not your managed services provider either.

But if and when disaster strikes your MSP, that will affect your operations as well. You should know what to expect when things fall apart so you can plan accordingly.

Schedule your call with ROCTEL today

When you want a managed services provider you can trust, turn to the experts at ROCTEL. Our award-winning company has spent the last 20 years offering best-in-class cloud, collaboration, security, and broadband services to businesses all over the world.

Although we have built up a long-term relationship with Cisco, we pride ourselves on being carrier-independent. Our most important goal lies in choosing the best products and services for our clients.

Interested in learning more? Contact us with any questions you have about our offerings by filling out the contact form on our website. Or if you’re ready to get started, you can request a free quote by filling out this form.