The world of IT provision has evolved immeasurable over the last two decades. While the archetypal helpdesk support remains, it is no longer enough. In today’s competitive digital age, your IT provider should be helping you develop a future tech strategy, they should be minimising downtime with proactive maintenance, and they should be deploying best-in-class security measures to protect your business’s sensitive data. Anything less is a dereliction of their basic duty as a technology partner, but sadly many providers still fail to deliver on these essential service components.
This raises the question: how do you assess the performance of your MSP? If you’ve only been with them a short time, you haven’t suffered any IT setbacks, or they haven’t yet assisted you with a major project then you may think it’s too soon to make a judgement.
To help out, we’ve assembled what we believe are 5 ominous signals of lacklustre IT support.
Recurring faults
Almost all IT support providers offer some form of remote maintenance capabilities. Remote monitoring and management tools allow providers to remotely assess network health, and apply the likes of patches and operating system updates without being physically present. The idea is that your provider should be able to rectify faults in their formative stages, before they’re allowed to develop into episodes of disruptive downtime. If you’re suffering persistent, recurring IT issues is likely due to your provider failing to get to the root of the problem first time round. This lax approach to the health of your IT system is a worrying indicator of an IT provider failing at their basic duties: ensuring the integrity of their clients’ IT systems.
Poor Communication
Some IT support providers focus religiously on technical delivery and fail when it comes to customer service, somewhat reinforcing the stereotype that IT isn’t the most people-focused industry. Has your provider been reluctant to fully explain system changes? Do they struggle to engage with your team? Are they taciturn in general? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’ then your provider will be of little use should you require them to assist you with wholesale infrastructure changes, as they’ll lack the drive to help you get the most out of any new technology.
They focus on their written obligations, nothing else
An SLA-backed IT support contract is vital to ensuring the support you receive is bound by written commitments and guarantees. However, a good IT support provider will go far beyond these baseline commitments, and proffer advice, assistance and recommendations without being prompted. Your provider should be helping you extract maximum value from your IT by suggesting cost-optimal solutions and technologies that help you achieve productivity objectives. They should be taking a keen interest in your organisation, both its current state of play and its future direction, in order to help you develop an IT roadmap for the future.
Your IT support provider should also be driven by a steadfast commitment to cyber security, and offer (by default) a range of measures to keep your data and systems secure. From the outset of the relationship, they should have sought to gain an understanding of your compliance landscape, so as to provide solutions which aid your organisation in satisfying regulatory obligations. If your provider sticks to the basics of post-incident support, then it could be time to find a provider who’ll be a truly supportive IT partner.
Every interaction is a sales pitch
Conversely, be wary if your IT support provider is constantly trying to foist their products on you without first gaining a thorough understanding of the issues you face. Change implementation should always seek to address an operational pressure or a specific issue. A good IT provider will then consider all options and present the most cost-efficient solution that aligns with your business’s scale, budget, regulatory constraints and operational pressures. Pushy sales tactics and a ‘product-led’ approach are hallmarks of a provider more concerned about their bottom line than the quality of your tech infrastructure.
The ‘jack of all trades’ approach
While an IT support provider with a broad range of skills and specialisations is obviously advantageous, sometimes it’s useful to view bold claims with a degree of scepticism. Technology is evolving fast, which means maintaining competence in every discipline is a near impossible task without a large team of specialists. A one-man-band MSP who claims to do it all, is likely to be making promises they can’t truly deliver on effectively.
Why choose JMV Solutions?
Since 2012, JMV Solutions has provided IT support for a wide range of small and medium sized businesses throughout Exeter, Devon and Cornwall. Our company is formed of a personable, friendly and expert team of IT and Security experts that have your best interests at heart. We protect your business, your valuable data, and help sustain your compliance requirements against a rapidly growing cyber threat. Contact us today to learn more.
