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Characteristics to Look For in an IT Provider

Getting a trusted IT support partner (or MSP) is a core task for IT-driven businesses. A reliable managed service provider can offer you invaluable assistance with cybersecurity systems to improve efficiency in your IT infrastructure.

With so many providers out there claiming to be experts in their fields, it helps to look out for the following essential qualities to build an experienced support team.

1. Level of Experience 

As the saying goes, experience is always the best teacher. It’s advisable to choose an IT support company with several years of industry experience under its belt. Examine their solutions or managed service programs that are central to your organization’s success.

According to INSC, an IT company in Yonkers, “The best MSPs help you stay ahead of the competition by investing in affordable tools that let you take advantage of emerging technologies.” A main benefit of outsourcing your IT to a professional IT company is that you’ll receive expertise based in both experience and the latest advancements.

A good IT support provider should be able to offer your business insightful cybersecurity tips on new assets and systems that guarantee stress-free operations. Feel free to ask them about testimonials from their previous customers and other industry-related portfolios. An experienced and qualified IT support technician can prove helpful if you hire them to supplement your remote team.

2. Proactive Approach

An excellent IT support partner doesn’t always wait for systems to jam up before they fix them. Instead, they demonstrate a robust, proactive approach to IT management and can prepare for eventualities beforehand.

This approach could mean working with an MSP with effective firewalls, anti-malware, and other valuable resources to monitor and protect your network. Having automatic systems to update your IT assets regularly is an excellent way to build a future-proof and productive business. 

Proactive measures help minimize downtime springing from frequent faults alongside their high costs.

3. Cloud Expertise

Many businesses use cloud platforms to a great extent in today’s digital world. Companies now rely on a variety of public and private cloud-based technologies to run their operations. Your chosen MSP should boast the requisite cloud expertise and tools to take charge of complex and multiple cloud environments. A certified cloud expert who has knowledge in migrating production workloads to the cloud is worth your partnership.

4. Compliance Services

Regulatory requirements may matter to you if you don’t want to run into problems concerning industry standards. Compliance has become a norm in the managed IT service space, so partner with an IT support provider who can demonstrate their ability to work from a compliant perspective. Verify their documents to ensure that they’re a compliance centered IT support company.

5. Availability & Response Times

Nothing can be more disappointing than an MSP who is not available to assist you 24/7 or when you need them at a critical hour. For small businesses, critical issues often crop up without any notification. Ideally, it would help if you worked with a managed service provider who is always available to attend to your needs without any delay. Reliable IT support partners have technicians to address issues remotely, and at the same time, can visit the premises to tackle emergencies.

Chris Turn

Chris Turn is the pseudonym of a journalist and writer who has published short stories, essays, and criticism in the Los Angeles Times, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, and the New York Times. Her most recent book, a novel, is The Summoning (The HarperCollins Canada, 2014). She lives with her husband in Toronto.

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