Quality Managed Service Providers will go beyond simple monitoring and management by preventing problems and ensuring continuous improvement.
IT solutions today have redefined efficiency and effectiveness in any process, specifically in business operations. Yet the rapidly increasing reliance on IT is often not supported by resources needed for the complex IT environment. This is where managed service providers step in to provide professional assistance for businesses to assist in the delivery and management of IT operations. Despite this, the potential benefits of managed services can only be unlocked by selecting the right provider.
First, consider what kinds of services your business needs and which provider can best suit those needs. The provider selected needs an understanding of your unique service needs. This should be a priority, by offering more than just a “cookie cutter” solution. Giving you plenty of choices in your IT management are important so that your business can select the best option, whether it involves network speeds for each user or location, business-class voice services, range of equipment, or fee structures.
Also find out if providers are proactive in IT services management. Providers that take this approach will go beyond simple monitoring and management; preventing problems and ensuring continuous improvement are priorities to these providers. Sophisticated technology should elevate services to not only offer better solutions, but also to reduce human intervention to improve quality and productivity.
Managed service providers should measure up in terms of skills and experience. Providers should offer skills beyond basic maintenance and management to ensure that they are prepared to handle your requirements. Some areas to question your provider on may include: change management, virtualization, availability of staff, databases, security, cloud technologies, etc. It is crucial to ensure providers have the expertise across all delivery models so your business achieves an integrated multi-sourcing strategy.
Ensure that your provider is able to consistently provide services worldwide. Unified communication services globally are vital to supporting current and potential operations in various locations.
The success of business processes migrating to converged communications should depend on your provider using the ITIL standards. By ensuring that your provider is aligned with the best practices defined in ICT processes, customer service is optimized even on a global infrastructure, through quality delivery, SLAs, regular reporting and a control structure.
For more information on how we can help you choose the best managed service provider, contact us.