As time passes and technology becomes more advanced, your IT infrastructure will only become more complex. Managed IT services can seem like the perfect solution, and they are – but only if your provider is doing their job properly. Unfortunately, not every managed service provider (MSP) is created equal.
So how do you know if your business is falling through the cracks? By performing a managed IT health check.
What is an IT Health Check?
An IT health check audit examines the stability, efficiency, and security of your current technological infrastructure. It is a critical process, allowing you to identify potential problems with your IT before the situation gets out of hand. Without regular IT health checks, you might experience:
- Downtime
- Cyber-attacks
- Inefficiences
- Errors
A managed IT health check uses many of the same metrics, but is slightly different. Instead of evaluating your overall IT setup, you are specifically looking at your MSP. This IT health check checklist allows you to quickly determine whether your managed services are actually contributing the value you expect them to.
Here are 7 important metrics you should keep an eye on. If your MSP starts to fail in any of these areas, it might be time to consider switching.
1. System Uptime
System uptime is arguably the most important metric to track. Extended downtime devastates your revenue, bringing operations to a screeching halt and damaging customer relationships. One of the main reasons businesses outsource their IT in the first place is to reduce the frequency of these occurrences.
If you work with a managed service provider, you should be seeing improved uptime and fewer overall crashes. Ideally, your business operations should function as normal 99.9% of the time. Anything lower, especially if there is no improvement from before you hired the MSP, may indicate that they are not pulling their weight.
2. Incident Response Readiness
If your on-site storage was wiped today, or you experienced a major cyber-attack, how long would it take you to recover? When performing your managed IT health check audit, confirm that they have a plan to help you handle data breaches, outages, and other emergencies. The best MSPs will also assist with backup solutions such as cloud computing, to ensure that your data is never lost.
If you have experienced an incident previously while working with this provider, you should also consider how long that recovery took – and whether it was any faster than it would have been on your own.
3. Cyber Security and Compliance
One of the main benefits your MSP should provide is a stronger security posture and improved compliance. When was the last time they successfully identified a vulnerability or potential threat that could endanger your business? Do they understand your unique industry regulations, and work to help you comply? Remember to perform an IT security health check, as it will allow you to spot any areas that are lacking.
Remember that your MSP should offer more than some fancy technological tools – they should also provide you with peace of mind that your sensitive data is safe from cyber threats.
4. Communication Skills
If you called or emailed your MSP right now to ask them a question, would they respond? Outsourcing is, at its core, a partnership. At bare minimum, your provider should:
- Respond quickly (within 24 hours) to communication attempts through their approved channels
- Be able to explain highly technical concepts in terms a layman can understand (this is essential for troubleshooting)
- Offer full transparency at all times
5. Staff Productivity
The best MSPs won’t just keep your systems running, but will proactively seek out inefficiencies that slow down your team. Ask yourself if staff productivity has increased since you hired them. Are employees getting more done with their day, or are they still regularly failing to meet deadlines?
While productivity issues by themselves may have many causes, this can still be an important metric. When combined with other IT-related problems, they could be a sign that your MSP isn’t right for you.
6. Issue Resolution
Responsiveness is about more than how quickly your MSP answers questions. It’s just as important to measure their reaction to errors and outages. While a good provider will reduce the likelihood of these things happening, it can never be completely eliminated. How well they handle these situations can separate the average MSPs from the best.
Questions to ask yourself include:
- Does my team need to inform the MSP of an issue, or have they already noticed it?
- How effectively do they resolve the issue?
- Does the same thing keep happening over and over, or did they find a way to prevent it in the future?
7. Cost Efficiency
Managed services should ultimately cost your business far less than an in-house team. They should also save you money indirectly, by boosting efficiency and reducing downtime. Make sure you revisit your current service package at budget time. If:
- You’re not seeing the value you expect
- Your monthly rate is rising without any clear justification
- You are frequently billed for out-of-scope tasks
Then you may need to start a conversation about altering your package or switching to a new provider.
Not currently outsourcing your IT? Here’s why you should
When Was Your Last Managed IT Health Check?
If you haven’t evaluated the health of your managed IT partnership recently, it’s about time you did. These check-ups are an important way of measuring whether your current provider still suits your needs, and identifying potential issues that need to be addressed. Next time you perform a general IT health check, take some extra time to evaluate your MSP as well. You might discover a lot that you never noticed before.
Do you need more information on managed IT services? You’re in luck. At Austin Technology, we’ve made it our mission to help businesses understand how outsourcing works and what benefits they can expect to gain. Explore our managed IT insights to learn everything you could ever need to know.
