So you're considering bringing on an MSP but no one on the team knows the first thing about interviewing the 20+ companies that showed up in your Google search?
Whether this is the first time your company will engage outsourced IT services or something feels "off" about your current provider and you're simply exploring your options, No Phish Left Behind's guide will help streamline the process.
First, a few red flags to watch out for:
- The MSP has little to no web presence. Any company offering technology consultation ought to have their own house in order.
- The MSP evades the questions. If you begin questioning the MSP using this checklist and they don't give you straight answers, move on.
- During initial conversation, the MSP talks more about themselves than asking about you. A consultancy simply cannot effectively guide clients if they are not committed to learning more about them.
- You don't like the MSP's attitude. If, for any reason, something feels "off", move on.
Now, the Interview Checklist. You can ask these questions exactly as they're written, or use this as a guide to prepare your own.
12-Step MSP Interview Checklist
- Location. Where are you headquartered? What is your experience doing business in our area?
- Onsite Support. Can you effectively provide us onsite support when needed? How long would it typically take to have a technician onsite?
- Industry Expertise. Have you supported clients in our industry? What are some of the challenges you helped them through?
- Response & Resolution. What are your average response and resolution times? How do you track them? Will you offer us SLAs?
- Monitoring & Remediation. What systems will you monitor? Is the monitoring 24x7? What do you monitor on each system? What happens when your team receives a monitoring alert? Do we have to pay extra for automated remediation?
- Remote Tech Support. What days/hours is your support team available? Do we have after-hours support options? Will we incur any additional fees for after-hours support? How quickly can your team provide us remote support?
- Proactivity. What kind of proactive guidance should we expect from you?
- Governance. Is there any sort of oversight or account management on your end? Do you keep track of recurring issues and perform any internal quality assurance? How will you help us with vendor management? Do you outsource any of your work?
- Staffing. What do you look for when hiring technical employees? Will our service be impacted due to your staff turnover?
- Documentation. What all does your team document? How do you provide your customers access to that documentation?
- Security. How will you help us with security?
- Digital Marketing & SEO. How will you help us with our website, online presence, and search engine optimization?
As you go through this questionnaire with the MSPs you're considering, we think you'll be pleasantly surprise how easy it makes the process... and how few MSPs actually end up making the cut.
To download the checklist as a printable document, please visit https://www.scalablebiztech.com/downloads.
"Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success."
-- Henry Ford