Managed Service Providers (MSP’s) provide companies that are looking to strengthen their overall IT performance a solution to IT management needs without having to invest in internal staff. However, not all IT Services South Florida companies are created equal. As the market for Managed Service Providers and outsourced IT continues to grow, the pressure on IT providers to meet rising customer expectations for performance standards as well as deliver efficient and cost effective technologies falls outside the scope of what some Managed Services providers are capable of delivering.
With our team members having worked in the Managed Services model for decades, User Friendly knows the common gaps that can lead to poor performance by MSP’s as well as the financial challenges MSP’s frequently create for their small business clients. Right now more than ever, South Florida small business clients are seeking IT service vendor relationships that can deliver an ideal balance of professional services that meet the demanding needs of their business along with outstanding value on a flexible and affordable pay-for-usage basis.
- Failure to Meet Proper Security & Compliance Requirements
Security breaches are a common frustration for business networks and many business have fallen prey to ransomware attacks and viruses. Because of this, the IT security needs of small and medium sized businesses has never been greater. Many small and mid-sized organizations would simply install a firewall or endpoint solution. In many cases, smaller business would have nothing but a router and perform local periodic backups. But today’s modern cybersecurity threats require more consistent and thorough solutions to protect the company firewall and data.
The protection of data and ensuring business continuity are the main reasons companies seek out IT professionals in the first place. Businesses expect guidance and support in developing a multi-faceted security strategy to help with not only decreasing the probability of attacks but in protecting vital company data should one take place. However, many providers of IT services South Florida are struggling to keep up with these increased demands. By either failing to implement a cohesive plan for security and data protection or offering “overkill” solutions that are expensive and unnecessary, many companies have decided to seek partners who can provide find more tailored solutions to meet the needs of their individual business.
- Recurring Issues
One of the promises made by nearly every MSP provider is proactive support services. Your smaller IT services South Florida providers simply don’t have the bandwidth to handle proactive support although none will tell you as much. In either scenario, clients often end up with recurring problems that their provider either does not or seemingly cannot fix quickly. Well-run IT companies utilize a combination of comprehensive web-based monitoring systems, incident tracking databases and consistent file documentation to facilitate the resolution of an incident when it arises. An unresolved recurring issue or a pattern of issues not getting resolved without repeated reminders is a telltale sign that your IT company is not tracking issues properly.
- Lack of Transparency
All businesses today are reliant on technology to operate but many businesses don’t have the bandwidth or tech savvy personnel to manage and keep track of their IT assets. This is why many South Florida businesses turn to IT service vendors to support their systems. But many businesses have learned the hard way that they cannot just simply trust their IT guy. A company must have real time access to all of their own company data, passwords and technology assets. Many businesses have, in a moment of need, found this information very difficult to pry out of their IT provider.
Also, a business needs to be able to see the work their IT provider does on their behalf and understand the condition of their systems. Have softwares been updated? How are computers performing relative to CPU usage? Do hard drives have adequate space? Finally, the business needs to be able to connect the service provided to the costs of outsourcing their IT in the first place. Poor communication has consistently been cited as one of the top reasons that companies leave their MSP.
Businesses today should expect their IT vendor to be able to provide them with real-time access to all of their company data and assets as well as some insight into the status of their infrastructure and historical billing information. These tools exist for the IT vendor to better manage their own business and to offer their customers the insight they deserve and require. The ability or lack thereof to provide this information will demonstrate the professionalism, honesty and technological savvy that every company large or small should look for in their IT services South Florida partner.
- Poor Response Time & Customer Service
Long wait times are one of the most common complaints businesses have with their IT providers. Businesses hire IT specialists to make sure that their technology is taken care of. When incidents arise, customers expect that their IT provider will work to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. A simple network outage could cost a small business thousands of dollars. When an MSP is overextended, response times and incident resolution times often suffer as a result. And when the customer is stuck in a contract with that MSP, the MSP may not have the immediate concern of losing the client that would incent them to act faster.
Customer service concerns, particularly as it relates to the attentiveness of the IT provider to the customer’s needs as well as the ease with which the customer can actually reach and communicate with the provider, are another cause of frustration with MSP’s and more commonly with “IT guys”. Companies often find communicating and getting solid customer service from their IT provider to be a problem. When a situation arises the last thing a customer wants to do is leave a message or talk to a computer. The lack of availability, responsiveness and basic communication skills is a major factor in why companies choose to seek new IT partners.
- High Fees/Lack of Value
Particularly in the midst of a recession when business tightens up and receivables are harder to come by, every expense becomes scrutinized. MSP’s generally come with extended contract terms, a recurring monthly billing structure and various billable services provided on a monthly basis. These fees can get quite expensive and there may be stretches where very little is required of the IT provider.
In tough time a business will naturally begin to question if they can save money on their IT expenses. When there are big decisions about managing cash flow, potential layoffs or other existential decisions about the health and future of a business, Information Technology is one of the areas where businesses are likely to review their expenses.
More SMB’s today are looking for greater value and flexibility. In this scenario being free from long term agreements, high fees and paying only for necessary and appropriate services becomes the objective. User Friendly Technology Services built a business model for SMB’s that does all of this and is intended to both provide maximum value in IT support services and create an inherent incentive for the IT vendor to always perform at a high level to keep its clients happy.
If your company is finding areas of concern with your existing IT services South Florida provider and you are seeking better options, be sure to ask about each of these points when reviewing whom to hire as your next IT partner.
At User Friendly Technology, we combine the best of what MSP’s have to offer with the pricing and flexible terms of an IT guy. And our Free Monitoring and Maintenance services keep us ahead of cyber threats to your network so that your small business can enjoy the security and protection of a large corporation. Talk to us today about how User Friendly can professionally protect and maintain your IT network at a price that your small business can comfortably afford.
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Linked In
