Should Oklahoma City Firms Always Trust Their Managed Services Provider?

Should Oklahoma City Firms Always Trust Their Managed Services Provider?

Blindfolded businessmanWhat’s your relationship with your managed services in Oklahoma City? Many businesses come to rely on the services provided by their MSPs. Often that reliance is so strong that firms cannot, or are afraid to, part with the service. There’s nothing wrong with trust and loyalty, but should you always trust your managed services provider?

Why Do You Trust Your Managed Services Provider?

Trust is important in all relationships. And you should trust your MSP. Unfortunately, not every MSP knows its business. Some are outright deceitful. What makes this worse is that many businesses trust their MSPs absolutely. Their word becomes law to your business.

If they say you need to upgrade, you will upgrade. If they say you need to transition to a different platform, you will likely do it, no matter the costs. This isn’t to scare you. It’s just to make you aware of some of the dangers of blindly trusting any third-party that you pay for services.

Why You Should Verify What the MSP Says

You should always attempt to analyze, verify, and double-check what an MSP tells you. Keep in mind that an MSP is a business like any other. A business needs to profit. Some will do it properly through providing excellent service and value. Some others will cut corners. Look for an MSP that doesn’t cut corners.

• Do you know how your MSP hires, trains, and vets its employees and technicians?
• Do you know its goals, and how it operates day-to-day?
• Do you know how it’s managed, or where its interests really are?

If your Oklahoma City managed services provider utilizes poor hiring practices, there’s no guarantee they will have the talent to handle your business. Yet, they will attempt to do so anyway, to the detriment of your business and budget.

If the MSP has a sloppy structure, or no history of excellent customer service, what makes you think they can offer your business quality performance? Don’t just verify what the MSP says, verify the MSP itself.

Take Cloud Computing for Example

Cloud computing and cloud-based software solutions are becoming the new norm for businesses and managed service providers alike. Cloud-solutions are:

• far more cost-effective,
• far more scalable,
• and far more convenient for businesses of all sizes.

These solutions work particularly well for small businesses. It’s even possible to fully run a business entirely from the cloud.

Yet, you will often find an MSP that tells you that cloud computing is faulty, full of security flaws, or too expensive. They will instead try to offer your hardware solutions and upgrades to outdated architecture.

Often, this is because some managed services providers are far behind the times. They themselves haven’t moved on to better platforms and cloud-based structures. So they have a vested interest in keeping their clients on the same level as themselves.

If you ask about cloud-solutions and features, they may give you a completely negative or incorrect assessment of it. This is why you should verify that information yourself. Don’t just take their word for it.

Shop Around for Knowledge

It’s not a given that your provider isn’t trustworthy, but you wouldn’t know without doing a little research yourself.

• Check claims out on the Internet
• See what others offer
• Evaluate the value of different offers
• Make decisions based on knowledge, not hearsay

Many providers of managed services in Oklahoma City are reputable, but you have to show care when making your choice. A good place to start, if you’re looking for a true IT partner for your business, is with EMSCO Solutions; start here: https://www.emscosolutions.com/.