Look Out for These 7 Challenges with Managed IT Service Providers

Utilizing the services of a managed service provider (MSP)  can be game-changing for organizations of all sizes that have business critical IT infrastructure and applications A good MSP can help your business grow, reduce the risk of downtime and security breaches, improve the productivity of your team, and help create better customer experiences.

But managing complex IT environments is very difficult, and challenges can occur.  Since not all MSPs are created equal, it’s important to recognize typical IT managed services challenges that companies can have.

Some of these managed services challenges are more egregious than others. If you’re facing any of these issues with your own MSP, it may be time to switch to a new provider. 

7 Managed Services-Related Challenges That Signal it’s Time for Change 

1. Productivity-Busting Downtime

In today’s increasingly digital world, if a business’s network and devices aren’t functioning, neither is the business itself—not properly, at least. 

Outages aren’t just annoying; they’re a threat to productivity and cost your business dearly. For large enterprises, the costs associated with downtime can even enter the millions, with figures putting the average cost of downtime anywhere between $5,600 and $9,000 every minute. But downtime is not just a problem for large companies.Imagine the cost to your business if your email, website, accounting, scheduling, PoS or manufacturing systems were down.  That’s why many reputable MSPs include uptime in their service level agreements (SLAs).

If you’re constantly struggling to maintain business continuity, you can benefit greatly by switching to an MSP that offers an uptime guarantee.   

2. Poor Response Time and Follow Up

Is your MSP starting to make you feel like you’re just one in a long lineup of clients? Are your support tickets going unacknowledged for what seems like ages?

Even worse—are you the one telling your MSP about issues that they should be getting in touch about?

For many managed services providers, the challenges listed above can be the result of getting too big too soon, and of prioritizing getting new clients over maintaining quality service delivery for their existing ones. 

3. The Same Problems Keep Happening

If you’re constantly experiencing recurring IT issues, your managed services provider challenges likely stem from a failure in your MSP’s remote monitoring practices. 

Backups to the data center always failing? Server going down every other day? You shouldn’t have to tolerate anything that affects mission-critical factors within your system on a regular basis.  

4. Little to No Consideration for Cybersecurity 

Cybersecurity isn’t a “bonus” service that some MSPs might offer; it should always be a major focus and a core competency of your MSP

Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting MSPs; in fact, the number of attacks on managed service providers rose by 67% from 2020 to 2021. That’s why the best MSP is one that specializes in cybersecurity and integrates security services into all of its offerings. 

Be wary of MSPs that seem lax about security measures. A simple check if it’s easy for end-users to gain access to areas they shouldn’t? If your employees or clients can access sensitive data, so can cybercriminals. This is especially important as companies become increasingly globalized and more employees begin to work from home. 

1. They Offer No Input on Strategic Planning  

One of the biggest IT managed services challenges that businesses can face is with providers who don’t help their clients stay up-to-date. 

Good MSPs offer suggestions for new strategies that will not only support your business where it’s at but help it grow and adapt to changing technology. 

2. They’re Constantly Trying to Get You to Spend More 

Do you hear more from your MSP’s sales and marketing team than its engineers? Does your MSP’s business model seem to be more focused on gaining new clients than retaining them?

As important as it is for your managed service provider to suggest implementing meaningful, strategy-focused changes, a managed service provider that seems keen on pushing service offerings that come with a hefty price tag probably doesn’t have your best interests at heart. 

Trust your gut and don’t stick with MSPs who pressure you to add new services or products without thoroughly explaining their reasoning. 

3. A Particularly Unpleasant IT Managed Services Provider Challenge – Unpredictable Invoices 

Good MSPs increase your IT return on investment. It’s counterintuitive, then, if you find that you’re blowing your IT budget out of the water every single month due to unexpected charges.

MSPs whose rates are poorly communicated or ever-changing or who complete installations without your express permission (and then charge you for them) aren’t good for your bottom line. 

Initiate a conversation with your MSP to get to the bottom of the issue or better yet—switch to a more reliable partner. 

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Accepting Managed Services Providers Challenges Is Just Not Good Enough

How many of these boxes does your MSP tick? Even one is probably too many. 

At Netsurit, our comprehensive, security-forward services, customized pricing model, and service guarantees ensure that our customers are always secure and satisfied—and that they never have to face these seven managed services challenges again. 

Talk to us and find out how we don’t just support IT, we support the dreams of the doers.