How to Choose a Managed IT Services Provider: A Comprehensive Checklist

by CME Editor | Aug 03, 2023

The world of business is becoming increasingly digitized, and the reliance on technology has never been higher. With this shift, the importance of choosing the right Managed IT Services Provider has become a critical business decision. According to Gartner, downtime can cost a company as much as $5,600 per minute, which is over $300,000 an hour.

This cost is not merely financial; the reputational damage can be equally, if not more, detrimental.

“In an age where digital capabilities are the backbone of successful businesses, securing efficient and reliable managed IT services isn’t just a consideration; it’s an absolute necessity,” says Danny Tehrani, CEO of Computers Made Easy

In this blog, we will provide you with a comprehensive managed IT services checklist and delve into the key questions you should be asking potential providers to ensure you make an informed and effective decision for your business.

Understanding Your IT Needs: The Managed IT Services Questionnaire

The first step in choosing a managed IT services provider is understanding your unique IT needs.

Developing an effective managed IT services questionnaire will help you identify your specific requirements and find potential providers who can meet them.

Consider questions around:

Your business size
The complexity of your systems
Your cybersecurity needs
And any industry-specific technology requirements you may have

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Qualifying the Managed IT Service Providers: The Managed Services Qualifying Questions

Once you’ve identified potential providers, the next step is to vet them thoroughly. Key areas to evaluate include their expertise, experience, and service offerings.

Managed services qualifying questions to ask may include:

What is your experience in our industry?
What services do you offer?
What is your approach to cybersecurity?

Deeper Diving into Provider Capabilities: Managed Services Questions to Ask

Going beyond the initial qualification stage, you’ll want to delve deeper into each provider’s capabilities and flexibility.

Ask about:

Their service level agreements (SLAs)
Problem-solving approach
Scalability options
And policies around data protection and recovery

Remember, the more information you can gather, the better your decision will be.

Discover more about managed IT services and become an expert on the subject:

Choosing the Best Match: How to Choose a Managed IT Provider

Having gathered all the necessary information, you are now ready to make a decision. According to a report from Spiceworks, 56% of companies choose their IT service provider based on their ability to meet future IT needs.

Consider factors such as:

Cost
Culture fit
And the potential for a long-term partnership when making your final decision

Table: Managed IT Services Checklist

No.	Steps to Choose an IT Service Provider	Questions to Ask
1.	Identify IT needs	What are our specific IT requirements?
2.	Qualify potential providers	What is your industry experience?
3.	Probe provider capabilities	What are your SLAs?
4.	Make the final decision	Can this provider meet our future IT needs?

Consider Applying this Managed IT Services Checklist to Computers Made Easy

Having gone through the selection process using our comprehensive managed IT services checklist, we recommend applying the same rigorous criteria when considering Computers Made Easy as a potential provider.

We invite you to reach out to our team for a free consultation where we can work together to diagnose your specific IT needs and explore how our services can best support your business.