How Is Your IT Provider Handling COVID-19?
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions of organizations to quickly adapt to new ways of doing business as the majority of the world’s population was ordered to stay at home. This rapid overhaul of company policy, expectations, and technology needs has proven that an organization is only as resilient as their IT department or managed service provider is.
Has your IT provider risen to the occasion? Have they stepped up to provide innovative solutions at this critical moment? Now that the dust has settled a little, it may be time to evaluate their performance in the face of this unprecedented crisis.
Things to Consider
As you evaluate your current managed service provider (MSP), it’s important to consider whether their efforts have empowered your organization and your employees or if outdated practices have hindered operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are a few red flags to be mindful of:
Long response time
Have you experienced slower responses with longer wait times during this crisis? Do you feel like you’re constantly having to ask for updates? These are likely signs that your IT provider can’t keep up with your needs or isn’t prepared to operate with reduced staff. Business continuity is something all providers should have already been planning for.
Staff is not working remotely
If you are working remotely, but your IT provider is not, that’s a major red flag. This means that they are not prepared to manage their own remote workforce - so you shouldn’t expect them to successfully manage yours.
Lack of cybersecurity practices
Working remotely, no doubt, opens your network up to a host of new potential breaches. If you can access your organization’s data without multi-factor authentication your provider is putting your network at great risk.
Lots of changes
If your provider has been making constant configuration changes since the beginning of this crisis, that likely means your network wasn’t configured properly from the start.
Lack of communication
How often are you hearing from your provider? If your account manager is not in regular communication with you, they are not ensuring that your needs are being met. Not only should they be reassuring you that they are managing your IT environment, but they should also be checking in regularly and passing along any relevant information or educational updates they are aware of.
So, did they measure up?
If one or more of these red flags came up during your evaluation, it may be time to consider dropping your current provider.
This can sound terrifying. We know. But the benefits of doing so will likely outweigh the risks and costs. A competent fully managed IT service company can make the switch cost-effective and relatively seamless.
Outside of cost and time factors, the biggest risk for your organization is availability or security incidents for end-users during the transition. These are very real risks, but the risk of continuing to to work with an underperforming provider is far greater.
How to choose a replacement.
If you’ve decided to make the switch, here are a few questions to consider.
Does the provider have experience in your line of business?
Do they propose solutions that can scale, operationally and financially, with your organization?
Are they including security and cloud-based solutions in their offering?
Do they have evidence of their quality of work to back up their claims?
Can the provider weather this storm, and any others that come up in the future?
As a fully managed IT service provider, Kotman Technology can confidently answer yes to all of these questions. For us, managed services doesn't mean one-size-fits-all. Our solutions are tailor-made and this approach has resulted in a customer retention of over 98% for the past 10 years. We pride ourselves on being the last technology partner you'll ever need.
Kotman Technology has been delivering comprehensive technology solutions to clients in California and Michigan for nearly two decades. Contact us today to experience the Kotman Difference.