Technology is woven into every part of a modern business, and it is changing faster than most owners can keep up with. That is exactly why so many companies partner with a third-party managed service provider (MSP). The right MSP secures your IT, delivers solid and flexible solutions, and acts like an extension of your team. The wrong one costs you money, time, and sleep.
The question I hear most often from Tulsa business owners is some version of: “How do I know if I have the right MSP?” Whether you are evaluating the provider you already have or starting the search for a new one, you are really making the same decision, just at different stages. This guide covers both. First, how to assess the MSP you are currently working with. Then, how to vet and select a new one if the answers don’t add up.
Evaluating the MSP You Already Have
One of the best ways to objectively evaluate a managed service provider is through metrics. Any reputable MSP should be able to produce numbers that speak to the effectiveness of their service. But metrics alone don’t tell the whole story. The right MSP proactively addresses your tech issues, keeps you informed about what they are doing and why, and offers fast, reliable support around the clock. Here are the areas where gaps tend to show up.
1. Scalability
As your business grows, your MSP’s services should grow with you. Is your provider taking the time to understand your operations and recommending solutions that fit future goals, not just today’s problems?
Review these with your MSP:
- IT consultation and planning strategy
- Digital roadmapping (present and future growth)
- Flexible add-on services
2. Support and Response Times
In IT, speed matters. Whether you are dealing with a cyber security threat, a user issue, or a full-blown disaster recovery scenario, you need a team that moves quickly. Review:
- 24/7/365 chat or call support
- A dedicated technical account manager
- Clearly defined service level agreements for response and uptime
- Real-time reporting on open issues
- Comprehensive backup and disaster recovery (DR) services
- Client testimonials on responsiveness
- Accessible knowledge base
3. Proactive and Preventative Solutions
The right MSP is focused on the long-term success of your business. They don’t operate with a “you break it, we fix it” mentality. They prevent problems before you feel them.
- 24/7 environment and systems monitoring
- Operating system and security patching
- Common application patching and updates
- Consultation on strategic IT initiatives
- Regular technology review meetings, especially around security
- Dedicated technical consultation and issue response
- Centralized IT solutions
- Live help desk availability
4. Data Monitoring and Reporting
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Your MSP should be monitoring, analyzing, and reporting every month so problems get caught before they become downtime.
- Performance reporting
- Process documentation
- Automated patch management
- Regular server and network monitoring
5. Experience
You are trusting an MSP with your livelihood. A well-established, reputable provider will understand the core competencies needed to successfully drive your small business or enterprise forward.
- Certifications and proven experience
- Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
- Industry partnerships (Microsoft, Cisco, HP, and so on)
- A full support team with tenure
- Informative blog posts and downloadable resources
- Clearly defined service offerings and SLAs
6. Security (Including Their Own)
Your MSP should be concerned with your security. But are they concerned with their own? MSPs have become high-value targets for cyber breaches, and when an MSP gets compromised, every client connected to them can be compromised too. The threat was prevalent enough that the U.S. Secret Service sent out a memo directly referencing compromised managed service providers.
As the saying goes, it is not uncommon for the cobbler’s wife to have no shoes. Make sure your cobbler has their own house in order before you trust them with yours. Review:
- Multi-factor authentication for administrative access to your systems
- MFA on all third-party tools they use: cloud antivirus, RMM, remote access agents (ConnectWise Control, Splashtop, TeamViewer), and knowledge base systems
- Documented patch management for every piece of management software they run, both internally and on client machines
- Change management systems
- A professional services automation (PSA) tool that tracks every service request, work log, and resolution
- SOC 2 Type 1 or higher certification
- CMMC RP and RPO if they work in DoD space
- Documented HIPAA understanding and implementation if you are in a HIPAA-regulated industry
Know When It’s Time to Switch
Change isn’t easy, but sticking with the wrong MSP is worse. If you are seeing any of these signs, it is probably time to start looking:
- Cost keeps going up with no improvement in service
- Response times are getting slower, not faster
- They are behind on the latest technology
- They can’t speak to current compliance rules and regulations in your industry
- Breaches or near-misses are happening on their watch
- They are reactive to cyber threats instead of proactive
You don’t have to settle for lackluster support. There is a wide range of MSPs out there, and no two operate the same way. If you can’t check all the boxes on your MSP performance checklist, it is time to interview new providers.
Selecting a New MSP: What to Ask and Look For
Choosing an IT partner is daunting because on the surface many MSPs look the same. The differences show up in the details. Take it one step at a time and use these questions to separate the real partners from the pitch decks.
- Does the company provide a list of IT services that align with your needs? Do those services look like a core part of the business, or an afterthought?
- Does the company website show the team? Do the employees look happy? IT is a stressful job, and burned-out engineers are the ones who miss tickets.
- Can the company list certifications and partnerships relevant to what you need? If you need Microsoft 365 support, are they a certified Microsoft partner with engineers to match?
- Can they describe their pricing structure clearly? Is there a minimum contract? Can they provide a pricing estimate based on the size and complexity of your company, with out-of-scope costs factored in?
- For work outside the service agreement, will they provide a description of available services and the related pricing in writing?
- Can they describe their success meeting SLAs and give examples?
- How is their help desk organized? Can they support call volumes of 50 or more trouble tickets per month without falling behind?
- Do they provide security training to both clients and their own employees?
- How do they handle a breach or active cyber attack? What measures kick in, and have they helped clients build customized response plans?
- Can they provide multiple client references, including at least one from a company similar in size to yours (company name, contact info, industry, length of relationship)?
The Good, the Fast, and the Cheap
In service industries like plumbing, electrical, and IT, there is an old concept called the “Unattainable Triangle” with three points: Good, Fast, and Cheap. You generally get to pick two. A good, fast, and cheap IT provider is not going to be easy to find, because the combination essentially doesn’t exist.
- Good and Fast (won’t be cheap)
- Good and Cheap (won’t be fast)
No provider can guarantee resolution time on every ticket. The real differentiator is how they respond, not how fast the phone gets picked up. Ask prospective MSPs to walk you through their process for mission-critical issues:
- Is every support call worked by your lowest tier tech, or do tickets get routed based on severity, urgency, and complexity?
- What is the average time to resolve a mission-critical issue?
- What is your minimum time before a Tier 1 tech escalates to Tier 2 or higher?
- Do you track a single-touch resolution metric?
First-Meeting Prerequisites
Beyond the checklist, a few things should come through in the very first meeting.
- How well does the MSP know your industry? Do they understand the software, compliance, and regulatory realities you live with every day?
- How well do they know you? Did they take time to look at your website or recent press before the meeting? Do they understand your mission and values? You are about to share a lot of sensitive systems with this partner.
- Do they speak your language? A good MSP identifies with you on your level instead of drowning you in jargon. If they can’t explain their service plainly, they probably can’t explain your outage plainly either.
Consider these prerequisites that have to be met before a second meeting is worth scheduling.
Know What Your Business Actually Needs
Not every business needs the same level of service, and as an MSP we would be happy to tell you we are the right fit for everyone. The truth is, we aren’t, and neither is anybody else. How much you need depends on how badly tech issues actually hurt your business. Walk through these scenarios:
- Your systems go offline for an hour. How painful is the cost?
- You lose all of your electronic data, software, and configurations. Does the business survive, or does it take weeks, months, or years to recover?
- A threat actor steals your data and releases it publicly. What does that do to your reputation and contracts?
- That same threat actor holds the data ransom for $1,000,000. Could you pay, or would you lose it all?
- Someone compromises your email and uses it to request funds from your vendors or your clients.
- A natural disaster hits the office and you don’t have the right insurance or backup in place.
If any of those scenarios are existential threats to your business, your MSP needs to be built to prevent them, not just apologize after. A good Choose IT Support Checklist captures the pieces that drive the answer: your business tech needs and stats, your company goals, any compliance areas in play, your data backup and disaster recovery plan (including RTO and RPO), your cyber security tools and practices, and how downtime actually impacts your operation. Bring it to every conversation. Comparing quotes is easier when every provider is working from the same information.
Make the Right Decision for Your Business
After a handful of interviews, the decision gets easier. The right MSP acts in the best interest of your growth, productivity, and profitability. The wrong one delivers low-end support at high-end prices and quietly holds the business back. A great IT team should be transformative in all the right ways.
IT touches every part of your organization and directly affects your ability to adapt, compete, and grow. Finding the right partner is critical. If you are on the hunt for an IT services provider, or you already have one and aren’t happy, contacting the team at ArcLight is a good place to start. Book a meeting with us and we’ll help you land on the right IT solutions partner for your Tulsa business.
Brian Largent
Father to five, husband to one, founder, CEO, and all around swell fella (or so I'm told)
