If you’ve looked for someone to keep your business technology network in good shape and to serve the technology needs of your company, you’ve probably run across the phrase Managed Service Provider or MSP.  It’s one of those phrases that’s used a lot by people inside of the tech industry, but not so much by anyone else.

What is a Managed Service Provider anyway?  Aren’t they just tech support, or the people who keep your network running and help you buy equipment?  How are they different from companies that come fix technology problems when they happen at business offices?

Here are a few ways to know whether the company you’re talking to is a Managed Service Provider, or just a tech support company.


A Managed Service Provider Shares Risk

One of the reasons that a Managed Services model is attractive is that the MSP’s incentives are aligned with your own – a functioning network.  This is very different from traditional tech support companies, who make most of their money when your business isn’t making any at all because your systems are down.

MSPs are responsible for keeping your network up and running.  That means they should earn their money when you’re happy, not when you aren’t.  A managed service provider should be focused on reducing the amount of times you have to call them due to problems, and their business model shouldn’t work if they can’t keep their customers happy and operational the vast majority of the time.

Traditional technical support companies make money when you’re network is down.  They sell hours of service to get your equipment operational, but they can only earn that money when your network isn’t operating properly.

A Managed Service Provider Keeps Their Customers for Years

Because traditional technical support companies react to problems instead of preventing them, they don’t take a lot of time to really understand your network.  This reduces the upfront cost, but it also means they can never get very efficient at dealing with your network.

MSPs provide better and better support the longer they serve your company.  They take the time to understand your network to prevent the same problems from happening over and over again.  This lowers the burden of future work for them, and it lowers the number of problems your business will face in the future.

One key sign of a good MSP is that they’re only interested in selling to companies they believe they can keep over the long-term, because it’s in the best interests of both parties to have business relationships over years and not months.

A Managed Service Provider Cares About Their Customers

Because customer relationships become more beneficial over the years, MSPs should be focused on keeping their customers happy.  This comes through in a number of ways, including:

  •       ●  friendly, responsive service
  •       ●  a desire to understand your business goals, not just your hardware configuration
  •       ●  a lack of desire to ‘over-spec’ hardware unnecessarily
  •       ●  and most importantly, service quality that doesn’t decline over time

 
If your technology provider becomes less invested in your success after the initial sale, you’re probably not dealing with a great MSP.

To learn more about the benefits of using WingSwept as your Managed Service Provider, call ut at 919.779.0954 or email us at Team_WingSwept@WingSwept.com.