In today’s hyperconnected business world, your company and your people are only as good as the technology they have to work with. From annoying email glitches to major cybersecurity threats, if your IT support team is continually having to deal with minor issues your people are not working as effectively as they should be. No matter what your business does, your technology should support your organizational goals, not hinder them.

The truth is that most technical issues should be planned for and prevented by your IT provider, not your internal IT services team. If you have already engaged an IT provider but are still struggling with frequent or major technical headaches, it could be time to look into your options. Many organizational leaders cringe when they even think about switching IT providers because they fear that their current companies are thoroughly engrained in their day-to-day operations. In reality, it’s probably easier than you think to make a switch. Here are five key signs that may be pointing you in that direction. 

1. Small Technical Glitches are Rampant

No matter how experienced your IT provider is, they are not omniscient. They will not immediately understand every nuance of your system and the best ways to maximize its potential. In truth, it’s a job that’s never finished as systems should evolve. Part of what your IT provider should be doing is continually looking for ways to improve your operations and support your employees.

If your IT provider is instead spending the majority of its time continually fixing minor issues that are bogging down your employees, it’s a huge warning sign that something is off. Email, connectivity and blue screen issues should be a quick and easy fix for an experienced IT technician. If your MSP is struggling with these types of issues, it’s time to look elsewhere for the sake of employee productivity.

2. You and Your Provider Can’t Connect

Technology is essential to almost every business today – whether you run key aspects of your business through the cloud, rely on VoIP for your phone systems, or just need to keep your remote team connected via email and shared apps. Regardless of your level of connectivity, when one of your employees needs to access technical assistance, your IT provider should be able to offer immediate response and assistance. Ideally, you’ll have a dedicated IT technician who knows the intricacies of your systems. Lacking that, your IT provider should at least have a team of IT professionals who are well-versed in the systems you use and adept at troubleshooting them.

Your IT provider should feel like a true teammate, and the basis of establishing that partnership is continuous communication. If your team can’t reach your provider when you need them most, it might be time to look elsewhere.  

3. There’s No Proactive Approach

A good outsourced IT provider should ideally fill several roles within your organization. Of course, they should be there to fix any technical issues or challenges that crop up. Once those basics are covered, your IT provider should be looking ahead and taking a proactive approach to managing your IT. They should work with you to understand your business operations and make recommendations for proactive solutions that are realistic and affordable and help you address any necessary updates.

What are the types of things they should be working with you to implement? They should be looking into how and to what extent you should be transitioning to the cloud, exploring secure and flexible remote work options that allow your employees to collaborate internally and with clients, and examining backup systems to ensure data integrity and access in the event of a cyberattack. If your IT provider is not advising you on how to create strategic plans like these that allow your technology to evolve, you are moving backward in today’s hyper-connected world.  

4. Cybersecurity

The reality is that your organization will be a victim of cybercrime at some point, the only question is how damaging that attack will be. Why do we say that? Globally, cybercrime damages are predicted to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, according to a report by Cybersecurity Ventures. Last year, 86.2% of organizations surveyed for the CyberEdge Group 2021 Cyberthreat Defense Report were impacted by a successful cyberattack.

Your outsourced IT provider should have this new reality in mind and have systems in place to protect your organization. They should begin with a gap analysis to determine where you are now and see where you need to go. Among the pieces they should be putting into place are account protection and identity management; endpoint protection; secure networking; nextgen firewalls and cloud firewalls; securing your remote workforce, email, backups, and disaster recovery; and perhaps most critically, security operations to balance it all. If your outsourced IT provider isn’t bringing up topics like this, your organization may become a victim sooner than you think.

5. Growing Pains Hurt

As companies grow, they should be continually reassessing operations and strategies to see what is working and what needs to change. Unfortunately, many don’t look at their IT providers as part of that assessment process. Just like everything else, IT providers are not a one-size-fits-all solution. A small IT firm might know all your key people by name, but they may not have the resources to support a growing organization. On the flip side, some outsourced IT providers may be so large that they feel impersonal. The key to a successful relationship is partnering with an IT provider that is the right fit for your business now and being open to moving on if the need arises as your business grows. 

This doesn’t mean that your current IT provider isn’t a good company. They still may be doing exactly what you hired them to do. If your business has experienced a large amount of growth, it makes sense to periodically examine whether they still have the resources and knowledge to support that growth. It’s common to need an increased number of technicians to support a growing number of workstations or to require technicians with more specialized knowledge as your infrastructure evolves.

Next Steps

There are many signs that it might be time for your business to switch IT providers – and your team can probably give you a few more – these are just a few of the most common. Remember, your IT provider should be an integrated partner that not only puts out the proverbial IT fires that crop up for employees efficiently and quickly, but also takes a proactive, holistic view of your technology and operations. If you are paying for a firm that isn’t, it’s time to look for one that does. Ready to learn more? Reach out to us; we’re here to help you grow.