7 key outsourcing questions to ask IT managed service providers

What is the difference between a strategic IT managed service provider and a tactical one? Knowing the answer could bring considerable value to your organization.

While tactical IT managed service providers (IT MSPs) will offer single solutions (such as help desk support) or reactive services (such as break/fix issues), a strategic IT MSP will take a proactive approach. They bring immediate and long-term value, using their resources and knowledge to enhance your business efficiency, scale with your organization and even elevate your corporate culture.

How can you be sure your IT managed service provider is the right fit for your organization? Start by asking these seven outsourcing questions when assessing providers.

1. How well do they understand our business and industry?

When evaluating managed service providers, this question should rise to the top. You cannot develop a strategic relationship with a service provider who does not understand your business.

Ask probing questions about their years of experience and proficiency levels. Do they know the compliance obligations for highly regulated industries like health care, financial services or government? Do they understand the nuances of Health Canada, or can they support the intricacies of a bioinformatics platform? The deeper their knowledge base, the more likely they will provide you with the technology, people and advice you need to improve aspects of your business.

2. How do they keep up with current and future cyberthreats?

With cyberattacks mushrooming in frequency and sophistication, companies must be vigilant. Yet trying to monitor systems and detect and respond to threats 24/7 is cost-prohibitive. The right IT MSP will offer round-the-clock monitoring to protect your systems and data comprehensively and cost-effectively.

Additionally, seek firms that use proven cybersecurity frameworks, such as ITIL and SOC 2 compliance. Then, dig deeper. Ask questions such as:

• What is their incident response plan, and how do they minimize business disruption?
• What are their plans to protect your critical infrastructure and systems, whether on-premises or in a private or public cloud?
• What qualifications do their cybersecurity professionals have?
• How does their team stay updated on best practices and emerging threats?

3. What is their approach to driving innovation through automation and AI?

Your competitors already use AI to optimize their business processes and make data-driven decisions. A strategic provider can recommend the right AI, machine learning and other tools to help you remain a market leader.

Ask questions about their AI proficiency, including:

• Do they use a centre of excellence model that aligns AI with our organizational goals?
• Which use cases will bring our organization the most value?
• What is their experience using copilots to improve workflows in areas like learning and development, tax automation and advanced decision-making?

4. What kind of resources do they require to manage the relationship—and what type of communication can we expect from them?

Leveraging the right managed IT services provider should free you and your staff from the rigours of overseeing in-house talent. However, you will still need to manage the relationships between your organization and the provider.

Avoid potential downstream headaches by asking vendors their ideal relationship management framework with questions like:

• Do they want a single point of contact, or are they comfortable working with an IT steering committee?
• What are their communication preferences?
• Can they commit to weekly, monthly or quarterly meetings to discuss results in detail, brainstorm fresh ideas and advise on the best next steps?

5. How will they scale their service model to meet our future needs?

A tactical IT MSP may seem like the perfect fit right now. But what will happen when your organization grows organically or experiences a merger or acquisition? To find out, give providers a hypothetical situation and ask how they’d adjust based on the changes. If you’re considering a cross-border expansion, ask about a provider’s globalization capabilities. For example, can they offer support for multilanguage help desks?

6. What additional services do they offer?

While you may want a provider to focus on a key area like cybersecurity, you should also ask how else they can move your business forward. Some examples of questions to ask include:

• Do they offer managed application services so a single provider can support enterprise applications (like Salesforce or D365)?
• Can they provide virtual CISO support?
• Will they be able to guide us through selecting and implementing a new enterprise resource planning or other mission-critical systems?
• Do they provide other outsourced solutions that can help your business, such as finance and tax, risk and human resources?

7. How will they track and measure success beyond the service level agreements (SLAs)?

Ask potential providers which benchmarks they will track for you, including uptime and incident response time. In addition, look for deeper ROI. How do they evaluate customer satisfaction? How will they measure their influence on organizational culture? What metrics will they use to quantify efficiency gains?

Uncover the answers that matter most

Evaluating managed services providers and forging a strategic relationship takes time and effort. While these questions create a solid foundation, be sure to do your own research, too. Start by exploring how RSM Catamaran delivers knowledgeable, experienced professionals and an integrated outsourcing service model to increase efficiency and regulate operating costs with their clients.