Managed services have been crucial for many organizations, helping them run efficiently and embrace new technology without getting distracted from the business's proper focus. During the pandemic, many organizations had time to reflect on their managed services and the value third-party providers bring.
Unfortunately, many of them realized that the services they were receiving weren’t what they had hoped for or expected.
Part of that is because of the expanded expectations of managed services. Today’s managed services are about more than keeping technology systems running. MS has evolved to include nearly everything, including equipment procurement, Mobile Device as a Service, contact centers, mobility management, lifecycle management, IT helpdesk, infrastructure support, and more.
If you’ve found yourself wondering if there is more your managed service provider (MSP) could or should be doing for you, you’re not alone. As you begin investigating the value your current provider brings, there are three critical questions regarding the managed services your company is receiving.
Question 1: Is your managed services provider continuing to innovate?
Technology changes rapidly, and it's reasonable to expect your provider to act as a partner, consulting and advising you on new opportunities and solutions that can keep you at the forefront of your industry.
However, after the honeymoon period, some companies find that their managed services provider stops collaborating and begins simply going through the motions. For instance, an organization with a five-year managed services contract may have a spectacular first year with its partner, but 18-months into the relationship, the provider only meets the contract requirements and nothing more.
Ideally, your provider is committed to being an innovator. At DMI, as we evolve, our managed services bring that back to every organization we work with. Consulting is baked into what we offer, ensuring that our customer's services evolve without incurring additional costs as we grow and change.
Question 2: Is your managed services provider transparent and honest with you?
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are crucial for the managed services contract. Certainly, all parties recognize that some issues may be out of the customer or the provider’s control. However, it’s a red flag when an MSP isn’t transparent with the metrics and data that indicate adherence to your SLAs.
A healthy, collaborative engagement with your provider should include transparency at its core. DMI was one of the first companies in the industry and remains one of the few MSPs that provides a real-time dashboard showing our performance against SLAs. DMI recognizes that a monthly report doesn’t paint the full picture. By offering up-to-date analytics to our clients, we can better collaborate and live up to the unparalleled managed services organizations should expect from their providers.
Question 3: Is your managed services provider a partner focused on supporting you in your quest to serve the end-user?
Who is the real end-user in a managed services arrangement? The leadership that contracts with the MSP is an important element. Still, the true end-users are the teams and individuals who receive the provider's services, from help desk support to optimization of environments.
The efficiency and ability of your organization to accomplish the work at hand rely on your provider answering the needs of the individuals doing the day-to-day tasks of the business. Therefore, those individuals need to be well served, and those end-users must be happy with the MSP's support.
Serving that end-user is a process that requires constant re-evaluation and improvement. DMI regularly conducts end-user workshops with clients, gaining in-person feedback from groups within an organization. The sessions help us better understand the needs of our clients and the perceptions of those closest to the services we provide. Once a workshop is completed, our teams take the improvements and recommendations from those users and apply them to every managed services client. This is how we ensure that we are improving and maintaining the highest levels of user satisfaction.
Conclusion
Your managed services provider should be a partner that enables innovation and competitive advantage. The above questions should indicate if your provider is coming up short. If so, it’s time to begin looking at alternatives.
DMI offers managed services at the highest level with best-in-breed capabilities and experienced experts. Combining reduced risks and costs with an enhanced skill set that would be difficult to match without extensive in-house expertise and a large IT department, DMI customizes our managed services to your organization’s needs. Contact us today to find out more about how DMI can elevate your business through managed services.
