If you’re reading this, you’ve been maintaining your IT environment in one of two ways:
- You have an internal IT department who is in charge of your technology and keeping it functioning.
- Or, you are juggling your IT on your own and calling in an outside expert when something breaks that you can’t resolve.
Both of these solutions have potential problems.
For example, it can be costly to hire someone who can meet all of your IT needs, and internal IT departments often see high turnover rates. Handling your own IT problems takes you away from the operations that make you money, and break-fix IT solutions are less cost-effective in the long run.
However you’ve been maintaining your technology, managed IT services will be a change. While you should be excited, it’s also expected to have some hesitations. It’s your technology we’re talking about, the backbone to your operations.
The process of transitioning to a managed IT services provider (MSP) doesn’t have to be overwhelming. At The KR Group, we’ve helped our existing infrastructure, break-fix, and first-time customers get ahead of their IT needs through managed IT services.
You can put your nervousness aside as we explain what the process will look like. Here are a few pointers to help you better prepare for the transition to managed IT services:
- Signs you’re ready for managed IT services
- How to sign up for managed IT services
- What to expect as you transition from occasional client to managed services customer
Keep in mind that this isn’t an exhaustive list of what managed IT services will do for your business. For more information on what managed IT services look like, check out our guide.
Signs You’re Ready for Managed IT Services
The first step to signing up for managed services, new customer or not, is to ensure you’re ready to leap into outsourcing your IT services.
Some hallmark signs that it is time to consider managed IT services include:
- You don’t have a proactive plan for maintaining your IT, and you’re constantly responding to issues.
- You have a high turnover rate within your IT department that negatively affects your technology as a whole.
- You’re frequently outsourcing for support anyway because you or your staff doesn’t have the expertise to address all issues.
- You’re spending too much time thinking about IT problems or who will handle them.
Of course, some businesses choose to switch to managed IT services to take advantage of the benefits, such as redundancy, cost-effectiveness, and continual availability.
The important thing is that you know how you’ve been handling your technology is no longer sustainable, and you’re looking for a better option.
Now, let’s talk about what it looks like to get started with managed IT services.
How to Sign Up for Managed IT Services as an Existing IT Customer
If you’ve worked with an IT consulting company that offers managed IT services, you’re already a step ahead since you both have some general knowledge of each other. For example, you’ve likely met some of the engineers and understand the ticketing process.
By considering further partnering with the IT consultant, it means you trust them to handle your IT needs. This generally makes the transition to managed IT services simpler than your first encounter with an external IT company.
For the MSP, we already have an idea of your IT environment and company culture.
Regardless, your managed IT services contract still starts with an audit. Your MSP will have some knowledge of your IT environment since you’ve worked together before, but the audit allows the opportunity to look at it with a holistic approach.
Your MSP is looking to see what technology you have in place and if it is current and meets their standards. They’re also looking to see how many users you’ll have on your contract and if they’re full-time or part-time users. (You can read about the entire audit process in our article, “What to Expect During a Managed IT Services Audit.”)
What to Expect as a Managed IT Services Customer
After your MSP has audited your business’s IT and created a contract personalized to your needs, you can officially become a managed services customer.
They’ll walk you through the onboarding process, implement any new solutions you may need, and answer any questions you still have.
Once you’re officially a customer, your MSP monitors and maintains your IT environment for you. This means you’re no longer spending time worrying about your IT department or IT-related issues.
When you do have an issue, you can submit a ticket, and your MSP will address it as soon as possible.
Once you acclimate to managed IT services, your MSP will work with you to plan future technology needs and improve your IT environment.
Managed IT Services and Your Business
If you’re looking for a simpler way to manage your IT, outsourcing your company’s IT support and consulting an MSP is likely the best way to go.
If you’ve already worked with your MSP in other capacities, you’ll benefit from knowing the company and the MSP knowing yours.
The sign-up process will mostly be the same as if you were a new customer since your new MSP will need to evaluate your IT environment from a different perspective.
As you transition from a break-fix infrastructure services customer to a managed IT services client, juggling your own IT needs, or department becomes a thing of the past. Ideally, your MSP will handle your IT environment so well you rarely think about it.
To learn more about our managed IT services and the process of signing a contract, check out our free e-guide. You’ll learn more about our contract options, pricing, and services.
