5 Tips for choosing the perfect managed IT service provider

Digitizing business processes can help organizations stay competitive in today's fast-paced world. However, embarking on this journey alone can be challenging, which is why finding the right partner is essential. To help with your decision, we have provided a list of five “must-haves” when searching for a managed IT solution provider.

1) Proven success with other small businesses

A reliable partner should have a proven track record of helping small and medium-sized businesses successfully navigate business modernization. Look for evidence of their past and current results to ensure they can deliver the desired outcomes – your prospective partner should be upfront about these results. If they can’t be verified, you may have cause for concern.

Great providers will leverage their extensive experience to develop "best practices" to provide you with a stable and secure operating environment. They may recommend that you adopt these practices before becoming a client. When evaluating your current or potential service provider, think about their technology recommendations. Are they suggesting proactive changes to improve, secure and standardize your environment at the beginning of the relationship?

Read the guide, Protecting against cyber threats to learn how to safeguard your customers, people and business. 

2) Look for a partner who can accommodate your unique business needs

Every business has unique IT needs, and a good partner should be able to provide tailored solutions. Whether you require assistance in specific areas or a complete end-to-end solution, the partner should be flexible and willing to work alongside your in-house IT team.

It is also crucial to ensure that the provider can handle your essential business requirements – including any future needs – and provide proactive and strategic services to drive your business forward.

If you are looking to complete a specific project, like a technology upgrade, make sure the provider has the expertise to complete that project. More mature providers offer a more standardized service delivery platform, allowing for a far superior, polished experience as well as significantly greater value for your money.

3) Expertise in cybersecurity and compliance

Canadian companies are paying close to C$ 7 million per data breach, the third highest in the world, according to IBM.* With the increased risk of cyber threats, it is crucial to choose a partner with expertise in cybersecurity and data protection regulations. They should offer advanced threat protection, leveraging AI and machine learning for endpoint security.

4) Expertise in disaster recovery

Downtime can be detrimental to your business, so it's important to select a partner with expertise in disaster recovery. When your business connects to a cloud-based productivity solution, everything is backed up in real-time, and ready to recover just as fast.

An IT disaster recovery expert offering robust cloud solutions delivers not just data backup but will inspect systems and repair, replace, update or upgrade as needed. They will help you institute a system of reporting to meet privacy compliance mandates, and provide ongoing monitoring and testing so that your risk mitigation process evolves with the marketplace. They should provide robust cloud solutions that offer real-time data backup, system inspection and ongoing monitoring to mitigate risks.

5) Ability to integrate with advanced tools

Access to advanced tools is crucial for successful digitization. The ideal partner should be able to provide cutting-edge tools, at a fraction of the cost of sole purchase. An example is Microsoft 365 as it offers robust cloud productivity, data security and compliance. By finding a Microsoft Solutions Partner and Certified Cloud Solution Providers (CSP), you can leverage the power of Microsoft 365 Enterprise products and services.

Choosing the right partner to help you modernize operations is crucial for the success of your business. By considering factors such as prior success, custom solutions, cybersecurity expertise, disaster recovery capabilities, affordable access to enterprise tools‌ and alignment with your organization's values, you can make an informed decision.

Connect with a managed IT specialist today to learn how TELUS Business can help with your evolving IT needs.

*IBM, IBM Cost of a data breach report – Canadian businesses are being hit hard, 2023