1. They can’t recover all your data after an incident
Things happen and that is why consistent backup and reliable recovery processes should be established and followed.
Not thoroughly, investigating and immediately addressing even minor issues in this area is a major red flag. Do not wait until a major incident to take action.
2. Poor Communication
Time is money and poor communication costs your business. A good technology service provider will be accurate and crisp in their communications at all times and will keep you informed at the status of all jobs they are doing for you.
3. Lack of reliable records
Your business also needs good information to make good decisions and plan adequately for the future.
Good It service providers will also keep good records of all activity linked to your network and contract and will be able to provide you with this information if you need it. They will also provide regular progress and performance reports to track issues and alignment with standards.
If you ask your service provider for a report on the history of a certain device for example, to decide if or when to replace it and they are not able to provide you the records associated with this device – then you are not really getting the service you need and you do not have full visibility of the state of your network and infrastructure.
4. Unplanned downtime
True Managed Technology Providers have robust systems in place to monitor the performance of your IT network. They will also provide you with strategic advice about your technology investment. This means for the most part they are in control of your IT infrastructure and should be able to prevent major issues before they occur and alert you about the emerging risks.
5. Slow or no follow-up
This means the communication within their team is not up to the task and their processes are week. Or you are just not taken very seriously. More to the point - you are the one covering the cost.
Whatever the reason, culture change is not an easy thing to fix and you will need to consider your options.
6. Sales calls instead of strategic guidance
Account management and strategic vCIO services are not the same thing. But you need both. If your agreement does not include a consultancy component as a regular feature, you need to look at better options.
If you do not have a technology strategy to future-proof your business, you are already falling behind – it is 2018 and technology is shaping everything you do.
7. Cost is hard to manage
Everyone likes the traditional break-fix model at the start, and pays dearly for it over the long run. As modern IT infrastructure becomes more complex, there is a lot that can go wrong, if it is not managed and maintained properly.
Traditional break-fix model leaves all the risk with you as business owner and over time the cost of reactive onsite visits becomes unpredictable and too much to absorb. If your provider is not happy to offer managed services package, start looking for new partnership and choose to invest in preventing problems, not putting out fires.
8. Unreliable support
If you feel the issues you face are not thoroughly investigated and the solutions you are offered are just a temporary fix that leaves you in a risky position – it is a no brainer.
Very soon, your IT costs will be eating into your bottom line, start to look for alternatives, both in the service model and the service provider, before this happens.
9. Do they add value to your bottom line?
Has you IT provider suggested an update of your systems or adoption of new application lately that improved your team’s performance? Are your systems well integrated, or your team is spending a lot of time to migrate data between the applications they use?
You need IT provider that will identify and work with you to improve processes and remove duplications through more holistic approach and an ongoing development work that will ensure your systems work at optimal efficiency and you use the right tools that will provide your team with the competitive edge you need to succeed.
“Don’t touch it, if it ain’t broken” is not a sound strategy when it comes to IT and it has not been for a while.
Not moving with the times and not upgrading your systems means you are getting slower and your services cost more.
If you experience chronic IT pain and your IT provider is not asking to meet you to offer implementing new solutions or fine-tuning your network, you are better off evaluating new IT partnership.