A company with inadequate financial resources, limited experience and a narrow customer base might not be around for the long haul. Some analysts predict that up to half of the existing MSPs will either fail or be bought out in the next year. It s a new sector that is growing fast, so it is natural to expect a shakeout at some point, said Bishop. Any company considering an MSP should do its homework and ask the right questions. There is no doubt that the right provider can bring a lot of value to your organization, but you don t want to give the keys to the kingdom to somebody who is going to be out of business next year.
Technical competence is one area in which it is imperative to ask tough questions.
A competent provider should begin with an analysis of its potential customer s IT infrastructure to ensure it is ready to meet current and future demands. That might include an inventory of all hardware and software systems and components, support contracts, data backup requirements, system availability expectations and disaster recovery plans. Based upon that inventory, a knowledgeable MSP should be able to recommend any equipment, tools or configuration changes that might be necessary to improve performance and reliability. Flexibility is another important consideration. While an MSP can and should offer systems recommendations, it should not dictate what infrastructure systems the customer must put in place.