Proactive IT Process with Managed Services

How to Tell if the Provider Has a Process

The definition of "managed services" often implies a proactive IT process, but sometimes you have to dig a little to get the assurance that the IT support services you are evaluating have the kind of approach that is going to get the results that give you the best return on your IT investments. This article will help guide your conversation and determine if the provider has a proactive and proven process.

IT Plan or Just IT Services?

Sometimes executives begin searching for managed it services because they recognize gaps in their current IT capabilities. So a conversation with a managed services company could start with a topic such as backup and disaster recovery, cloud hosting or mobile device management. That should be a starting point if you are looking for a proactive IT approach. True managed IT service providers will address your concerns in those areas but also show you how they fit in with an overall plan that is pointed toward your business goals.

Looking at the plan instead of just the services will help you to better assess your situation. While you have identified an authentic need for your company, there may be better initial courses of action than applying a technology tool. There could be a business issue or broken process that should first be addressed. A proactive managed IT services process will include technology products and services as part of the implementation, but they will be applied as a way to accomplish something that you want the business to do.

Business Objectives or Technology Tools?

People who work in technology love using technology tools, but when discussing with a potential provider as you choose a IT managed services company, the talk about tools shouldn’t monopolize the conversation. That’s not to say that questions about the specifications of services included in a proactive IT plan should not be discussed. The provider should be able to answer your questions and help you to understand how the service will contribute towards your objectives.

Technology tools are used by people who fill all the roles needed for a complete IT department. If the provider you are evaluating has a proactive IT approach, you will hear terms like problem-solving, system implementation and network administration; but you should also hear words like assess, plan and strategy, which imply a forward-looking approach.

Read: 5 Questions to Ask When You Are Evaluating an IT Managed Service Company

Business ROI or Just Monthly Deliverables?

Your expectations for how a managed IT services company will implement services are important. For example, the success of business continuity depends upon a reliable backup system, the security of your network depends in part upon your firewall and filters and automatic responses to potential issues depend upon a remote monitoring and management system. By themselves, these don’t automatically point to a proactive IT approach. It would help to consider how these things improve your business.

Measuring the success of your IT will be intertwined with how you measure your business success if the technology services have been implemented through a comprehensive IT strategy. IT strategy points activity and investment toward your business goals. The ROI from your technology becomes one of the ways that you measure your overall progress toward your business goals.

It Should Be About You

When evaluating managed IT services providers and determining which one has a proactive approach, your conversation should be more about you and what you want to achieve, not about them and what their tools can do.

Thriveon has a proven process for helping companies achieve business success with Information and Technology. We invite you to schedule a discovery meeting to explore how IT can power your business success.