In recent years there’s been a surge in the adoption of managed IT services by small to midsized business (SMB) owners. More and more business owners and IT decision makers are seeing the value that managed service providers (MSPs) bring to the table. But not all MSPs are equal. If your business is struggling to keep up with increasing IT technology and you’re considering working with an MSP, here are four things a prospective MSP should be doing.

Planning not reacting

Some MSPs can get so caught up in working at what they do, that they forget to work on their own business. They’re too busy providing managed services for their clients that they don’t take a step back and work on expanding and improving their own company. The best MSPs aren’t just dedicated service providers, but they’re also constantly assessing themselves, monitoring the IT industry, and growing as a company. SMBs want MSPs that are constantly adding new services and making improvements to existing ones while maintaining a highly trained staff of IT professionals.

Focusing on an industry

In the world we live in, every industry is becoming increasingly specialized. The same goes for managed services. Managed Service Providers that don’t do this already are going to start narrowing their focus, either by specializing in offering services for a certain type of industry, or by specializing in a specific service for various industries. Managed service providers that try to do everything for everyone are going to have a harder time staying relevant in the ever-specializing world of IT.

Nurturing relationships with peers, vendors, and distributors

Any good MSP should know the value of having a strong network. To be a top MSP, providers will need to build a strong network with peers, vendors, and distributors. MSPs can serve their clients better when they’re forming relationships with other MSPs and learning from their successes and their mistakes. Strong vendor and distributor relationships are key because that enables MSPs to stay caught up with the latest software and allows them to offer the best service while staying competitive with their pricing.

Using assessment tools

The best MSPs will use assessment tools to show prospective clients the value of their services. Not only can these assessment tools be used to demonstrate why a prospective client needs managed services, it can also be used to track important metrics for each quarter to see what managed services is doing for that client. MSPs that invest in the best assessment tools will be the most capable when it comes to helping their clients succeed.

So when you’re in the market for a managed service provider, make sure you select a company that is more than a dedicated service provider, but a company that is working hard to grow itself and expand and improve the services it offers so it can continue to offer you the best possible service.

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Source: bsminfo.com/doc/the-top-attributes-of-successful-msps-0001