Handing your IT to a managed services provider is an important decision. On paper, the offers look alike: support, monitoring, security, a monthly fee. The differences show up in the details. Here are seven questions to ask any provider, with our own answers, so you can compare.
The answers below describe how we approach managed IT. The services included for your organization, the support arrangements and each party’s responsibilities are confirmed in your proposal and agreement.
1. Who watches my systems at night and on weekends?
A cyberattack does not keep office hours. Ask whether monitoring is continuous and who analyzes security alerts. With us, your workstations and servers are monitored 24/7, and endpoint protection relies on a managed detection and response service with a 24/7 security operations centre (MDR / SOC). A compromised workstation can be isolated from the network remotely. Our help desk, for its part, answers during business hours.
2. Who owns my access and documentation?
This is the question people forget, until the day they want to change providers. Administrator accounts, your environment’s documentation and your data should belong to you. That is our rule: if you leave, we hand over everything needed for an orderly transition.
3. Are my backups tested?
A backup is only worth something if it can be restored. Ask what is backed up (servers, critical workstations, Microsoft 365) and how the provider checks that restores work. We monitor backups and run restore tests to check that data can be recovered.
4. Can you come on-site?
Most requests are resolved remotely, but a failed firewall or a new workstation to install sometimes needs someone on-site. Check the area covered. We travel across the Laurentides, Lanaudière, Laval and Montréal.
5. In which language will my staff be served?
A technical problem is easier to explain in your own language. Check whether your staff will be served in the one they prefer. Our team answers in French or English, whichever the person prefers.
6. What happens to our in-house IT person?
If you already have someone responsible for IT, a good provider supports them rather than replacing them. Our co-managed offer leaves your in-house resource the tasks they know well and adds 24/7 monitoring, security, tools and backup for projects and vacations. Each party’s responsibilities are set out in writing.
7. How will we plan ahead?
Ask how the provider identifies risks and helps you plan equipment replacements, projects and budget. We agree on a review schedule for the managed service. The discussion covers the condition of your systems, significant risks, upcoming projects and the budget needed to act on the priorities.
And the price?
A monthly fee is hard to compare between providers without knowing what it includes. Ask for a written proposal and compare them on the same basis: included services, exclusions, support hours, each party’s responsibilities and the agreement’s duration. Ours follows an assessment of your environment, and the fee mainly depends on the number of users, workstations and servers, the level of security and backup required, and whether management is full or co-managed.
A team that goes beyond the workstation
Our team also handles 3CX phone systems, integrations between your software, custom development and your websites. When your phone system, your CRM and your workstations are with the same team, a problem that spans several systems has a single point of contact.
To see how these answers apply to your business, explore our managed IT services or request an assessment.
