<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=352585001801011&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Jim Parise

By: Jim Parise on January 24, 2025

Print/Save as PDF

How To Pick The Right MSP: 8 Criteria To Evaluate Managed IT Providers

Managed Services | IT Support

Choosing the right external managed IT service provider (MSP) is not a simple or quick undertaking. With the number of providers continuing to grow, the choices may seem endless.

What criteria should you use to evaluate different providers? What makes one MSP a better choice than another for your organization?

In this article, we’ll help you cut through the clutter by exploring 8 key factors you should consider when searching for an MSP to help you choose the right one for your business.

After reading this article, you’ll have a more thorough understanding of what to look for in a managed IT provider and the criteria for selecting an MSP.

This information will help you streamline your MSP search process and ultimately select a provider that can best support your ongoing IT needs and long-term business objectives.

8 Essential Criteria To Consider When Searching For A Managed IT Service Provider

When searching for the right managed IT service provider, it’s important to come up with a list of about three solid options to research and assess before deciding on an MSP partner.

Starting with too large of a list will likely only complicate matters.

Whether you’re newly entering the MSP marketplace, or you have an existing provider and the partnership isn't working out as you had anticipated, there are some basic parameters you should put in place for an effective search.

Here are 8 key considerations for how to choose managed IT support:

1. Your IT and business needs

The best place to start your search for an external MSP is to take a good look inside your own house.

Determine exactly why you need IT support: is it for a short-term issue, or is it something that will require continuous maintenance and management?

Having a thorough understanding of your specific IT needs will help you clearly define the services, solutions, and qualities of an MSP best suited for your business.

Once you’ve determined what you need and why, you can begin your search for an MSP with those qualifications.

2. Referrals

Whether buying a house, planning a vacation, or deciding on a career move, we all confer with family, friends, and industry connections to give us guidance on possible options.

The same can be said about searching for a managed IT services provider.

If you’re just starting out on your search for an MSP, use available resources to help you generate a short list of qualified providers to consider.

Are you a member of a peer group or local industry association? If so, talk to your industry counterparts and ask for recommendations from them about providers they’ve had success with.

3. Provider location

Decide if you’re comfortable working with a national MSP who may only offer remote support or impersonal service, or if you’d prefer to work with a local or regional provider.

4. Sales tactics

A big clue about what kind of managed IT provider you may be getting can come from your initial meetings. Pay attention to who from the MSP attends these meetings and what they choose to talk about.

Are they focused on going all-in with a hard sales pitch, making the meeting all about them? If they come with a proposal in hand at your preliminary meeting, that could be a significant red flag.

On the other hand, if they come prepared with a list of questions to learn more about your business, how you operate, your industry, what your IT challenges are, and your long-term vision for your business, then that’s a good sign that the provider has a genuine interest in your well-being and the success of your business.

An MSP worth their salt should be able to clearly articulate their process, core values, and what you can expect if you work with them.

Also, check out the MSP’s website to see if the company introduces its team members, provides informational IT-related content, and features customer reviews.

Such transparency goes a long way toward establishing a trusting relationship with your MSP partner.

5. Longevity

Find out how long the provider has been in business offering direct, managed IT support. Discover whether or not the provider has a particular specialization in your industry, and if so, whether they have existing customers within that industry.

6. IT and industry expertise

A foundational part of managed IT services is a virtual chief information officer, or vCIO. A member of the provider’s executive team, the vCIO plays a critical part in managed IT services.

The vCIO brings extensive experience, technical expertise, and broad industry knowledge to offer expert guidance to your business.

With a seat at the table of your executive leadership, the vCIO provides strategic IT planning and budgeting tailored to your business, aligning your IT needs and long-term business goals.

If the managed IT provider you’re considering doesn’t offer vCIO services, then that is likely a company to exclude from your search list.

It goes without saying that the provider should also offer—and be able to deliver—a comprehensive suite of services to meet your specific needs, including proactive maintenance, network monitoring, advanced cybersecurity tools, technical support, data backup and recovery, and disaster recovery and business continuity planning.


Related Article: Gain A Competitive Edge: Strategic vCIO And TAM Support in Managed IT 


7. Accessibility and responsiveness

Not all MSPs communicate in the same way.

When you contact a particular provider, do you feel like just a number, or are you getting personalized attention? You should feel as comfortable talking to the company president as you do speaking to a project manager or help desk engineer.

When deciding between MSPs, look for providers that make it a priority to respond to your queries within a reasonable time frame. You also want to look for managed IT companies that provide clear information about who the main points of contact are for your company.

8. References

An important but sometimes overlooked step in the MSP evaluation process is getting and checking their references.

Obtain a list of several current customers from the provider. Then, actually call them up to learn about their experience in working with that particular provider.

Asking the right questions can help you gain valuable insight into how the provider works and their performance track record to better assess if they might be a good fit to work with.

What’s The Bottom Line With Evaluating Managed IT Service Providers?

Finding the right MSP is not like walking into a convenience store and deciding which pack of gum to buy.

The process is one that should be made with deliberate care and forethought. After all, a managed IT company will gain an intimate knowledge of your organization’s inner workings.

Before entrusting your entire IT infrastructure with an external provider, it’s critical that you do your due diligence to thoroughly research and vet potential managed IT service companies.

After reading this article, you now know the essential criteria you should use to select and evaluate different managed IT service providers before deciding on one you feel confident working with.

With a solid foundation, your MSP partnership can develop into a lasting, mutually beneficial partnership.

Want to find out what is the value of a managed service provider? Read this article Managed IT Services: What’s Your True ROI? to discover how your business can benefit from managed IT support. 

Need help outlining your exact IT needs? Use the button below to get a no-cost, self-guided checklist to determine whether you have gaps in your infrastructure that managed IT support could help you address.

This checklist will help:

✔️Evaluate your current IT infrastructure and processes
✔️Identify your current IT gaps versus what your business needs
✔️Ensure that your organization has the technology it needs to be successful

Managed IT Checklist Banner (Active)

About Jim Parise

Jim, president of Kelser, is all about the integration of business and technology. He helps maintain our focus on how technology can help solve our clients’ business challenges.

Suggested Posts

Visit Our Learning Center