10 Questions to Ask a Potential Co-Managed IT Firm in New Orleans

When you hire a new employee, do you show up without questions prepared? Probably not. The same goes for interviewing a potential Co-Managed IT Firm in New Orleans. The more you treat it like a defined recruitment process, the better off your business will be. We’ve been in hundreds of sales meetings with IT and other organization leaders. In this blog post, we’ve compiled some of the best questions that we’ve been asked over the years.

The person you are speaking to has refined their pitch and knows how to get to the root of your problem, especially as you move to more mature IT firms. You need to come equipped with questions that will uncover any red flags before it’s too late.

Questions to Ask a Potential Co-Managed IT Firm in New Orleans

1) Do you provide a per computer or user discount since I have in-house IT support?

The fact is, having an internal IT person is going to lighten the load of the Managed Service Provider. The organization either already has rates that compensate for the fact that your organization has internal IT, or they are willing to provide a credit on the per user or per computer fee.

2) Why should we partner with your IT firm?

This is the “alley-oop.” The rep has been waiting for this question. They have their Unique Selling Proposition ready, their metrics ready, customer satisfaction ready. You know it, they’ve got it. The reality of this question? It’s the primer for the next question which is much more meaningful.

3) Why shouldn’t we partner with you as our IT firm?

We’ve only been asked this question one time in all the meetings we’ve been in. It made us think. It’s the epitome of, “What is your greatest weakness?” If they say, “We are perfect,” then they are either lying or not human. Let’s start the partnership off with transparency.

By the way, the individual that asked me that question did end up hiring us despite our very honest answer. If you want to know our answer to this question, feel free to set up a meeting and ask!

4) What is your process for keeping up with the rapidly changing IT environment?

IT is changing in this new world. It takes a team of people constantly evaluating and updating best practices to stay up to date. This reason alone is why we do not recommend working with a smaller IT provider. If the organization is sub 5 employees, there is no way  they are putting the needed hours in to staying up to date. Ask this question and write down the answer. See how it compares depending on the maturity of  the organization.

5) How many customers do you currently support that have internal IT support?

This is very important. Consider asking this question, but it does not have to be a deal breaker. If you are the first, that may be fine with you. Set your expectations accordingly.

6) What role do you typically take on as the outsourced IT help?

In our infographic on successfully transitioning to Co-Managed IT, we discuss the importance of defining roles. It’s important to identify what aspects of the computer network the MSP will be managing. Is it the help desk, servers, backup or everything? Clearly define these roles with the provider and it will start the partnership off on the right track.

7) Are you willing to provide customer references that we can reach out to?

This one does not need much of an explanation. If the provider cannot provide references, it’s on to the next one.

8) Do you have a customer portal? What does it include?

This is another good way to gauge the maturity of the MSP. Do they have a defined portal for their customers? Does this vary for Co-Managed IT customers? If they say yes, then ask them how you would go about logging in. If they say no, this is a red flag and shows that they do not have processes as defined as they should be.

9) In your eyes, what is an ideal partnership with an in-house IT team?

This is a way to see if they are sincere with their answer or do they continue in “sell” mode?

10) What makes a partnership less than ideal?

An honest answer is great here. The outsourced team should be an extension of the internal IT department. You need to ask yourself whether you are ready to change your processes to accommodate the MSP or if you are going to require them to change their processes for you.

This question will help bring some of that to light. It’s also a good opportunity to follow up with the bigger discussion of process changes that will need to be made from both parties.

These questions will set you up for success with your upcoming conversations with potential IT firms. Make sure to write their answers down and compare answers from all providers.

Most likely, you will work with the chosen provider for many years, so it’s important to do your due diligence prior to signing up. We hope this is helpful for you. If you have any questions or would like to consider us as a potential co-managed IT firm in New Orleans, please contact us here.