5 Questions You Should Ask Your Current IT Provider TODAY

For businesses, public and governmental bodies, the use of a managed service provider (MSP) is essential to the smooth conduct of daily activities and long-term planning. A Deloitte survey found this view to be held by 57% of organisations.

If you work with an MSP, you will already benefit from cost savings, access to experts, pro-active support, swift response, ready-made infrastructure and the freedom it gives you to focus on your business. Here are just five of the questions you should ask your MSP to determine whether the current outsourcing arrangements for your IT services are working and if indeed you should amend your service level that you are currently receiving. A lot of new clients that we bring onboard have their security needs neglected by their current MSP or do not feel confident they are utilising the correct Office 365 plan for the business.

1. How are you protecting us from attackers and preventing unauthorised access to our data?

Cyber criminals take the approach that, since they have privileged access to potentially thousands of companies, MSPs are among the most lucrative targets. The security measures your IT provider has put in place are only as strong as their own defences. You should feel utterly confident that multi-factor authentication (MFA) is used for each technology support tool, all password storage locations and apps, and every mobile device. All employees of the MSP should be fully trained in the application and maintenance of all protections.

2. What are your plans for the future of our technology and IT systems?

Technology does not stand still. It is one of your IT provider’s most important functions to be identifying and deploying technology which automates workflows, enhances communication, centralises processes and reduces the risk of error. If your MSP genuinely understands the needs and objectives of your business, this should be second nature. They should be holding regular update meetings and keeping all measures and training programs under review.

3. What is your Incidence Response Plan?

Computer failure and data loss can occur for a variety of reasons from power interruption to fire, floods and malicious attack. Human error, too, can be simple and momentary but catastrophic. In extreme cases, the consequences can be fatal for a business. At the very least, the compromise of data which is now considered inevitable, may constitute a serious breach of compliance obligations. Your provider should help you determine measures to put in place to start planning for a disaster and end up with a comprehensive plan to ensure you are prepared to deal with any kind of major incident.

4. What is your training program for maximising the return on our investment in software and technology?

Too often a company signs up for a suite of products – Office 365, for example – and finds it is only using a fraction of its potential. Employees may quickly become accustomed to certain capabilities and ignore the rest. The most effective way of addressing this is to implement thorough training to empower you and your workforce in the full exploitation of some extremely powerful resources which are otherwise left idle.

5. Can you train our employees in the most current online and email threats?

Employees are the last line of defence, the work place weakest link and best route of access for attackers. Direct, regular IT training on all current issues is vital, but this should be backed up by a testing regime to measure how effectively the safety procedures and guidelines are being followed.

For Reflective IT your security and that of your customers is paramount. Through our unique partnership with KnowBe4, Cisco, Microsoft and Mimecast, we can provide you with an extensive range of security tools and help you manage a rigorous regime for testing both your workforce and your systems.

On average, businesses allocate 6.9% of their budgets to IT and invest in 120 IT security tools. There is no point in spending that much money unless you are sure of getting every penny of value from it. Reflective IT can help eliminate your weaknesses, maximise your resources and achieve your objectives. We offer desktop and server support, IT Security. cloud services, backup and recovery, communication solutions, IT consultation and long term business partnerships.

Call us now on 020 7317 4535 or email [email protected]