The bigger the organization, the more susceptible it is to a barrage of often inconvenient and, in some cases, even seriously damaging problems as a result of security breaches, lapses in compliance, and more. Service providers can be a big help in managing all your information technology needs, but there are ten things you need to know or should at least consider, to help keep your professional relationships and system operations running smoothly.

1. Service Providers Are Your Friends – Nine times out of ten a service provider is hired specifically to make a positive impact for the overall sake of a company. Trust that they are not there to interfere or make things harder in any way. Service providers, unlike many in-house IT departments, have dedicated their entire lives and careers to learning everything there is to know about IT. Their only motivation is to do the job they were sent to do.
2. Clarity of Expectations – The only way for service providers to effectively do their jobs is if they are told what the goals of the organization are. Service providers can manage a vast assortment of IT applications and functionalities, so in order to get the most of the services you’re paying for, make sure there are clear priorities as well as transparency for achievement measurement to keep everyone on the same page and working seamlessly together. The best way to do this is to…
3. Clarify Communications – Company’s use different methods to communicate within their own organizations including phone, email, ticketing systems, or other more casual platforms. Everyone collectively communicating through predestined platforms ensures that important information can be easily monitored, secured, and flows swiftly and effortlessly to its intended recipient. Service providers must be open to learning and incorporating the preferred communication procedures to guarantee continued efficiency and productivity.
4. The Go-Between – Having multiple points of contact between two sides of IT can cause too many miscommunication issues. Suddenly no one knows what the most recent information and priorities are and then an entire company suffers. Pick one person both sides can agree on, and use only that one person to relay important messages and tasks. Make sure the person has the ability to work throughout the entire enterprise IT department to ensure seamless communication across the board.
5. As Needed Training – As systems change and new programs and applications are added, or new members join the team, the need for comprehensive training to ensure everyone is equally capable of managing these vital systems becomes increasingly crucial to the overall success of a company. Budgeting can be a pain, but paying for mistakes or errors because your team wasn’t properly trained is always much worse.
6. Know Your Stuff – Having a service provider come in and ask about your current infrastructure is a normal, and essential part of their ability to improve your systems. Have your organizational goals ready, to speed up the process and save on resources.
7. Understand Your Needs – In order for a company to effectively communicate their needs and expectations to a service provider, there has to be a comprehensive understanding of what problems need to be fixed. We can help you with this, but first we need to know what your goals are, as an organization. Allow us to come up with a plan to meet these objectives, within your budget.
8. Beware of IT “Experts” – Just because someone is an expert in one crucial area of IT, does not mean they have the broad all-encompassing knowledge to effectively manage the entire department. What may work for some, won’t work for all. You need to choose services that best fit your needs and service providers that are both equally knowledgeable on all matters across the board as well as open to frequent communication to ensure your specific needs are always being met.
9. Focus on Needs, not Tech – It might seem strange for an IT service provider to downplay the importance of the technology applications that make everything possible, but when it comes to making sure your systems are running smoothly it’s less about the tech and more about making sure it’s working the right way. It easy for people to think that a new device or piece of hardware can solve all your problems, but it’s the way you manage the systems and the approach you take that matters more. Technology cannot fix a problem, but service providers can use, or modify, that same technology to fix the problem.
10. Follow Professional Advice – The biggest piece of advice a professional service provider can give an organization of any size is to listen carefully and follow the advice given. Trust in their knowledge, education, and experience, trust in their motives, and trust in their professional abilities. It’s better for them, and it’s better for you.

As the partnerships concerning enterprise IT and service providers become even more crucial to the future success of both parties, the importance of maintaining the health of that relationship and preventing obstacles remains essential. There’s no need to fight for the control to do things your way if both sides can effectively work together to do what is best for the company. Discover how outsourcing all your critical information technology needs to Simplistic IT Solutions can help your business cut costs and more. Call Simplistic IT Solutions to learn more about our Managed Services Provider (MSP’s) and Cloud services at 972.416.1415 (office) or 855.211.1415 (toll free).

Simplistic IT Solutions offers a fully Dallas BBB vetted services warranty. We have not found any other Managed Services Providers (MSP’s) in the DFW Metroplex, that provides an upfront warranty. This warranty is on Simplistic IT Solutions’s website Home Page at the bottom. Such warranties usually require time consuming and burdensome negotiations.

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