"Managed IT" means different things to different companies. For some it is just a help desk phone number. For others it is a full-time set of eyes on your systems. How do you know whether you are getting your money's worth?
Here is what a good provider does for a small business, month in and month out.
The routine work
- Patching. Computers, servers, firewalls and key applications updated on a schedule, with the important security fixes applied quickly.
- Monitoring. Problems like a failing drive, a full disk or an expired certificate get noticed before you do.
- Backups. Checked every day, and restored as a test at least once a quarter.
- Security. Endpoint protection, email filtering, multi-factor authentication and removal of accounts for people who have left.
The things people forget to ask about
- Documentation. You should be able to see what equipment and services you have, and what the passwords and renewal dates are, even if you never need to log in.
- Renewals. Domains, SSL certificates and licenses should never expire by surprise.
- Planning. A short conversation each quarter about what is aging out, what to budget for, and what to skip.
What you should see
- A plain-English summary of what was done, not a wall of jargon.
- Fast, human responses when something breaks. You should know who will answer the phone.
- Fixed, predictable pricing for the routine work, and an estimate before anything larger.
Red flags
- You cannot say when the last backup test was.
- Only one person knows the passwords and nothing is written down.
- You hear from your provider only when you are being billed.
We believe in doing the routine work quietly and telling you clearly what we did. If you want to compare what you have against this list, call or request a quote.