5 Tips For Choosing Managed IT Services Tampa

Properly managing your IT obligations is one of the most important responsibilities you have as a business owner. However, it is frequently recommended that you outsource to a professional.

If you’re struggling to choose managed it services Tampa, we’ve put together a short guide that can help you do so. Let’s dive in.

1. Are They Experienced in Working With Businesses Like Yours?

As you might guess, it’s imperative that you work with a provider who is highly experienced in catering to companies like yours. Otherwise, you might not be able to get the results that you are after.

To elaborate, it wouldn’t be in your best interest as a small business owner to work with the provider that typically handles the IT needs of larger organizations. The inverse is also true.

If your company is particularly expansive, you’ll need to work with a provider that has the infrastructure to accommodate your needs.

Determining whether or not your prospective managed service provider has experience in working with businesses like yours is the first step toward making the decision that is best for your company. You can often gain insight into this by researching on their website for their past projects.

Or, you can get in touch with them and ask what type of companies they often work with.

2. Do They Prioritize Security?

Unfortunately, the cybercrime industry is growing in value every day. By the end of 2025, industry experts have estimated that cybercrime as a whole will be worth over $10 trillion.

The majority of this money comes from data that hackers are able to compromise from businesses. So, it’s more important than ever before to place a heavy emphasis on the security of your company’s sensitive information.

If your managed service provider does not take the required steps to implement safeguards, you run the risk of a data breach. Not only could this result in expensive downtime, but you may even encounter legal issues.

To elaborate, businesses that operate within the healthcare space need to adhere to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). These regulations involve properly storing patient information in order to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.

Failure to do so could result in these individuals taking legal action against your company.

3. What Is Their Billing Process Like?

In order to have a comprehensive understanding of what you can expect to pay, you’ll need to inquire about your service provider’s billing process. Fortunately, this shouldn’t be a difficult process in most circumstances.

A reputable service provider should gladly be willing to provide you with a detailed breakdown of how they charge their clients. If they attempt to assure you that they don’t implement shady practices or deflect your inquiry, it’s best to look elsewhere.

The numbers will speak for themselves, and a look at their billing process is one of the only ways to determine what you will be charged.

You should also figure out whether or not they impose miscellaneous fees, such as equipment installation. Having an abundance of these can quickly add up and is likely a predatory practice implemented by a service provider.

4. Do They Offer a Service Level Agreement (SLA)?

For those who are unaware, a service level agreement declares that your managed service provider must consistently offer a certain level of service or performance. In context, this means that your business will always be able to take advantage of available network utility.

In the event that your provider does not adhere to the SLA, they are legally required to do all that they can to resolve the situation.

As you might guess, working with a provider that does not put this protection in place comes with significant risk. You will have virtually no guarantee that the provider is able to offer the level of performance they claim.

Additionally, they have no incentive to allocate more than the bare minimum in terms of resources.

So, keep this in mind when moving forward. The presence of an SLA is one of the most important attributes that you need to consider.

5. How Are Their Past Reviews?

By seeing what past customers have had to say, you can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the level of service you can expect. In general, online reviews will be fairly accurate. However, you should be wary of overly positive or overly negative reviews.

To clarify, let’s assume that you encounter a review that is partially negative. This may have been the result of an isolated incident, or it may have been falsely planted by a competitor to damage the reputation of that provider.

In contrast, a review that is highly positive and seems overly promotional may have been planted there by the provider itself in order to increase its reputation. More often than not, the most accurate reviews are ones that provide a detailed look at the experience the client had working with the managed service provider.

Finding Managed IT Services Tampa Might Seem Complicated

However, the process is not as complex as it seems. The above information will ensure that you are able to narrow down your decision among the Managed IT Services Tampa and find the one who’s best for you.

Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to get in touch with us today and see how we can help.