Questions to Ask a Managed IT Services Provider Before You Sign

Day-to-day support is what your employees will notice first. Ask:

• When is the help desk available, and who answers? Find out the hours, whether calls reach a technician and what happens at night, on weekends and on holidays.
• What support is included, and what is billed separately? Ask which support is unlimited, which hours that covers and how after-hours calls, projects and onsite visits are billed.
• How are urgent problems handled? Ask how requests are prioritized, how urgent issues are picked up and how you can escalate when something is not moving.
• Can someone come on site? Most support is delivered remotely. Confirm where onsite visits are available and how they are scheduled.

A provider holds administrator access to your systems, so its security matters as much as yours. Ask:

• How do you protect our devices and accounts? Look for endpoint protection, security patching, multi-factor authentication and Microsoft 365 security as part of the service, not optional extras.
• Has your own security been independently audited? An independent audit, such as a SOC 2 Type II audit, shows how a provider protects the access it holds to your systems.
• How do you support our compliance requirements? If you work under HIPAA, SOC 2 or CMMC requirements, or answer cyber insurance questionnaires, ask how the provider documents controls and helps you answer them.
• What happens during a security incident? Ask who responds, how you are kept informed and what the provider does to contain the problem and restore systems. See our guide to ransomware protection for businesses.

Backups only matter when you need to restore something. Ask:

• What do you back up, and where is it kept? Confirm that servers, key applications and cloud data such as Microsoft 365 email and files are covered.
• How often are restores tested? Ask how recovery is tested and how you are told the results.
• How quickly can we be working again after an outage? Agree on how much recent data you can afford to lose and how long each system can be down, and ask how the provider’s plan meets those targets.

Clear pricing and fair terms prevent surprises later. Ask:

• How is the monthly price calculated? Providers may price per user, per device or by package. Ask what drives your price and how it changes when you add or remove people and devices.
• How long is the agreement? Ask about the term, renewal, notice period and any early termination fees.
• What is not included? Ask for a written list of exclusions, such as projects, hardware, software licensing and after-hours work.

Your business should stay in control of its own systems. Ask:

• Who owns our accounts and administrator access? Your business should own its domain name, Microsoft 365 tenant and software licenses, with administrator access documented and available to you.
• Will you document our systems, and do we get a copy? Ask what is documented, where it is kept and how you can see it.
• What happens if we decide to leave? A good provider describes its handover in writing before you sign: access, documentation and the removal of its tools. See how to switch managed IT providers.

Managed IT should help you plan ahead, not only fix problems. Ask:

• Will we have regular reviews? Ask how often the provider meets with leadership to review support trends, security, risks and upcoming needs.
• Do you help with budgets and technology roadmaps? Planning for equipment replacement, software changes and projects avoids surprises. See IT consulting and virtual CIO services and our IT budget planning guide.
• Can you work with our internal IT staff? If you have IT staff, ask whether the provider offers co-managed IT and how responsibilities are divided.

Be cautious with a provider that cannot explain its pricing in writing, avoids questions about its own security, keeps administrator access to itself or has no clear process for ending the agreement. Vague answers about backups, response or what is included usually lead to surprises after you sign.

Ask for the proposal, the agreement and the list of what is included before you decide, and compare them side by side.

• Help desk: Our help desk is available 24/7. Unlimited remote support is included in managed IT plans Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., excluding major holidays; help desk calls outside those hours are billed separately.
• Onsite support: available in the areas served by our offices in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York, with remote support for businesses nationwide.
• Security: TechStarters is a SOC 2 Type II audited managed service provider, and every managed workstation and server includes endpoint protection and security patching.
• Pricing: per device, with an annual or month-to-month agreement. See how managed IT pricing works.
• Getting started: every engagement starts with a free IT assessment and a written proposal.