The benefits of outsourcing the management of your IT to an experienced local provider are well known. In addition to cost savings, it can result in broader support with a larger pool of experts and technical resources than your organization would normally be able to afford. This lets your in-house IT team focus on strategic business issues that go right to the bottom line.

It is important to start the relationship with your managed service provider (MSP) on the right footing. To make the transition as easy as possible, here are some suggestions to make things go smoothly…

• Communicate expectations and objectives. It is important to discuss expectations with your MSP; specifically, who will be responsible for what. Let your MSP know what you’re trying to accomplish with the transition and what you’re trying to accomplish overall as a business. Once you’re certain everybody is on the same page, you’ve taken the first step to ensuring success.
• Understand your current IT. Task IT managers or contract your MSP to perform a full analysis of your network and computing resources. Nobody likes surprises, so let the MSP know of any areas you’ve been having trouble with so they can be prepared to deal with these issues.
• Prioritize the transition. If you plan to make a complete switch to managed services, or even switch a large number of your services, it’s a good idea to proceed incrementally. By handing off unessential services first, you can get a sense of how managed services work and how your business responds under the arrangement. If there are any hiccups, you will have an opportunity to check the MSP’s response before turning over more critical services.
• Establish routes of communication. It is important that both organizations know the best way to reach one another. Both parties must understand how status updates take place, what information should be reported, and the frequency. With clear lines of communication, neither party will face unpleasant surprises.

To learn more about how you can successfully transition to managed IT services to achieve maximum efficiency and cost savings, contact DataLink today at 410.729.0440 or sales@DataLinkTech.com.