When given the choice, everyone would prefer to be proactive over reactive. In fact, almost everyone would consider themselves proactive in life despite many of us being very reactive day to day.
This is no different when it comes to Managed IT Service Providers (MSPs). Almost every MSP claims to be proactive and strategic, despite the fact that most operate almost entirely reactive.
Why is that? It may not be intentional. Being proactive requires a lot of structure and discipline. The repetitive spiral of urgent tasks can be a difficult trap to escape. If however you’re wanting a proactive IT experience, it’s important to know how to find a truly proactive provider, not just one intending to be.
In this post we’re going to be looking at some of the common signs that your proactive IT partner may not be operating as proactively as they claim, and discuss the ways in which you can find out if a company you’re talking to is what they are claiming to be.
What is proactive IT?
Proactive IT is an approach to technology management where the focus is on anticipating and preventing issues before they cause disruption. Think fire prevention over fire fighting; the core idea is that a little more effort up front can save a lot of time, disruptions and damage down the road.
Common items often associated with proactive IT include monitoring, maintenance and regular updates. Whilst these tasks have an element of proactivity to them, they are inherently still reactive as they all require an event, alert or notification to occur. It’s important to react to these alerts, but it is still reacting.
A truly proactive approach to IT management should result in:
- A measurable reduction in the quantity of issues.
- A measurable reduction in the severity of issues.
- An ongoing discovery and mitigation of risks.
- An ongoing discovery and implementation of improvements.
- Overall increase in the effectiveness and productivity of staff.
This is largely achieved through a continual improvement process of developing and adopting robust documentation, processes and best practices. Regular audits, discussions and planning bring about measurable change that positively impacts the bottom line. Ironically, being proactive with IT has very little to do with the IT itself.
Why would you want a proactive MSP?
There’s nothing wrong with responsiveness, in fact, it’s commonly top of everyone’s list when they’re looking for a new MSP. That said, if your primary concern is your teams productivity, you need to consider all the factors that are slowing them down.
When you consider the impact of poor responsiveness (disruption) there are other factors at play:
- Overall quantity of issues
- Severity and complexity of issues.
- Speed of which issues are solved.
When an MSP focusses on primarily on response time, less resources are spent on proactive measures (standardisation, best practice and documentation). You can see a breakdown of how this plays out here.
In short, if your goal is greater productivity, a proactive approach will have you 5x better off.
How to know if you’re getting proactive services
Whilst you will have some idea based on your overall results & experience, it can be difficult to know if you’re truly getting proactive services or just the illusion of it. Some key things to look for include:
Recommendations vs Quotations
A proactive MSP will actively bring you recommendations to improve your business, reduce your risk or remediate ongoing issues. Often these recommendations will require investment and may come with a proposal or quotation, but they shouldn’t always.
A good example is in the area of cybersecurity. In our experience, approximately 70% of the recommendations we make to clients are configuration changes of existing systems. This means that most of our security recommendations cost our clients $0. Inversely, if 50% or more of your recommendations come with a price tag, you’re not getting recommendations, you’re getting a sales pitch.
Too many quotes and proposals is a sign of sales activity, not proactiveness. That’s not to say that the quotes can’t be beneficial, just that the provider is putting their needs ahead of yours.
Deliverables vs Outcomes
There’s a difference between deliverables and outcomes. Deliverables are the things you will be getting, outcomes are the results of having them. In IT, a deliverable could be fast response times, the outcome is greater productivity.
Any recommendation presented will have deliverables, the absence of stated outcomes however should be considered a red flag. Why? because true proactivity requires a level of understanding of your business and the impact that certain actions will have. Proactivity is borne out of desired outcomes. It’s not possible to provide a proactive recommendation without knowing the intended result.
Demonstrated Value vs Impressive Features
When presenting a solution is your IT provider able to demonstrate its value to you? New technology, tools and applications that boast impressive features and success in the industry, can often come without any evidence that it will have any material benefit to your business.
Introducing advances in technology can feel proactive however is often just a thinly veiled sales exercise. That’s not to say that there may not be value in the offering, but your provider should be able to demonstrate the value to you, not simply rattle off the features and explain that it’s the new industry norm.
The best luggage in the world has no value to someone that doesn’t travel. Proactiveness needs to be tailored to you and your needs if it is going to be effective.
Questions to ask an MSP
So you’re fed up with reactive IT and want to find a partner that’s more proactive. Great, but how will you know if the companies you’re looking at are truly proactive or just presenting as such? There are a few things you can ask to identify the DNA of an MSP that should improve your chances of finding the right match.
Q: What percentage of your team are on the helpdesk?
This can catch some MSP’s out as many are quick to boast an impressive roster of techs ready to take your call. In reality, a proactive MSP will only need to have 20-25% of it’s workforce on the helpdesk. Anything more than 50% should be a major warning.
Q: How do you go about solving reoccurring issues?
The actual answer here isn’t as important as the type of answer you receive. A reactive MSP will commonly walk you through an escalation process, talk of their high end technical resources and past success (all evidence of their skills in reacting). A proactive MSP however with be able to demonstrate a detailed process and methodology they employ to actively remove repeat issues and common failures – evidenced by ongoing results. You may not understand it, but you will be able to see the difference.
Q: Do you have any vendor partnerships?
Another small trap. All MSPs have partnerships with their vendors and there’s nothing wrong with that. MSPs that boast highly of their statuses however can be a concern. These partnerships will typically leave them beholden to pushing products to obtain rebates and maintain their status. A proactive MSP will value impartiality over vendor alliances and in turn, put little value into vendor status.
Q: Can you give an example of how you’ve improved you clients business?
Being able to demonstrate a real life success story shows a level of understanding and commercial acumen that is a prerequisite to proactive IT services. Ignore any testimony focussed on the adoption of technology resulting in better speed, connectivity, functionality, etc. (deliverables). You need to hear stories that result in a business being more successful (outcomes).
Taking notes
You don’t have to be technical to determine what’s really happening behind the curtain. Proactive MSPs project a level of passion and curiosity that is noticeable in contrast to their reactive peers. It’s not necessarily better or worse, but it is fundamentally a different approach and mindset.
Take note of the questions they ask, and importantly, how they challenge your thinking. A proactive MSP will be curious in nature and push back to ensure they understand what you’re trying to achieve.
Summary
Whilst much of IT support and management is unavoidably reactive in nature, it is possible for an MSP to take a proactive approach. It is not however possible for a provider to be both. At some point a provider has to choose whether to put the bulk of their resources into solving problems or preventing them.
Solving problems faster is an obvious and relatively simple win for clients wanting greater productivity. Preventing problems from happening in the first place however is far more profitable in the long run.
Want to learn more about proactive IT services? we’d love to meet. Our managed services are not only proactive in nature but backed by results. Unsure if it’s for you? no worries. It all starts with an introductory meeting to explore whether or not we’re a good fit. Simply get in touch to request a meeting!