Questions to ask before hiring an MSP
Ask an MSP questions that reveal how the service will work during a real incident. Product lists and sales presentations are less useful than clear answers about ownership, coverage and evidence.
Ten questions worth asking
- Which of our applications and devices are included?
- What requires a separate quote?
- When is the helpdesk staffed, including bank holidays?
- What does a priority-one response actually involve?
- Who investigates security alerts outside office hours?
- Who checks backups and proves restoration works?
- How do you control your engineers' privileged access?
- How will you report recurring problems and improvement work?
- What happens to accounts, licences and documentation when we leave?
- Can we speak to a customer with similar requirements?
Ask for supporting evidence
Request a service schedule, a sample performance report and an onboarding plan. A credible supplier should be able to explain its process without exposing another customer's confidential information.
Use the same questions with every candidate. Otherwise, polished proposals can conceal very different scopes.
What is the most useful follow-up question
“Who owns the next action?” Ask it whenever an answer involves another supplier, an automated alert or a specialist team. This reveals whether your business will have to coordinate the incident itself.
Next step: put these questions into your requirements brief and ask for written answers before signing.
Want to discuss your IT support requirements? Talk to the Tech Savvy Solutions team.