Organisations wouldn’t change their IT support provider if they can help it, thinking that putting up with the subpar quality of service is better than being left in chaos with the absence of tech support. After all, finding out that your managed services provider (MSP) is not as dependable as their service level agreement (SLA) would have you believe is something that you would rather not act on because changing providers could mean significant business disruption.

Still, staying in a disadvantageous partnership with an unprofessional service provider will do your business more harm than good in the long run. Whether it’s your MSP’s lack of concern for cybersecurity, slow response to reported issues, unwillingness or inability to adapt to your changing needs as a company — and everything else in between, these incompetencies are costing your business time, money, and opportunities.

But what shortcomings should you consider as ultimate deal breakers in IT support London or elsewhere? If you’re not quite sure whether it’s still worth waiting for your service provider to improve their service, here are 5 signs that will tell you that yes, your business deserves better quality IT support.

Lack of focus on security

Regardless of what industry your organisation belongs to, emphasis on security is always a must. The threats of a data breach and/or cyber attacks are always present and every IT support provider should understand just how crucial cyber security is. This not only involves the security of your corporate data but those of your customers as well. Part of IT services should therefore include a security best practices plan that would fit your company and your industry.

If your support provider doesn’t take cyber security seriously and lacks the technology to protect your business from the risks and costs associated with a data breach, then maybe it’s time to look around. A reliable IT support London company would not only ensure that your IT infrastructure is secure, they would also help facilitate employee awareness training on social engineering attacks such as phishing, baiting, tailgating, and others.

No tangible return on investment (ROI)

As the quote goes, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” Services from a managed IT support provider should be delivered in measurable results. It’s not enough for them to simply improve your uptime and availability, or for them to attend to your issues as soon as possible. Support providers should be able to present data that shows just how much value you’re getting from their services. For instance, reducing downtime by a certain number of hours allows employees to continue working without disruption and results in increased productivity and customer satisfaction.

Measuring effective performance in IT support is not only a necessity; in many instances, it’s a requirement for informed decision making. If a service provider can’t be bothered to provide you with the metrics that matters, this means that they’re offering the technology part of the services with little thought to whether this is contributing to the achievement of your business objectives.

Recurring issues

One of the main reasons why organisations would acquire the services of outsourced IT support London (if you-re UK-based) is to prevent any disruption in their normal day-to-day operations. If this can’t be helped then the service provider should at least be able to immediately and efficiently deal with any IT issues that would crop up.

So what does it mean if your company often finds itself dealing with the same hardware problem time and again? The inability to effectively address a problem the first, second or even third time indicates that the provider does not have the resources — whether it’s the lack of skills/expertise, technology, and/or manpower to do so. Whatever the case may be, it could be high time to look for more capable MSPs.

Poor communication and slow response times

Many enterprises expect to have a dedicated contact person from their IT services company that they can readily call when needed, and understandably so. Technical problems are often hard to explain especially for a business that doesn’t have an in-house IT staff. In fact, a good IT support firm should keep in touch with client organisations on a regular basis to proactively ask about any issues they may be experiencing.

In reality however, many customers have had to deal with being passed from one party to another when calling IT support. Or even if you do get to talk to a representative in a timely enough manner, you’d have to wait for ages to get the response that you need. If you are constantly experiencing this with your service provider, then it’s time to set your sights on a provider that can communicate and respond better.

Refusal to take responsibility

In a partnership between a business and IT support provider, client companies are expected to operate by the standards and advice given by their provider, and MSPs in turn, should be there to oversee the implementation and provide support. When something goes wrong, both sides should be able to engage in an honest conversation and go over the areas of concern.

If the clients followed the recommendations given, IT support providers should be able to explain why things went awry, how the problem is being addressed, and what precautions are being put in place to prevent a similar occurrence. Now when one party refuses to take responsibility for their role in the breakdown however, the trust is broken. If this situation sounds similar to that of your business and your IT support, then there’s no point in continuing with the partnership.

The right time to change providers

So do you change providers at the first sign of trouble? Are you even able to do that? As discussed in the last section, ideally it’s best to talk things out. Go over the SLA and identify the areas where improvements could be made.

Now if it looks like you’ve ticked every box in the list we’ve provided above, and there’s no sign of progress despite repeated discussions, then it won’t hurt to start exploring other options. Do bear in mind that you’d have to wait it out to the end of your contract to change providers. But when you do, make sure to transition to a IT support provider that values your business as much as you do.