5 Biggest MSP red flags to watch out for

Managed IT services providers (MSPs) in Salt Lake City offer varying levels of service. Some are thorough and will help you maximize your business’s IT systems, while others may cut corners and fail to deliver the results you need. Therefore, you must choose your MSP carefully. To help you make the best decision for your business, watch out for these red flags when choosing an MSP.

The MSP charges you for services you don’t need

Unless you belong to the tech industry yourself, it’s likely that you don’t have extensive skills or knowledge about IT. Some providers know this and will take advantage of you by pressuring you to sign up for services you don’t actually need. For example, they might say your system requires a certain type of software when the one you’re currently using is enough for your needs or that you need to purchase additional licenses when you don’t.

Make sure you have a rough idea of your business’s IT needs before consulting with a prospective provider so you aren’t caught off guard. Ask for a second or third opinion from other MSPs or IT experts if you’re unsure about the advice you’re getting. A reputable MSP will assess your needs first and will be upfront about which services are essential for your business and which ones can wait. They’ll also explain why certain upgrades are necessary so you can make the most informed decision possible.

A reputable MSP will assess your needs first and will be upfront about which services are essential for your business and which ones can wait.

They don’t communicate clearly and frequently

Ongoing communication is key to a successful relationship between your business and your MSP. After all, your MSP is responsible for keeping your business’s IT systems up and running, so they must be proactive in inquiring about the state of your IT infrastructure. If they don’t communicate with you, certain tech issues may not be discovered and resolved on time, if at all.

Ideally, an MSP should assign someone from their team to act as a dedicated point of contact for your company. It is this personnel’s job to regularly check on your company and coordinate all developments and issues that require attention.

They have few or negative customer reviews

Online reviews can tell you so much about an MSP, including how they treat their clients and whether their services match your business’s needs. Of course, very few or nonexistent reviews could simply mean that the MSP is new. However, you’d want to entrust something as important as your business’s tech to a provider with a track record of quality service, so choose an MSP with numerous and consistently positive reviews.

They respond too slowly

Downtime can have severe and costly consequences for your business, so your MSP must be able to mitigate or immediately resolve it. Before committing to an MSP, ask about their turnaround times and see how fast they can respond to your concerns over the phone.

On a related note, it might be better to choose a provider within your area. Although MSPs can manage most of your IT needs remotely, hardware issues and certain tech hiccups may require an on-site visit. In such cases, working with an MSP within your locale helps resolve problems quickly.

They can’t help you with cybersecurity insurance

Data breaches are occurring more frequently. In fact, the Identity Theft Resource Center’s 2021 Annual Data Breach Report shows that there were 68% more data breaches in 2021 than in the previous year. This makes it all the more important for your business to secure cybersecurity insurance, as it protects you from the financial risks associated with cyber incidents.

Ask your prospective MSP if they offer cybersecurity insurance. If they don’t, inquire if they can help you apply for the insurance policy. Reputable MSPs will at least know what you need to secure such a policy and point you to a trustworthy insurance provider.

Your IT systems are crucial to your business’s survival and success, so you need to leave them in the hands of an MSP like [company_short]. Our team of IT specialists has years of experience in addressing the needs of Utah businesses like yours. Talk to us today to get the best IT services for your business.

5 Ways Microsoft 365 enhances hybrid work environments

The hybrid work model not only helps employees become more productive, but it also promotes better work-life balance. Microsoft aims to further improve the experience through the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity tools. Let’s take a look at how the service benefits hybrid work.

Metaverse for immersive meetings

The metaverse is a virtual world that mimics aspects of the physical world using technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence (AI), social media, and digital currency.

To enhance hybrid work environments, Microsoft is integrating its metaverse platform Mesh into its business communication platform Teams. With Mesh, Microsoft is making it possible for in-office and remote employees to be together in 2D and 3D virtual meetings. Companies will also be able to create immersive spaces that resemble physical spaces like conference rooms, design centers, and networking lounges. What’s more, users can create personalized avatars to mix and mingle, collaborate on projects, and have encounters that spark innovation.

Improved Teams meeting experience

Microsoft is also updating Teams to foster more inclusive and productive hybrid meetings. When setting a hybrid meeting, the host can use the scheduling form to assign roles to participants. For instance, they can assign one employee to be the timekeeper while another can be the facilitator. Teams also now has a feature that lets the host see the order in which participants raised their hands during a meeting. This ensures that everyone is called and heard.

Related article: How to protect your Microsoft 365 environment

Easier cross-organizational collaboration

Teams Connect allows employees to share private and shared channels and files with anyone, including those outside their organization. Thanks to a recent update, you can now schedule a meeting, collaborate in real time on apps, and share channels with up to 50 teams and as many organizations as needed. In the future, users will also be able to chat with third parties who have personal Teams accounts.

Better collaboration with Microsoft Loop

Let’s say you’re planning a team outing, so you want employees to send pictures of their suggested venues. Then you’d want everyone to vote. Doing this may require multiple apps, but Loop allows your team to do it all in one place.

The purpose of Loop is to centralize all tasks to improve the collaboration of a team in real time, even if employees are in different locations.

Loop has three elements: Components, Pages, and Workspaces.

Components: These are small productivity units that help you collaborate and complete work while you’re in chats, meetings, emails, documents, and more. You can build your own components or leverage preset ones, including:

Voting table: Makes it easy for teams to reach a consensus and finalize decisions together.
Status tracker: Helps you gather information from your team, track progress on all project aspects, and always maintain an updated view of a project across your team.

Pages: These are canvases where you can organize your components and obtain elements like links, files, or data that are relevant to your project.
Loop workspaces: These are shared spaces that allow your team to see and collate everything important to your project. Workspaces also make it easy for you to catch up on what everyone is working on, react to others’ ideas, and track progress toward shared goals.

Enhanced employee digital experience

Under the hybrid work setup, the employee experience is not limited to a physical location, as it also extends to the internet. In this environment, employees also need to learn and stay engaged. That’s where Microsoft Viva can help.

Viva is an employee experience platform that brings learning, insights, communications, and resources together in one platform. It spans four categories: connections, learning, insights, and topics.

Connections: Uses AI to offer innovative engagement experiences to keep all employees informed of company happenings
Learning: Allows team managers to assign courses or lessons to certain teams or individuals, fostering a culture of development and learning in the company
Insights: Allows companies to make data-driven improvements in their processes and policies to enhance employee well-being and productivity
Topics: Organizes content in the organization, allowing employees to easily find the information they’re looking for

Microsoft Viva can be purchased as a suite that includes all of these modules.

If you need assistance deploying Microsoft 365 for a better hybrid work experience, NetWize is here to help. We will analyze all of your needs, deploy the right solutions, and ensure that you are getting the most out of your investment. Talk to us today to learn more.