Is your IT partner fit for the journey?

Most IT providers and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) promise to manage your IT estate and infrastructure – varying from ‘hands-off until needed’ to working as an extension of your team.

In this flooded market, it’s no surprise that many businesses struggle to find the best fit for their business.

So, how do you choose the right partner? Not only do they need the right skill sets and technical capability, but also a culture and ethos that works in harmony with your business and ambition.

Four types of IT partners to choose from:

1. The Single-Service Expert

This type of provider usually offers a single product or specific service. They are good at what they do but limited in their capabilities and often require guidance in how they operate. If you know exactly what you need, this may work for your business. However, it’s important to remember that they won’t provide strategic leadership, and your business will need to coordinate the entire technology ecosystem.

2. The Strategist

Strategic consultants will give you valid and constructive IT advice but as they are often individuals (CTOs or CIOs), their capability is limited. They can help guide your business, but they won’t get involved in the execution and implementation side of things.

3. The Generalist

These partners will implement the strategy that you provide. They are the ‘doers’ that make things happen. If you already have a concrete plan in place and don’t need any further input, the generalist may be the best solution for you.

4. The Comprehensive Team

This is where strategy and capability come together, a true partnership to move your business to the next level. At Thinc, we are a comprehensive IT team, ensuring that businesses run efficiently and securely while supporting ambitious growth plans. We can help you create the IT strategy you need, formulate the solution, execute the solution and offer ongoing monitoring and support. A comprehensive team may be the best fit for your business if you’re looking for an IT partner that will act as an extension to your business.

What to look out for

So, how do you know what to look for when choosing an IT partner? It’s important to find the right level of collaboration, guidance and support for your business. Here’s what to look for:

• Communication

From initial contact to further meetings, how well do they communicate and interact with your team? Do they take the time to ask the right questions and get to know what’s really important to your business?

• Responsiveness

How accessible is the team? Have the right people been placed on the project? Are you satisfied that the team have the right knowledge and experience to manage your account successfully?

• Collaboration

Do you both advocate a collaborative approach, and have you agreed on mutual priorities? Are you confident that the team that you met during the partner selection will be the same team working with you throughout the contract?

• Flexible and creative problem solvers

Can you see evidence of initiative and creativity when looking at problems? Do they show flexibility, and are they able to articulate examples of this?

• Superior technology ecosystem

You are trusting this provider to be your IT partner, so you need to be sure they are running the latest software on the best infrastructure to give you the competitive advantage you desire.

• Support

This is a partnership, so you will need to ensure that they are offering not only strategy and implementation but also ongoing maintenance and support.

• Security

With cyber threats on the rise, can your partner demonstrate market-leading levels of security? Can they provide ongoing guidance, training and knowledge on the latest threats and associated exposure levels?

Start your growth journey with Thinc

If you’re an ambitious SME looking to take the next step, we can help to guide you through every stage of your growth journey – planning, execution and post-implementation support. At Thinc, we work closely and collaboratively with our clients to understand their unique challenges, needs and aspirations for the future.

Read more about how we worked in collaboration with Beechfield Brands as an extension of their team.

If you’d like to discuss the best options for your business, get in touch with our team.

Our clients

At Thinc we work with 100s of growing SME businesses from a wide range of sectors – some named among the fastest growing businesses in the UK and recently recognised in the Sunday Times 100 Fast Track Businesses. With our support and on-going strategic guidance on their IT and business management needs, we are proud to say that our team of experts have been part of their amazing growth journeys.

Read our client stories here.