How to Hire a Managed Service Provider

What are the biggest benefits of working with managed IT service providers (MSPs)?

Working with an MSP gives businesses a clear advantage in cost control, security, and operational efficiency.

As information technology becomes more complex, managed IT services offer a more proactive and strategic approach.

Businesses using managed services can reduce IT costs by 25-45% while improving efficiency by up to 65%.

With proactive monitoring and managed IT support, MSPs help prevent outages.

According to Gartner, the average cost of IT downtime is about $5,600 per minute.

Reducing downtime directly improves employee productivity and customer experience.

The average global data breach cost reached $4.4 million.

Organizations using security AI and automation saved an average of $1.76 million per breach.

IT managed services companies help businesses adopt and manage cloud computing, including cloud migration and multi-cloud strategies.

Companies that fully adopt cloud computing can achieve 20-30% cost savings, according to McKinsey.

The best MSP ensures your business can recover quickly from disruptions.

93% of companies without a disaster recovery plan that suffer major data loss go out of business within one year, according to the U.S. National Archives.

How do managed services providers help businesses maintain, secure, and scale their IT infrastructure?

They take a proactive, structured approach to system performance, reliability, and growth. Instead of reacting to issues, managed IT services focus on continuous improvement and long-term efficiency.

1. Proactive system maintenance and performance optimization

Managed IT service providers continuously monitor servers, networks, and devices to keep systems running efficiently, including routine maintenance, updates, and performance tuning.

Proactive maintenance strategies can reduce downtime by 30-50%, according to industry research.

2. Centralized infrastructure management

A managed IT services company manages all core components of your infrastructure from a single platform, including servers, networks, endpoints, and applications.

This improves visibility and simplifies operations across distributed environments.

3. Scalable cloud and hybrid infrastructure

Managed service providers design and manage flexible environments using cloud computing and hybrid models. They offer support for cloud services and multiple cloud providers, including Google Cloud, seamless cloud migration and infrastructure expansion, and on-demand resource scaling to match business growth.

According to Flexera, 87% of organizations use a multi-cloud strategy, highlighting the need for expert management.

4. Capacity planning and resource optimization

A managed service provider ensures your infrastructure can handle future demand without overpaying for unused resources. It forecasts usage and growth trends, offers right-sizing of servers, storage, and cloud environments, and eliminates inefficiencies in infrastructure spending.

5. Disaster recovery and infrastructure resilience

Beyond day-to-day operations, managed IT services companies ensure your infrastructure can recover quickly from disruptions. They handle backup systems, redundancy planning, and fast restoration through disaster recovery solutions.

Organizations with proactive infrastructure and resilience strategies can reduce maintenance costs by up to 30%, extend equipment life by 20%, and reduce breakdowns by up to 70%.

6. Support for business growth and digital transformation

As companies expand, managed IT service providers align infrastructure with evolving needs by enabling new applications, platforms, and integrations, supporting digital transformation initiatives, and delivering tailored solutions that scale with your business.

This is critical as 70% of organizations are actively accelerating digital initiatives, according to McKinsey.

How can I find the best MSP on DesignRush that fits my budget?

We’ve curated a list of top managed service providers on DesignRush across multiple price points, so you can identify a provider that's within your budget.

Beyond budget, our agency directory allows you to filter agency profiles by location, area of expertise, agency reviews, client types, team size, and hourly rates.

What red flags should I look for when hiring these providers?

When evaluating IT managed services companies, it’s important to identify warning signs that could impact performance, cost, and long-term reliability.

1. No clear Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
   If response times, uptime guarantees, and support expectations are not documented, you risk costly delays. According to ITIC research, over 90% of mid-size and large organizations report that a single hour of downtime costs more than $300,000.
2. Lack of cloud expertise
   Over 94% of enterprises use cloud services, so disregard managed IT service providers if they cannot support cloud migration, manage multiple cloud providers, or deliver scalable cloud solutions.
3. Limited data protection and recovery capabilities
   A weak approach to backups and data protection can put your business at risk of data loss and prolonged downtime, especially without a structured disaster recovery plan.
4. Poor communication and responsiveness
   Slow replies during the sales process often indicate poor ongoing managed IT support.
5. Unclear or hidden pricing
   The best managed IT service providers should offer transparent, predictable pricing. Hidden fees or unclear contracts often lead to budget overruns.
6. No proven results or client references
   A lack of case study examples or verified client success stories makes it difficult to assess the provider’s ability to deliver real outcomes.
7. Inability to scale services
   If the provider cannot grow with your business, it may limit your future scalability.
8. Outdated tools or processes
   A managed IT service provider that relies on outdated systems or lacks automation may struggle to deliver efficient, modern managed services.

What key questions should I ask managed IT service providers before signing a contract?

Ask them the following questions before signing a contract:

Relevant Background

1. What experience do you have working with companies of our size and industry?
2. Can you provide recent client references or case studies with measurable results?
3. How long have you been in business, and how has your service offering evolved over time?
4. What certifications, partnerships, or technical credentials does your team hold?

Services and Processes

1. What services are included in your standard offering, and what is considered an additional cost?
2. How do you handle onboarding, ongoing support, and issue resolution?
3. What are your response times and escalation procedures for critical issues?
4. How do you monitor performance, report on results, and ensure continuous improvement?

Related to Your Project

1. How would you approach our current IT environment and immediate priorities?
2. What risks or challenges do you see in our setup, and how would you address them?
3. How will your solution scale as our business grows or our needs change?
4. What does a successful partnership look like in the first 3, 6, and 12 months?

Sources

DesignRush sustains a directory of over 40,000 agencies categorized by service category, location, expertise, and reviews. We build our database in two ways:

• Our dedicated team of agency experts actively searches the web for top-performing companies. We then pull information from their websites, online presence, and client testimonials to verify their status and qualifications prior to listing.
• The agencies listed get notified of their profiles on the website and they can choose to claim it or not, which suggests their availability for more collaborations.

Agencies can also reach out to DesignRush and must go through the verification process prior to being listed.