Why Do Managed IT Services Require An Assessment?
Posted on Mon, Feb 21, 2011
By Frank Cellucci
Almost everyone understands the concept of a bumper to bumper warranty on their automobile. When something goes wrong it gets fixed. You have already paid the price for this service in the cost of the warranty. This is conceptually what a Managed Service Provider (MSP) provides. 
Actually, this is somewhat of an oversimplification. There are important differences between an automobile warranty and an MSP’s warranty. These differences are the reason that you don’t just sit down and sign an agreement for Managed Services as you would with an automobile warranty. The auto manufacturer has control over the components that make up that vehicle that they just sold to you. The IT infrastructure of an organization is comprised of a variety of vendor’s products. The servers, desktops, switches, software, firewalls, etc. are rarely all the same vendor’s products. They do, however, need to work in unison. Did you ever have to deal with “finger pointing” during a crisis? This is why an assessment of an IT environment is necessary.
A network assessment allows a Managed Service Provider to ascertain whether a prospective client’s IT environment that they are going to take responsibility for is up to standards that are stable and secure. Any potential or existing problem areas can be addressed to stablize that environment before arrangements are put into place to manage that IT infrastructure. This enables the MSP to effectively put into place their tools and processes to proactively manage that IT environment using the ITIL Standards for best practices. Simply put, it allows them to do their job and do it right.
Taking governance for any portion of a company’s IT infrastructure and the Service Level Agreements (SLA) that are put into place is not a responsibility that any certified and reputable MSP takes nonchalantly. They are partnering with you to guarantee that the IT tools that you own and use to conduct and grow your business are always at the highest possible availability. This assessment process is ongoing and should be reviewed at least quarterly. Be cautious of any vendor who does not make this assessment an integral part of their contracting process.