When your company starts working with managed IT service providers, you’ll quickly see the benefits of having trusted professionals take care of that part of your business. In Deloitte’s 2016 Global Outsourcing Survey, 31% of respondents reported that they outsourced their IT services. As with any other business relationship, there are some key tactics for working with IT service providers. Know these important practices and you will have a successful relationship with your IT support services.

• Do ask as many questions as you need. Asking your IT service provider questions is one of the best ways to build trust with them. While they are experts in the tech field and you hired them to handle your company’s needs, not having a stake in the process will only lead to frustration and an unstable team. You should ask enough questions to know the basics of the infrastructure and technologies the providers are implementing and how they handle support requests.
• Don’t neglect your own staff. Even when you are receiving excellent services from your service providers, you need to ensure that the rest of your employees are following the policies in place for safe practices. When you’re working with IT service providers, as what additional services they offer for training employees in IT issues.
• Do manage expectations. For a successful relationship, you’ll want to ensure that everyone involved is on the same page. From the very beginning, be sure to set boundaries and expectations. If there are areas of your IT needs that you would like to handle directly, be sure to let your service provider know that. And if there are elements that you really need assistance in, allow your provider to take those over. Having a contract or service level agreement that details all of these expectations is the most effective way to keep everyone’s standards in check.
• Don’t let problems linger. If you have regular and open communication with your IT provider, this shouldn’t be an issue. However, issues will likely arise and when they do you need to address them as soon as possible. By bringing problems to the attention of your provider almost immediately, everyone involved will come to a faster resolution.

Having an effective relationship with your IT provider can be possible if you are open with your needs and know exactly what the relationship entails. And with a good relationship with your IT provider in place, you’ll see your business profit in no time.