How to choose a managed services provider
To choose a managed services provider, shortlist three that work with firms like yours, then ask each the same questions: how fast they respond, exactly what's included, how they keep you secure, how they test backups, and who you'll actually talk to. Compare the answers, not just the prices, and check their track record.
I'm Igor Dobrovolskiy, founder of As-Built IT in Raleigh. I've spent 15 years in IT, including helping lead the recovery after a cyberattack across about 90 locations, so I've seen what good and bad IT support look like from the inside.
Fair warning, I run an IT company, so I'm about as neutral here as a cat reviewing tuna. The advice below is the advice I'd give my own sister, and the bit about us is clearly labelled so you can skip it.
Also, IT companies love a branded fleece vest, and I have yet to meet one that fixed a printer. Choosing a provider by its swag is what I call the fleece vest test, and we're going to fail it on purpose.
On this page: The MSP checklist · Why an MSP · 5 steps · Design and build questions · Security · Mid-sized firms · What I'd look for · Mistakes · Questions
MSP checklist: questions to ask, and the answers to hope for
This MSP checklist is the whole post in one table. Ask every provider the same questions, write the answers down, and watch how fast the fleece vests stop mattering.
Several of these follow the UK National Cyber Security Centre's guide to choosing an MSP.
Why choose a managed IT service provider at all?
A managed IT service provider looks after your IT for a monthly fee, instead of billing by the hour after something breaks. You get a help desk, security and backups run by people whose whole job is IT, which is rarely true of Gary, our favourite project engineer who is “good with computers”.
It usually costs less than hiring an IT person, and it doesn't take holidays. For the numbers, see how much managed IT services cost, which I wrote with a calculator and a strong coffee.
How to choose a managed services provider in 5 steps
Choosing a managed services provider takes five steps, and none of them involve a fleece vest.
- Write down what keeps going wrong, and what you need from IT this year
- Shortlist three providers who already work with firms like yours
- Ask each one the checklist questions above, in the same order
- Compare what's included, not just the monthly price
- Check their security and backup answers before you sign anything
Three is the right shortlist, in my view: enough to compare, not so many that the sales calls eat your month. Four providers is a hobby.
Left: the fleece vest test, which nobody should pass. Right: the stuff a design firm's IT actually has to keep running.
What design and build firms should ask that others don't
Design and build firms should ask whether the provider understands big project files, CAD workstations and job-site connections. A provider that mostly looks after dentists' offices will be very confused by a really big Revit model, and so will their laptop.
- Whether they've supported Revit, AutoCAD, Civil 3D or Bluebeam before
- How they keep big project files fast in the office and from the field
- Whether they support your workstations without trying to sell you new ones
- How they handle Autodesk licences, plotters and job-site trailer internet
Those are exactly the problems our CAD and BIM IT support and IT services for construction companies are built around.
Security questions to ask an MSP
Ask how fast they install security updates. The National Cyber Security Centre recommends patching within 14 days for critical or high-risk weaknesses.
Then ask how they protect their own access to your systems: multi-factor sign-in on their accounts too, and admin access only for the people who need it. An IT company that guards your front door and leaves its own keys under the mat is just a very expensive mat.
How to choose the right managed service provider for a mid-sized business
A mid-sized business of 20 to 50 people should look for a provider small enough that you're not a ticket number, with enough people that someone covers when your usual contact is out. If you already have an IT person, look at co-managed IT instead of replacing them.
Mid-sized firms also tend to have more history: old servers, odd permissions and a folder called “FINAL final v3”. Ask how the provider takes over, and what they document on the way in.
What I'd look for, after 15 years on the other side of the help desk
Before As-Built IT, I worked with a growing engineering firm of about 45 people that had run its own IT for years: slow computers, unreliable file access and inconsistent backups. What fixed it was standardizing the network, improving security and backups, and adding monitoring and a proper help desk.
So look for a provider that hunts for the real cause instead of selling you shiny boxes. A good one asks annoying questions in the first meeting, and that's a compliment.
A good IT provider fixes the reason it broke, not just the thing that broke.
Mistakes firms make when choosing an IT provider
- Choosing on the monthly price alone
- Not reading what's excluded until the first extra invoice
- Never asking how backups are tested
- Picking the one with the nicest fleece vests
That last one is a joke. Mostly. I've seen a decision made on worse grounds, and the vests were very soft.
How As-Built IT answers this checklist
Here's how we'd answer, so you can hold us to it. We reply within 30 minutes, by phone, email, online ticket or Teams, and every plan is month-to-month, quoted per firm.
We work with architecture, engineering and construction firms in the Triangle, and we know Revit, AutoCAD and Bluebeam. Our cybersecurity services cover multi-factor sign-in, email filtering and protection on every computer, and our backups are ransomware-proof and tested by restoring from them.
Questions about choosing an MSP
How do I choose a managed service provider?
Shortlist three providers that work with firms like yours, ask each the same questions about response time, what's included, security, backups and who you'll talk to, then compare the answers and their track record.
What questions should I ask an MSP?
How fast they respond, what's included and excluded, how they keep you secure, how they test backups, who you'll talk to, whether they know your software, and how they protect their own access to your systems.
What is an MSP checklist?
A list of questions and good answers you use to compare managed service providers side by side, so the decision rests on what they'll do rather than how they present.
Why choose a managed IT service provider?
A managed IT service provider runs your help desk, security and backups for a monthly fee, which is usually cheaper and more reliable than one in-house person or paying by the hour when things break.
How many managed service providers should I compare?
In our view, three. That is enough to compare answers and prices without spending a month on sales calls.
Where to go from here
If your firm is in Raleigh or the Triangle, put us on your shortlist: see what's included in our managed IT services or book a free 30-minute call.
Bring the checklist and grill us. We won't bring fleece vests, I promise.
About the author
Igor Dobrovolskiy founded As-Built IT in Raleigh in 2026 after 15 years in IT, including helping lead the technical recovery after a major cyberattack at a global enterprise. He would like you to judge IT companies by their answers, not their swag.