* White paper from Mi8 provides some valid questions you should ask any potential hosted service provider
It’s becoming more and more common for small and midsized companies – those with a thousand or fewer employees – to outsource common IT application services like e-mail, desktop management, human resource applications, CRM applications and the like. This is a smart move, since managing those applications can get quite complicated, and a dedicated IT staff is needed to properly care for them.
It’s easy to find an application service provider; simple do an Internet search on terms such as “hosted e-mail” or “hosted HR.” Dozens if not hundreds of provider names will pop up. Now comes the challenge of interviewing the candidate companies to determine which one you’ll trust with your critical business applications, and more importantly, with your proprietary data.
What should you look for? What questions should you ask? How can you measure one company against another?
I’ve come across a white paper distributed by Mi8 Corporation, a hosted Microsoft Exchange provider based in New York. The paper is called “20 Critical Questions to Ask a Microsoft Exchange Hosting Provider.” Now, granted, the paper is intended to steer the reader toward Mi8 for hosted Exchange services, but it does present some very valid questions that you should ask of any hosted service provider. And if it’s hosted Exchange services you’re looking for, the paper does a decent job of educating the average business person about the complexities of this specific application.
Let’s have a look at some of the questions you should ask your potential service provider:
* What is your primary business?
This question is aimed at learning how dedicated the service provider is in delivering the application you need. Is this just one of many diverse services offered? If so, can you count on dedicated and knowledgeable resources to support the application you want? Or, is the guy who maintains the application servers also the one who designs Web sites and rebuilds PCs in his spare time? There’s nothing wrong with a company offering diverse services, as long as the people working on the service you need are not pulled in too many directions.
* What certifications are held by your people?
While certifications don’t guarantee that a service provider will give you excellent service, they are a means of measuring the base level of training, knowledge and skills of the people who will manager your application. Before you ask this question, do a bit of background research on the certifications that apply to your desired application. For Microsoft Exchange, for instance, it would be Microsoft Certified Partner; Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator, with a messaging specialty; and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, with a messaging specialty.
Most major IT vendors offer certifications (or at least practical training) for the platforms and applications they sell. Your hosted service provider should be aligned with his IT vendor and hold the necessary partnership agreements, license agreements, and certifications.
* What is the guarantee you provide regarding system availability?
The most basic aspect of your service-level agreement is the uptime guarantee. No one can guarantee 100% availability of the systems you need, but the amount of time permitted for downtime – whether scheduled or not – can vary greatly, from as little as an hour per month to several hours per month. If your application is mission-critical, such as a CRM system, having it down for several hours during your work time can have a big impact on your company.
* What is your data recovery plan?
Despite man’s best efforts, system failures do occur, and smart companies plan ahead for all contingencies. That plan must include data backups and restorations, and the recovery process must be tested occasionally to be sure it works. (Believe it or not, there are many companies that religiously back up their data but never test to see how easily or even if it can be restored.) A prudent service provider will protect your data in numerous ways, including redundant or clustered servers, reliable storage systems, and tested business continuity plans.
The white paper is worth reading for the rest of the questions. I couldn’t find it on Mi8’s Web site, but you can find it on www.knowledgestorm.com. Search for the paper by title, which I listed above. You might have to register (for free) to gain access to the paper.
