The situation one year after signing

You selected an MSP. The fees looked good, the sales rep was nice, the contract is signed.

One year later?

Support no longer responds on time. Tickets are passed around. Server updates are not planned proactively. You need a new MSP - but now you are dependent. The migration costs more than the annual savings.

(Does that sound theoretical? It isn’t. We see this regularly.)

What makes a good MSP

A good MSP is not just "IT support." It is a strategic partner.

That means:

Proactive, not reactive. They don’t only notify you once the server is offline. They prevent the server from going offline.

Understands your business. They know your critical systems. They know when your peak business periods are. They don’t schedule updates on Friday evening before a launch.

Communicates clearly. You understand what they are saying. Not just tech jargon, but real explanations.

Scales with you. If you grow from 20 to 100 employees, they can grow with you. Without everything having to be renegotiated.

Most Swiss SMEs with 10-300 employees benefit massively from a good MSP. But "good" is the key word.

The three questions to answer before you start looking

Before you contact an MSP, answer these for yourself:

1. What do you actually need?

How many servers do you have? Cloud, on-premises, hybrid? What uptime do you need - can your business be offline for an hour or not? Do you have compliance requirements (GDPR, ISO 27001)?

Write it down. One page is enough.

(Sounds trivial, but most companies skip this step. They listen to pitches and then decide - without knowing what they are actually evaluating.)

2. How much budget do you have?

In Switzerland: expect CHF 150-500 per user per year. Or CHF 2,000-5,000 per server per year. It depends on your requirements - 24/7 support costs more than support from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

3. How important is local presence?

If something critical breaks - do you want to call a person in Switzerland? Or is a call center okay?

What you should look for

Technical expertise

Does the MSP have experience with your tech stack? If you use VMware and they only know Hyper-V - problem. Ask specifically: "How many customers with a similar infrastructure do you support?"

Relevant references

Every MSP will give you three satisfied customers. That’s normal. But ask for customers that are similar in size to yours and operate in your industry.

And then call them. The questions that matter:

- Are the service levels actually being met?

- What is the day-to-day support quality like?

- What was the worst experience - and how did the MSP respond?

Contract terms

This is the part many underestimate. The contract determines whether you are a happy customer or trapped.

Pay attention to: - Lock-in period: 12-36 months is normal. But after that, termination should be possible monthly. - Hidden lock-ins: Hardware contracts that run longer than the main contract. Licenses you cannot take with you. - Price increases: Can the MSP increase prices without your consent? Max. 3-5% per year is common. - Offboarding: What happens if you cancel? How long does migration take? Does it cost extra?

Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

99.9% availability sounds good. But what happens if the MSP does not meet it? Are there service credits? A right to terminate?

An SLA without consequences is just a promise.

We explore this aspect in Digital sovereignty for Swiss companies - Between EU regulation and local requirements.

Warning signs that should make you walk away immediately

"We’ve never done that before."

If the MSP has no experience with a core aspect of your infrastructure - move on. MSPs work with dozens of similar setups every day.

No clear SLAs.

If the MSP does not want to commit to availability or response times: they plan to fail you at times.

Hidden lock-ins.

Hardware contracts for 3+ years. Cancellation only at year-end. Cancellation fees of 50% of annual costs.

Too cheap to be true.

30% cheaper than all competitors? Ask yourself why. Poor management? Low quality? Cutting corners on security?

No local presence (if you need it).

If you expect support in Switzerland and the MSP only has a call center in Eastern Europe - mismatch.

The sales rep makes promises that tech does not confirm.

If the sales guy says "Yes, of course!" and the tech guy stays silent - that’s a problem.

For a deeper dive: Outsourcing saves money. Or does it?.

The migration process

Migration to a new MSP is often underestimated. A poor transition means weeks of lost productivity. A good transition is "you barely notice anything."

What matters:

Pilot phase. The new MSP first takes over a small part - not everything at once. After 2-4 weeks without problems: next wave.

Knowledge transfer. The new MSP must understand your entire infrastructure. Documentation, passwords, special cases.

Rollback plan. What is plan B if the migration goes wrong?

Timing. Never on Friday. Never during your peak business period.

Conclusion

Choosing an MSP is not "just quickly finding IT support." It is a strategic decision that has an impact for years.

The wrong MSP costs you productivity, nerves, and money. The right one becomes your partner - one who understands your infrastructure, prevents problems instead of only fixing them, and supports you in modernization.

That is the difference between IT as a cost factor and IT as a competitive advantage.

Take the time to do it right.

Are you looking for an MSP and want to be sure you make the right choice? We help Swiss companies with IT sourcing decisions - neutral and vendor-independent. Talk to us.