Transparency is characterized by visibility or accessibility of information, especially concerning business problems. A lot of companies “talk” about this, but are they really “doing” it? Avoiding ambiguity by partnering with a SAP service provider that shares information openly. After all, it’s your IT system, and you have every right to know exactly what’s happening.

Trust starts with transparency
Why is it so often in the world of IT that many managed service providers shy away from being fully transparent? What’s to hide? When it comes to your most mission-critical systems, your internal team—from administration to C-levels—should have full access and visibility into the IT systems to ensure your company’s unique needs are being addressed.

6 questions to ask when choosing an IT managed services provider:

  • How do you communicate with me? Directly or through a help desk?
  • What is your Service Level Agreement (SLA) policy, and how transparent are communications regarding issues?
  • Who are the consultants managing your systems, and what are their qualifications? How do I contact them?
  • What is your documentation process, and how is that information shared with me?
  • What real-time monitoring and reporting tools do you employ?
  • How do I access the reports I want to see, and how fast will I get them?

Take back the control of your systems

How do you really know if the processes your SAP Managed Services Provider uses align with the processes your company requires? Eliminate that issue by partnering with an MSP provider that enables you to see what’s happening in real-time, and grants full access to the information that proves it.

How transparent is your MSP?
Use this checklist as a guide when evaluating your next partner.

  1. System Performance—Your IT partner should share performance data via weekly, monthly and quarterly review meetings. They should document how your SAP systems are being managed actively. Open dialogue about SLAs and how they are continuously met should be included as well.
  2. Communication—Your managed IT service provider should be as available as someone right down the hall. Today, this can be accomplished through state-of-the-art tools such as a client portal—a hub for all communication—where you have direct access to system performance reports, project plans and any other documentation specific to your systems.
  3. Direct access to consultants and documentation—Direct access to the consultants working on your system will give you full transparency to the service you’re receiving. Some leading MSPs go as far as having a message board with a live chat feature inside their client portal where real-time discussions take place with the consultants who understand your unique systems.
  4. Time to resolution—We all know that time is money. Having an open communication channel with clients will help your MSP find the “needle in the haystack” faster, and minimize precious downtime.
  5. Work requests—Demand an accurate and transparent process for receiving and documenting requests. Visibility to open cases—how those requests are being handled in terms of speed, accuracy, and responsiveness—is critical when you manage a large organization with multiple requests and varying degrees of severities.
  6. Project Management—Every project has numerous moving parts with multiple tasks that need to be completed to meet deadlines. Having transparency throughout the life of the project saves time and money by understanding milestones such as completion percentage, scope of work, deadlines and budget. Be sure your partner has all this information readily available for your review.
  7. The Ts&Cs—Managecore is founded on Trust/Transparency and Communication/Collaboration. It’s the foundation of a long-lasting relationship. You can see it in our state-of-the-art client portal that provides a personalized approach to customer service. You can feel in the way we communicate when managing your SAP system. Expect nothing less.

Are you frustrated by a current SAP issue you just can’t resolve?
We’ll look at your SAP environment to help you solve ongoing problems and issues. Our experienced SAP consultants can get to the root of your concerns and offer solutions to get your SAP system running at peak performance levels—at no obligation. Contact Managecore today to discuss your environment. 


Frank Powell
About the Author:

Frank Powell

Partner/President
Frank is an experienced Information Technology executive that excels in high-level strategic and operational guidance to help manage and grow businesses. With 25 years experience in IT and over 19 of those years specifically in SAP, his thought leadership on industry trends, process improvement and best practices at SAP events, conferences and educational webinars are invaluable assets for companies. Frank provides his past experience in developing new technology initiatives with ever-evolving innovations to grow businesses and achieve high-performing solutions at a lower cost of ownership for your company.