Renegotiating Your MSP Contract for Associations

Introduction

The quick advancement and diversification of technology has forced everyone to rethink their IT strategy. Because organizations are relying more and more on modern technology to fulfill their business models, a robust and sustainable IT strategy is only becoming more crucial to achieving success and furthering your mission. Your IT infrastructure needs to work for and with your organization, both now and in the future.

If you outsource or co-manage IT through a managed service provider (MSP), doing your due diligence starts with reevaluating your MSP contract. The following guide provides actionable steps to ensure you’re getting the best value and service from your chosen MSP—plus advice on how to switch providers if necessary.

With tight budgets and increasing IT demands, renegotiating MSP contracts can help your association or nonprofit optimize costs, address evolving technology needs, and secure better support for mission-critical operations.

How to Ensure Due Diligence in Your MSP Contract

The key to effective outsourced or co-managed IT is alignment. If the business and its chosen MSP aren’t aligned as far as plans and objectives are concerned, there is little likelihood that a partnership will be fruitful for either party.

Here are a few steps that business leaders can take to ensure alignment with their IT service provider.

Evaluate Service Performance and Metrics

You can start by assessing your current MSP’s performance against agreed-upon service level agreements (SLAs). Identify any gaps or areas for improvement as a starting point for renegotiation. Depending on your organization’s technology objectives, there are multiple key performance indicators you can keep track of to evaluate your MSP contract:

• Customer satisfaction score
• Net promoter score
• Ticket resolution rate
• Service renewal rate
• Response time
• Mean time to notify
• Mean time to repair

The above metrics are a few examples of objective figures that leaders can leverage to determine if their MSP is capable of supporting their business moving forward. When initiating a partnership with an MSP, be explicit about the terms of your SLAs. You should also confirm whether or not your provider is insured and what is covered in your cyber insurance policy.

Analyze Cost vs. Value

Strategic investment in the right technology solutions is the key to furthering your enterprise through the power of IT. But how do you know you’re investing in the appropriate solutions and the necessary services to support them? With IT costs and demands steadily increasing, organizations must be able to illustrate the ROI of outsourcing to an MSP.

Compare the current costs of your MSP contract with the value of services provided. Use these insights to verify you’re not paying for outdated or unnecessary services, and look for opportunities to optimize pricing. The technology needs of your business will change, and that often means redefining what services and solutions are necessary for continued growth. Perform a cost-benefit analysis of different outsourced IT business models, and see if you can save on costs through co-managed efforts.

Review Scope of Services

Further examine the scope of your existing contract to ensure it aligns with both existing and evolving business needs. This may include adding advanced cybersecurity measures, cloud solutions, or updated compliance management and support. Your MSP contract should anticipate and accommodate how your organization’s technology needs will change in the face of constant technological advancement.

A proactive IT strategy is essential for maintaining a competitive edge through a robust technology infrastructure. In other words, your IT partner must be capable of recognizing potential shifts in the tech landscape and adapting their approach as necessary. For example, as a strategic partner of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA), Ntiva was able to preemptively prepare the association’s IT infrastructure for remote connectivity prior to the global pandemic. Such IT planning efforts were essential in making sure teams could communicate safely and reliably even after COVID restrictions were officially in place.

Check for Hidden Fees and Charges

It’s the responsibility of your MSP to be forthright about all charges and offer clarity for any unfamiliar expenses. If you’re often unpleasantly surprised by your invoice total for outsourced or co-managed IT services, that’s a reflection of the MSP’s quality. Inexperienced IT providers may not have the appropriate skills to audit your business’s technology infrastructure, rendering them incapable of properly estimating pricing based on your specific needs. On the other hand, a great provider will clearly define all service costs in your MSP contract, including hardware, software, and any possible one-time fees.

Scrutinize your current contract for unexpected fees, such as charges for additional support hours or supplemental services outside of the agreement. Address these in renegotiations to avoid future surprises or unplanned expenses.

Leverage Market Trends and Benchmarks

A simple Google search gives you virtually limitless access to comparative data that you can leverage to set service provider expectations. Use industry benchmarks and market data to understand the current pricing and service levels offered by other MSPs. This information can strengthen your negotiating position and ensure competitive terms.

For example, organizations in the healthcare sector must prioritize services such as regulatory compliance, HIPAA assessments, and secure data management to keep sensitive information secure. These examples are standard inclusions for an MSP contract employed in this space, so healthcare associations can easily compare what they’re spending on these services to other organizations in the industry. Surveys like NTEN’s 2024 Annual Nonprofit Digital Investments Report offer timely insights into the growth and development of the nonprofit sector, including how associations of various sizes allocate their technology budgets.

When Renegotiation Won’t Cut It: Switching MSPs

Unfortunately, sometimes two entities simply don’t align no matter how much renegotiation is done on the partnership contract. Although reinvesting with a new MSP can be time-consuming and even a bit discouraging, the cost is ultimately worth it if you’ve found a true strategic IT partner that works for your organization.

So, how do you know what qualities to look for in a provider to ensure your MSP contract satisfies both parties and gives you the competitive advantage you seek? We break down what a partnership with leading MSP Ntiva tends to look like and explain what to expect should you choose to team up with our IT experts.

Why Switch to Ntiva?

When we’re first getting started with a new client, our aim is to make onboarding both convenient and productive. Our onboarding process, although intensive, is specially designed to provide the most successful transition possible. This intuitive process, which we are continually working to refine and improve, typically takes between 45-60 days from start to finish and prepares your business for long-term success with our services.

Moreover, Ntiva takes pride in our ability to become an extension of your internal team. We’re heavily invested in building trust from the ground up to keep contributors aligned and satisfied with the support they’re receiving. Our goal is to be a growth catalyst for your association by designing the right technology solutions for your unique business requirements. In short, we care about the relationships we build, and we understand that response and precision are fundamental keys to a fruitful partnership.

We’ve developed a flexible business model to adapt to specific IT needs and capabilities across all verticals. Countless businesses, especially nonprofits, are facing the IT resource dilemma: How much should they be investing in their technology? Ntiva solution consultants are specially trained to identify and address aspects of your IT strategy that may be unnecessary, so you only receive the services and coverage you need to succeed.

What to Look for in an MSP Partnership

Choosing the right MSP means finding a partner who truly understands your vision and works alongside you to advance your mission. Business leaders must confirm that their chosen MSP is capable of providing the specialized services that can help their association increase membership, enhance engagement, and improve operational efficiency.

One of the most important questions an organization can ask when evaluating an IT partner is how the MSP plans to future-proof internal operations. Technology is subject to a constant state of evolution, which means your association must always be searching for better IT solutions. That’s why you don’t just need basic IT support—you need a strategic technology partner that will evolve with your business. When you sign that MSP contract, verify that the IT provider has the ability to support your organization at scale, no matter what technology challenges arise.

What a Sensible and Sustainable MSP Contract Looks Like

As a business leader, you need to know what your association’s technological needs are, how they’ll change, and how to meet them reliably. The creation and maintenance of a sustainable IT strategy are among the many benefits of recruiting an MSP such as Ntiva to manage and maintain your organization’s technology infrastructure.

With over 15 years of IT expertise working in virtually every industry, Ntiva knows what the right technology solutions can do for your bottom line. Book a consultation and allow our technicians to handle all your IT needs so your teams can focus on what matters: furthering your mission and improving lives.