Switching IT providers is painful, so it pays to choose well the first time. After years of supporting businesses across the UK and now Central Florida, here are the warning signs we’d tell a friend to watch for.
1. They won’t show you pricing
If the price is a secret until late in a sales process, ask why. Transparent per-user pricing is a sign of a provider confident in its value.
2. “24/7 support” that’s really an answering service
Plenty of MSPs claim round-the-clock support but route after-hours calls to a voicemail or a script. Ask who answers at 2am and whether they can actually fix things. (Our engineers across Florida, the UK and South Africa genuinely staff the clock.)
3. Long lock-in contracts
Three-year agreements protect the provider, not you. Look for fair, short notice periods so they have to earn your renewal.
4. Vague response times
“We’ll get to it” isn’t a commitment. Insist on a written response-time target for urgent issues — and ask how it’s measured.
5. Security treated as an upsell
In 2026, backup, EDR and email security aren’t optional extras — they’re table stakes. If security is an afterthought or a constant add-on, keep looking.
6. They want to own your Microsoft 365
Some providers buy your licences in their name so you can’t leave. Your Microsoft 365 tenant, " domain and data should always belong to you.
7. No local presence — or no real reach
Pure-remote providers can’t help when you need hands on hardware; purely local ones can’t cover the clock. The sweet spot is local presence and genuine around-the-clock reach.
One quick test: ask any prospective MSP to put their price, their response-time target and their contract length in writing. How they react tells you most of what you need to know.
Want to compare us against your current provider? Get a no-pressure quote — price, response target and terms, all up front.