How to Evaluate an MSP Without Getting Trapped
Strategies for hiring managed service providers while maintaining sovereignty.
01 // EXECUTION_SEQUENCE
01**34% of businesses report MSP dissatisfaction**, yet only 12% successfully transition within planned timeframes due to contractual lock-in, data portability obstacles, and migration disruption.
02**Five common evaluation failure modes:** Inadequate requirements definition, price-first evaluation, superficial reference checking, contract neglect, and technical capability assumptions lead to poor MSP selection outcomes.
03**IT sovereignty must be preserved:** Effective MSP relationships enhance capabilities without compromising autonomy through clear data ownership, tooling independence, documentation rights, and termination provisions.
04**Technical dependency creates switching costs:** MSPs typically deploy proprietary RMM platforms and management tools that create significant reconfiguration work for transitions or in-house operations.
05**Knowledge dependency is insidious:** Over time, MSPs become the sole repository of institutional knowledge about client infrastructure, creating knowledge asymmetry that makes independent operation increasingly difficult.