As a CEO or CIO, what questions should you ask before entering into a managed services contract?
IT environments are becoming more complex, internal teams are under pressure and continuity is crucial. A managed services contract with a partner who takes care of the maintenance and management of the IT environment is therefore a logical next step for many organizations.
Unfortunately, we see that managed services contracts are sometimes concluded out of necessity, not from a thoughtful strategic choice.
As CEO or CIO, it's essential to ask the right questions before you sign. And we are not just talking about questions about prices and SLAs, but especially about responsibility, governance and long-term cooperation.
In this blog, we list the most important questions.
1. What responsibility do we bear ourselves and what does the partner take over?
One of the most common mistakes in managed services is unclear division of roles. A contract can promise “management”, but what does that mean in concrete terms?
Ask yourself (and your potential partner) the following questions:
• Who is ultimately responsible for incidents?
• What is included in standard management and what is not?
• Who takes the initiative in optimizations or improvements?
• What happens in grey areas?
A strong managed services contract describes not only what is managed, but also who decides, who executes and who escalates. You don't want to fall between chairs when it comes to that.
2. Is this a support contract or partnership?
Not every managed services contract is the same. Some focus solely on reactive support (“call us if anything goes wrong”), others include a proactive role in managing and evolving your IT environment.
Important questions to ask about this:
• Will we have a fixed point of contact or changing teams?
• Do you actively contribute ideas about performance, security and stability?
• Are there periodic evaluations and reports?
• Are risks and areas for improvement addressed spontaneously?
For organizations where IT is business-critical, a help desk model is not (anymore) sufficient. A true managed services partner knows your environment, understands your business context and thinks ahead.
3. How transparent are costs and scope in the long term?
Managed services are often chosen to create predictability. However, costs sometimes add up unexpectedly due to unclear scope or hidden assumptions.
Therefore, ask explicitly:
• What's included in the monthly fee?
• Which activities are out of scope and how are they invoiced?
• How do we deal with growth, changes or new technology?
• What happens in the event of exceptional situations (incidents, migrations, audits)?
A good contract makes the difference between operational rest and continuous discussions about invoices. Transparency is not a nice-to-have here, but a clear prerequisite.
4. How is security addressed?
For CIOs, this is often one of the decisive factors. Security is not an add-on, but an integral part of managed services.
Relevant questions to ask:
• Which security measures are embedded in the management as standard?
• How are patches, updates, and vulnerabilities monitored?
• How does incident response and communication work in the event of a security incident?
• Is the provider itself certified (e.g. ISO 27001)?
A mature managed services partner deals with security structurally and demonstrably, not ad hoc. This reduces risks, but also strengthens trust towards the board, customers and auditors.
5. How scalable is the contract with our organization?
Your organization is not standing still. Neither are IT environments. A managed services contract must be able to evolve without having to be renegotiated every time.
Think about questions like:
• How easily can we scale up or down?
• Does the contract support hybrid or multi-cloud environments?
• How flexible is the contract when it comes to strategic changes?
• Is there room for innovation, not just stability?
IT should not be a brake on your growth or change. Managed services should evolve with your business strategy, not stick to the past.
6. What happens when the collaboration stops?
An often forgotten but strategically important question. After all, lock-in occurs not only technically, but also organizationally.
Therefore, ask:
• How is documentation maintained?
• Is knowledge transferable and available?
• What are the exit conditions?
• How is continuity guaranteed in the event of a switch?
A reliable partner is not afraid of this question. On the contrary: transparency about exit reinforces trust in cooperation.
Conclusion: managed services are a strategic decision
For organizations with a mature IT vision, managed services must be a strategic tool:
• to guarantee continuity
• to relieve internal teams
• to better align IT with business goals.
The right pre-questions determine your long-term success. Not only technically, but also organizationally and strategically.
Considering managed services?
Then we would be happy to review your business case and answer these questions with you.