How to Choose the Right IT Provider (MSP)-Our President’s Insight

As a business owner with 10-50 computer users, you’ve likely seen it: Every IT provider claims to be “the best.”

What’s the truth behind the marketing?

I’ve led 4BIS Cyber Security and IT Services in Greater Cincinnati for 30 years. We serve manufacturing, law firms, non-profits, and office settings. Let me share with you how I’d check an MSP if I were you.

Below are my thoughts from what we see every week when we walk into a new business environment.

Stop Choosing Your IT Provider on Price

Let’s start with the biggest mistake- Picking an IT provider based on who’s cheapest.

If you’re price-shopping IT like common household goods, you’re setting yourself up for:

• Slow or nonexistent support
• Band-aid fixes instead of root-cause work
• Weak or totally missing cybersecurity
• Unexpected invoices when something does break.

At 4BIS, we aren’t the cheapest, and we are pretty open about that. We often get calls to fix issues after a “cheap” MSP hasn’t met expectations. By then, the business has usually suffered downtime, lost productivity, or security scares. Your question shouldn’t be, “Who’s the cheapest?”

It should be, “Who will actually keep us productive and safe?”

Check Their Reputation – Don’t Just Take Their Word for It

Every MSP will tell you they’re “responsive,” “proactive,” and “trusted.”

Ignore the adjectives and look at proof:

• Google Reviews – Not just the score, but the number of 5-star reviews and what clients actually say.
• Recent feedback – Are there detailed reviews in the last 6-12 months?
• Local presence – Are they actually known in Cincinnati, or are they a remote outfit pretending to be local?

We’ve work hard to earn (and keep) the most 5-star Google reviews of any IT company in Cincinnati, Ohio. That didn’t come from clever marketing. It came from doing the work, answering the phone, solving problems, and building real relationships.

When you compare providers, put online reputation right next to pricing on your checklist. One of those tells you what they say; the other tells you what they actually do.

Demand a Real Cybersecurity Risk Assessment Up Front

If an MSP is willing to quote you a flat monthly fee after a quick chat and no real asessment. That’s a red flag.

A serious provider should:

• Perform a cybersecurity risk assessment before they sign you
• Ask about number of users, devices, and servers
• Map your cloud applications (Microsoft 365, line-of-business apps, CRMs, etc.)
• Understand your security needs, compliance requirements, and current issues

At 4BIS, we run a cybersecurity risk assessment on every new client we talk to. We’re not guessing. We’re learning how your company works and where your weaknesses are.

Only then do we tailor a proposal that’s unique to your environment.

If the proposal looks like a one-size-fits-all template, that’s exactly what you’ll get in service.

Ask How They Actually Handle Support – Not Just What’s in the SLA

Here’s an uncomfortable truth in our industry- A lot of MSPs are afraid to answer the phone. They push everything to email and tickets. They avoid going onsite. Meanwhile, your team stays stuck waiting while small problems become bigger ones.

You should ask:

• “When my staff calls, who picks up?” Is it a call center, or a real local team?
• “Do you send techs onsite when it makes sense?” Or do they do everything remotely, even when that clearly isn’t working?
• “Do you offer 24/7 support?” And is that real support, or just someone on-call hoping you never ring?

At 4BIS:

• We answer the phone typically in about 30 seconds.
• We dispatch technicians onsite when that’s the most efficient way to solve the problem.
• We offer 24/7 support for all clients, because problems (or cybercriminals) don’t respect business hours.

(Kevin, 4BIS Helpdesk Manager)  

When you’re interviewing providers, don’t accept “we’re responsive” as an answer. Ask about their call response times, how they handle after-hours emergencies. Do they outsource their calls?

Ask for specific examples of how they proactively protect clients.

Look for a Security Stack 

If a provider states “we provide antivirus (EDR) and backups”. If they do nothing else, that’s not a security strategy.

A modern MSP should be discussing:

• Advanced endpoint protection (EDR/XDR)
• Multi-factor authentication across critical systems
• Application Allowlisting with Ringfencing
• Properly configured, segmented, and tested cloud backups
• Patch management and vulnerability remediation
• Email security and phishing protection (Cloud Detection and Response)
• 24/7/365 Human based Security Operations Center
• Log collection and analysis across all systems (SIEM)
• User awareness training
• Ongoing monitoring, not just “set and forget”

We invest heavily to provide the best cybersecurity protection stack for small and medium businesses.  Not because it sounds good in marketing, but because we see what attackers are doing every single day.

When you’re comparing providers, ask them to walk you through their standard security stack in plain language. If they can’t explain it without jargon, they probably don’t fully understand it themselves.

Make Sure They Understand Businesses Like Yours (10-50 Users)

MSPs that try to be everything to everyone usually aren’t great for anyone.

The way you support a 10-user nonprofit or a 35-user manufacturer versus a 50-user law firm is different from the way you support a 500- or 5,000-user enterprise.

Our sweet spot is 10-50 users in:

• Manufacturing – shop floors, OT + IT realities, production systems that can’t go down
• Legal – confidentiality, case management software, secure remote access
• Non-profits – tight budgets, grant compliance, making every dollar count
• General office environments – the core productivity stack that actually runs the business
• Logistics – every second your computers don’t work costs you money

When you meet with a prospective MSP, ask them, “How many clients in my size range and industry do you currently support?”

If they can’t give you clear examples of how they support clients, you’ll be their guinea pig.

(Sylvia, 4BIS Dispatcher)

Expect a Long-Term Partner, Not Just a Vendor

Good IT isn’t about “keeping the lights on”. Quality service is about aligning technology with where your business is and where it is going. Many companies have been with 4BIS for decades.

That means your MSP should:

• Meet with you regularly to review performance, risks, and projects
• Help you plan hardware refreshes, cloud migrations, and security improvements
• Talk to you about how technology can support your growth, not just how to fix printers

When we build a relationship with a client, we’re not trying to win a one-year contract. We’re aiming to become the trusted partner they call before they make any significant tech decision.

If your MSP never talks to you unless something breaks or a renewal is due, you don’t have a business partner. You have a help desk.

Putting It All Together (And Where 4BIS Fits In)

If you’re trying to choose the right IT services provider in Greater Cincinnati, here’s what we advise:

1. Don’t choose on price alone
2. Verify their reputation (reviews, references, local presence)
3. Insist on a real cybersecurity risk assessment up front
4. Drill into how support actually works – phones, onsite, 24/7
5. Make sure their security stack is more than antivirus + backups
6. Confirm they specialize in your size and industry
7. Look for a partner mindset, not a vendor mindset

At 4BIS, we’ve built our business around these principles:

• We’re honest that we’re not the cheapest, but our clients love us and stay with us.
• We’ve earned the most 5-star Google reviews of any IT company in Cincinnati.
• We answer the phone, go onsite when needed, and support you 24/7. No outsourcing!
• We run a cybersecurity risk assessment for every prospective client.
• We create custom cybersecurity proposals for your business.
• We put a serious security stack in place so you’re not one click away from disaster.

If you run a Cincinnati-area business with 10-50 users and have doubts about your IT provider’s work, use this framework. Use it no matter who you talk to.

Compare us to your current provider; we welcome the opportunity to show you why we truly are the best in Greater Cincinnati. We’ll spell out your pain spots in plain words and solve those cybersecurity problems.