Tech Talks: What to Look for in a Managed Services Partner for Security, Networking and Microsoft 365

Executive summary

Many IT leaders know they need help with security, connectivity, and Microsoft 365 but worry about giving up control or picking the wrong managed services partner. In a recent Tech Talk, our advisory team sat down with a national managed services provider to unpack how they support SMB and midmarket clients with networking, cybersecurity, and Microsoft 365. This recap highlights what we learned and what you should look for when you evaluate a managed services partner.

Key takeaways

A strong managed services partner should bring decades of experience across networking, collaboration, and security—not just point tools.
Flexible service tiers (self-managed, co-managed, fully managed) help IT teams keep control while offloading repeatable tasks.
Look for depth in SD-WAN, connectivity, and data centers to support multi-site growth and hybrid work.
A layered security program should span endpoint management, firewalls, MDR/SOC, email protection, and user training.
Tight Microsoft 365 and collaboration support can shorten sales cycles, reduce friction, and stabilize end-user experience.

Why managed services are back on the agenda for IT leaders

IT leaders are being pulled in a lot of directions:

Security threats keep changing. Generative AI now helps attackers move faster and launch more convincing phishing campaigns.
Network demands grow every year as more staff work remotely, more apps move to the cloud, and more branch sites come online.
Microsoft 365, Teams, and modern collaboration tools are now core to daily operations, but licensing and lifecycle management are complex.

At the same time, many organizations struggle to hire and keep experienced network and security staff. That is where a managed services partner can help, especially when you pair them with an objective advisor that knows your environment and long-term strategy. Our firm started on the telephony side and grew into a broader advisory practice, so we have seen this evolution first-hand over more than two decades.

Our role today is to help clients bypass traditional sales cycles, shortlist the right mix of UCaaS, CCaaS, AI, managed IT, cybersecurity, connectivity, data center, and cloud licensing solutions, and then line up the right partners to deliver them.

Inside our Tech Talk with a national managed services provider

In this Tech Talk, our advisory team met with leaders from a national managed services provider that has been in business for over 27 years. They started as a CLEC and expanded into managed services through both acquisitions and hiring experienced engineers, so they understand both telecom and IT.

A few themes stood out:

Channel-first model. They work almost exclusively through partners like us, so their delivery model assumes close collaboration with advisors and other providers.
SMB and midmarket focus. They do work with some larger enterprises, but their sweet spot is multi-location businesses—retail, healthcare, franchises, and other distributed organizations.
Support structure for partners.
- Senior project managers who focus only on channel deals.
- Executive sponsors on large contracts to match customer priorities (operations, support, or security).
- Clear escalation paths so partner tickets go straight to higher-tier technicians instead of sitting in a queue.

For IT leaders, this structure matters. When your advisor brings in a managed services partner with this profile, you get a more coordinated experience and fewer gaps between design, deployment, and support.

Network and connectivity: SD-WAN, gateways, and data centers

One of the most useful parts of the conversation centered on networking and connectivity.

The partner offers:

Multiple SD-WAN platforms (five options). That lets them match features and cost to the client, instead of pushing one fixed product.
Owned SD-WAN gateways. Because they own and operate their own gateways, they can offer inbound Internet failover with stable public IPs even when circuits fail over. That helps avoid dropped sessions and broken VPNs.
Managed firewalls built around leading vendors. This adds another protection layer at the edge.
SSAE 18–certified data centers for colocation. Clients can centralize firewalls, servers, and connectivity in secure facilities that support compliance and uptime goals.
Managed power and PDUs. Remote power cycling and UPS coverage keep devices stable during brief outages and simplify remote troubleshooting.

For IT leaders, questions to ask a potential partner include:

How many SD-WAN options do you support, and when do you recommend each one?
Do you own your gateways, or are they shared in a public cloud?
Can you keep public IPs stable during failover events?
What certifications do your data centers hold?

Building a layered security stack with your partner

The partner walked through a security stack that aligns well with what we recommend in our advisory work.

Key components:

Endpoint management and patching. Servers and workstations stay updated, closing common holes before attackers can use them.
Managed firewalls and network security. Integrated with SD-WAN where it makes sense.
Security awareness training. Ongoing phishing simulations and micro-trainings help users spot social engineering attempts.
Penetration testing and vulnerability scans. Regular testing uncovers weak spots in infrastructure and applications.
Virtual compliance officer and gap analysis. Advisory services help map controls to frameworks like NIST, PCI, or CMMC and identify what is missing.
MDR and SOCaaS. Managed detection and response combined with SOC analysts watching for suspicious behavior around the clock.
Inbox detection and response for Microsoft 365. Users can flag suspicious messages, AI analyzes them, and security staff can pull bad emails from all mailboxes if needed. The system also connects with phishing simulations so users get positive feedback when they report test messages.

The lesson for IT leaders: do not stop at one product. You want a partner that supports a security program with multiple layers, clear processes, and advisory support—not just tools.

Systems and collaboration: Microsoft 365, UCaaS, and contact center

The partner also shared how they support systems and collaboration:

Managed Microsoft 365 and endpoint services. They handle provisioning, migrations, and ongoing administration across Azure AD, Exchange Online, Teams, and related services.
Hosted voice and Teams voice. Clients can keep a single communications platform with PSTN connectivity handled by the provider.
Contact center platforms. From voice-only queues to full omnichannel contact centers, they support routing, reporting, and AI-based assistants so staff can manage higher volumes without burning out.

For many organizations, Microsoft 365 and contact center platforms are where pain shows up first: long implementation times, rocky migrations, inconsistent support, and rising license costs. A capable managed services partner can shorten projects and stabilize user experience, while your advisor helps you compare options and negotiate pricing.

How this strengthens our advisory model

Our firm no longer runs an MSP practice in-house. Instead, we focus on being a trusted technology advisor and bring in the right partners for managed IT, security, and collaboration when needed.

For clients, that means:

You get one strategic point of contact—our advisory team—to map out your roadmap across UCaaS, CCaaS, AI, data center, connectivity, SaaS licensing, CX/EX, and more.
We use market data and tools to narrow dozens of options down to a short list that matches your requirements.
When you select a managed services partner, we stay engaged across discovery, design, implementation, and ongoing optimization.

Tech Talks like this one are part of how we vet partners. We want to understand their approach, service tiers, security posture, and how they support IT teams—not just their product sheet.

Implementation considerations for IT leaders

If you are considering a managed services partner, here are some practical checks based on this session:

Ownership model. Do they support your IT team, or aim to replace it? Co-managed options often work best.
Service tiers. Look for core/self-managed, co-managed, and fully managed plans so you can decide who owns which tasks.
Security maturity. Ask about MDR, SOCaaS, penetration testing, inbox detection and response, and security awareness training.
Microsoft 365 and collaboration track record. How many migrations have they completed? Do they handle licensing and tenant optimization as well as support?
Network depth. How many SD-WAN platforms do they support? Do they have their own gateways? What data center footprint do they use?
Escalation and communication. Is there a clear path to senior engineers and leadership on critical incidents?
Fit with your compliance needs. Can they help with frameworks, gap analysis, and documentation?

Next steps for IT leaders

If your team is stretched thin on security, networking, or Microsoft 365, you do not have to figure this out alone. Our advisors can: