This post was originally published on January 4, 2023 and has been revised for clarity and comprehensiveness.
Growth is part and parcel for every thriving business.
In an ideal scenario, your managed IT service provider (MSP) grows with you, anticipating your IT challenges and proactively supporting your long-term goals.
But that’s not always the case.
Too often, businesses find themselves constrained by the very IT partners they trust. What was once a mutually beneficial relationship begins to break down. Systems lag. Tickets pile up. Leaders start questioning whether their provider is still equipped to handle what’s ahead.
At Intelligent Technical Solutions (ITS), we’ve seen this story unfold many times. Many of our clients came to us after realizing their previous MSP could no longer support their company’s vision.
Recognizing the red flags early on will save you from headaches down the line – and money down the drain.
In this article, we’ll explore the five most common signs that you’ve outgrown your MSP and why it might be time to consider another provider. Gordon Carlisle, ITS’ Senior VP of Client Success and M&A Operations Integrations, will also share his thoughts, backed up by over 25 years of experience in the IT space.
1. Your team experiences more unresolved IT issues
One of the earliest and most visible signs of an overwhelmed IT provider is an increase in unresolved IT issues.
As your team grows, so does your tech: more endpoints, more applications, more people asking for password resets because they forgot how they capitalized the same password this time.
If your MSP lacks the capacity to meet your needs, your team will feel the strain.
Recurring problems with workstations, connectivity, or software performance may seem minor at first. But left unaddressed, it’s a death by a thousand cuts. Tech issues compound over time.
“When something comes up again, or you’re asking to make changes, a good provider can fulfill that request quickly — or steer you in a better direction — because they understand your environment and your history,” Carlisle said.
Without the right team capacity, your MSP is always playing catch-up. Leaving your business to suffer.
2. Your provider is reactive, not proactive
MSPs are strategic partners. Your MSP should be stopping issues before they happen through actively monitoring your systems and anticipating future IT needs.
If your current provider only springs into action when something breaks, they’re reactive. Not proactive.
Gordon puts it this way:
“The world moves fast. If your MSP isn’t guiding you forward, they’re holding you back. A good partner is going to help you plan six months to a year ahead - not just respond to problems as they come.”
If you’re not seeing initiative, it’s another sign that you’ve outgrown your MSP. Proactive MSPs help you stay ahead of tech needs; they shouldn’t be the ones lagging behind.
3. You’re waiting too long for IT support
When support tickets start taking longer to resolve – or worse, go unanswered – it's a sign your MSP’s operating beyond capacity.
While occasional delays do happen, consistently long response and resolution times should not be the norm.
Your business cannot afford to be stuck in queues, especially when IT issues directly impact operations, customer service, or revenue.
4. Your technology is outdated
Are you on Windows 10 in 2025? Are your laptops all from the early 2010s for no reason? Or maybe your security patches were last updated in 2024?
If this sounds familiar, your MSP is putting you into technology debt.
READ: The Cost of Old Tech (& Do You Really Need an Upgrade?)
If your provider is still supporting outdated software, failing to recommend modern cybersecurity tools, or ignoring cloud migration strategies, you’re running your business on borrowed time.
A forward-thinking MSP acts as a trusted advisor. They help you evaluate, plan, and adopt new technologies that improve performance, strengthen security, and create competitive advantages.
"We [MSPs] want to be involved in those [IT] decisions early to help assess security, delivery models, and support quality,” Gordon emphasized.
5. You don’t trust them to act in your best interest
Trust is the foundation of any successful partnership. If you find yourself second-guessing your provider’s advice, questioning their motives, or hesitating to engage them on major initiatives, the relationship has likely deteriorated.
Maybe they broke one too many promises or missed too many deadlines. Maybe they got shifty about their billing practices. Maybe they stopped answering your calls or providing support.
“When we see a breakdown in the relationship, it’s usually because the client doesn’t feel heard,” Gordon noted. “We encourage clients to be noisy — to bring us issues and ideas. The more we collaborate, the more value we can deliver.”
A fractured partnership creates risks; risks you shouldn’t take. It discourages open communication and often leads to businesses making isolated IT decisions that cause security or compliance gaps.
If trust is gone, it's time to re-evaluate the relationship.
Is your MSP still the right partner for your business?
Outgrowing your MSP doesn’t necessarily mean they failed you. In many cases, they were exactly what you needed at the time you needed them.
But as your business matures, your needs change – and not every provider is equipped to evolve with you.
Here are the five signs to look out for:
- More frequent unresolved IT issues among staff
- A purely reactive, break-fix approach to support
- Long response or ticket resolution times
- Outdated systems and limited strategic guidance
- A loss of trust in the provider relationship
If one or more of these signs resonate with you, it may be time to find an IT partner that can match your ambitions.
“At ITS, our goal is to grow with our clients,” Gordon emphasized. “We build relationships, not just ticket queues. The better we understand your business, the better we can support it.”
Intelligent Technical Solutions was built to support growth-focused organizations. Our Small Team Approach, proactive strategy, and nationwide expertise help businesses scale without sacrificing service quality or responsiveness.
Schedule a discovery call with ITS today and let’s explore how the right IT partner can support your next stage of growth.
MORE RESOURCES:
- What to Consider When Switching IT Service Providers
- 5 Problems When Changing Managed IT Providers (& How to Avoid Them)
- Everything You Need to Know about Switching IT Providers [Video]
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