Before you fire your MSP, read this.

Not every MSP relationship should end. Here's how to tell when it should.

When it's time to make a change

If your MSP is missing SLAs consistently, blaming "your environment" for problems they were hired to manage, or you've lost confidence that they can keep systems running reliably, the operational foundation is broken. That's not fixable with a conversation.

If they've been making strategic technology decisions without your input or approval, such as recommending major platform changes, signing vendor contracts on your behalf, or defining your roadmap, they've exceeded their scope. An MSP should execute strategy, not create it.

If the relationship has become adversarial, with every request met by "that's out of scope" or an upcharge, and you're spending more time managing them than they're saving you, the economics don't work anymore.

When it isn't

Don't fire your MSP when the real problem is that you're asking them to do strategic work they were never hired to do. Or when you're frustrated they're not "thinking strategically," but you've never given them authority to make strategic decisions. Or when you expect them to be your CIO, but you're only paying for operational IT management.

For companies between $20M and $100M, the answer isn't always "fire the MSP." Sometimes it's "add strategic oversight." Your MSP can be excellent at operations while someone else provides the strategic layer. That's often more effective than replacing them and having the same problem six months later.

I've seen companies fire good MSPs for the wrong reasons and hire new ones who failed the same way, because the problem wasn't the MSP. It was the lack of strategic IT leadership above them.

Before you fire your MSP, ask: is this an operational failure, or are we expecting strategic leadership from an operational relationship?