The Trusted Advisor

I have been seeing the phrase "trusted advisor" creep into the everyday parlance of the IT channel for a while now. Up to now, it has not really been an issue for me but there are some things I'd like to address (and hopefully hear from you MSPs out there) on the record.

The concept of a "trusted IT advisor" is one I wholeheartedly agree with. There is nothing I would like to see more than the reality of a Managed Services Provider serving as the trusted advisor on all matters IT. However, I believe there are too many people out there throwing around the term "trusted advisor" and I'm worried that it will quickly lose its meaning if we don't address this soon.

Most of the references I see to "trusted advisor" are made in the context of marketing or sales talk. Hire me because as a trusted advisor I can do the following... This type of talk is designed to make the client feel warm and fuzzy and totally at ease with the idea of giving over control of their IT to the IT service provider.

Again, I have no problem with the concept of handing over control of IT management to a third party. In fact, I have a third party has been handling my organization's IT management for a number of years now. But it would be a mistake to assume that every IT service provider is a trusted advisor. Allow me to clarify. A person/company may in fact be trustworthy but that does not always mean that a new client will trust them immediately. Trust is earned and almost never given immediately. Trust is something that grows between people and organizations. To throw around the word as if it was synonymous with low pricing or half off sales is a bit naive and insulting.

Many professions have worked hard to improve the trustworthiness of their members in the eyes of clients. Professional creeds, codes of conduct, rules of membership, all can be effective mechanisms for enforcing membership behavior as well as marketing the overall professionalism of the membership to the outside world. This is precisely why the MSPAlliance has The Managed Service Provider’s Code of Ethics & Conduct and a Consumer's Bill of Rights to announce to everyone just what to expect from a MSPAlliance member. While the characteristics discussed in these documents are essential qualifications for any MSP doing business it is important for all business consumers to engage with a MSP knowing that trust must be built. The foundation for doing business can and should exist given an MSP's adoption of these ideals (as each and every MSP joining the MSPAlliance must do) but this foundation is only the beginning of the relationship.

So, the next time you encounter someone who says they are a "trusted IT advisor" ask them on what basis they make that claim. Make sure it isn't just another marketing soundbite.