A Field Guide for Owners

The Small
Business

.

IT Buyers
Guide

12 Things to Know Before Choosing
a New IT Provider so You Don't Lose
Time, Money, or Your Sanity

David S. LevinCEO · Intelligent Automation
Free Download · 2025 Edition

The IT Buyer's Guide every business owner actually needs.

By David S. Levin · CEO, Intelligent Automation

A no-jargon field guide built from twenty-five years inside the MSP industry. The twelve questions to ask before you sign your next IT contract — written by the operator who has been on both sides of those calls.

12 Smart Questions 3 Support Models 5 Bonus Tools Plain English
Author: David S. Levin, CEO
Free · No fluff
Read in under 60 minutes
David S. Levin · CEO, Intelligent Automation
David S. Levin
CEO · Intelligent Automation
About the Author

The CEO who wrote the playbook the rest of the industry forgot to write.

David Levin is the Chief Executive Officer of Intelligent Automation — a U.S.-based Managed Cybersecurity Service Provider serving small and mid-market businesses across the Northeast and beyond. For more than two decades, he has been on the inside of the MSP industry — building companies, hiring operators, defending clients, and watching too many small business owners get burned by the same handful of avoidable mistakes.

This book is the conversation David has been having with prospects, customers, and friends for years — finally written down. Not a sales pitch. Not a vendor brochure. A fellow business owner sitting across the table from you, telling you exactly what to look for, what to ask, and what to walk away from.

If you've ever wondered whether your IT provider is still pulling their weight — or whether you'd even know how to find a better one — David wrote this book for you.

25+
Years in the
MSP industry
100%
U.S. operations
he leads
12
Questions every
owner must ask
About This Book

Not a novel. Not a brochure. A toolbox.

David designed this guide the way a seasoned operator would — to be opened the moment you need an answer, scanned in minutes, and put back on the shelf until next time. No tea-and-highlighter required. Three audiences will get the most out of it:

01

Owners hunting for a new IT provider

The shortlist of questions to filter out the smooth-talkers from the operators who'll actually have your back. Use it on the first sales call.

02

Owners wondering about the one they have

Six warning signs that your current MSP is coasting — even when "nothing's wrong." A diagnostic you can run in an afternoon.

03

Owners about to sign or switch

How to read the contract without falling asleep. How to plan a clean handoff. How to keep your data, your logins, and your sanity intact.

What's Inside

Eight chapters. Twelve checkpoints. Five bonus tools.

A complete operator's playbook for choosing — and managing — the right IT partner.

Chapter 01 The 3 Types of IT Support You Should Know
Chapter 02 Why Businesses Switch IT Providers
Chapter 03 How to Prep for a Clean IT Handoff
Chapter 04 · Centerpiece 12 Things to Know Before Choosing a New IT Provider
Chapter 05 What Kind of IT Setup Do You Actually Need?
Chapter 06 IT Terms Explained in Plain English
Chapter 07 Smart Questions to Ask During the Sales Call
Chapter 08 How to Read a Service Agreement Without Falling Asleep
Bonus Section Quick-Compare Worksheet & Tool Pack
The Centerpiece

The 12 Checkpoints — your sales-call survival kit.

01
Do they ask smart questions about your business?
02
Can they explain what they do in plain English?
03
Will they show you a sample agreement before you commit?
04
Can they provide recent, relevant references?
05
Do they walk you through a clear onboarding plan?
06
Do they audit your IT and security before quoting you?
07
Do they prioritize preventing problems, or just fixing them?
08
Can they clearly explain what's included — and what's not?
09
How do they handle communication and support?
10
Do they work with your tools or force you to switch?
11
Do they have a process — or are they making it up as they go?
12
Do they feel like a partner, not just a provider?
Included Free

Five bonus tools. All inside.

📋
Quick-Compare Worksheet
📖
Plain-English Tech Jargon Decoder
🧱
IT Setup Breakdown
🔍
Sales Call Detective Cheat Sheet
📜
Service Agreement Survival Guide
Why It's Worth an Hour

Most IT mistakes happen before the contract is signed.

Choosing the wrong provider is the most expensive decision a small business owner makes that nobody warns them about. This book is what David wishes someone had handed him before his first IT contract — and what he hands every owner who asks him for advice today.

🎯

Spot the bait-and-switch

The shady tactics MSPs use during sales calls — and the simple questions that disarm every one of them.

📑

Decode the contract

The clauses that determine whether you can leave cleanly or get held hostage. Auto-renew traps. Hidden fees. Ownership of your data.

🛡️

Protect your handoff

How to switch providers without losing access to your email, your backups, your domain, or your peace of mind.

🤝

Tell partner from vendor

The behavioral signals that separate an MSP who'll grow with you from one who's just collecting your monthly check.

"
Think of it more like a toolbox than a novel.
— David S. Levin · From the Foreword
Daniel Ramos · Founder & Principal vCISO
Daniel Ramos
Founder · Principal vCISO
Co-Founder's Note

Why I'm putting my name on this one too.

I've worked alongside David for years. We co-built Intelligent Automation around the conviction that small businesses deserve the same caliber of IT and security operating model the Fortune 500 takes for granted — without the price tag, the hand-waving, or the offshore call center.

This guide is the cleanest distillation of that conviction I've seen put on paper. Read it before you sign anything. Even if you don't end up working with us, you'll be a sharper buyer for the next conversation you walk into.

Daniel Ramos
Founder & Principal vCISO · Intelligent Automation MCSP
Free Download · No Email Wall

Read it before you sign anything.

Download the original, unaltered PDF — David's complete book, exactly as he wrote it. Forty-seven pages. Five bonus tools. Zero sales pitch.

12
Smart Questions
3
Support Models
5
Bonus Tools
60m
To Read It Cover to Cover
By David S. Levin · CEO of Intelligent Automation, LLC · ©2025 All Rights Reserved
Secured by IA