Many administrators receive a monthly report from their IT provider and file it without reading past the first page. A long list of closed tickets can look reassuring, but it does not tell you whether your environment is healthier than last month. A useful report helps leaders make decisions about staffing, budget and risk.
Here is what to look for, and what to ask for if it is missing.
The first page should be readable by someone who is not technical. It should answer:
Did anything significant happen this month, such as outages or security incidents?
Are there risks that need a decision or budget?
What is planned for next month?
Are there items waiting on someone at the facility?
If the report leads with graphs and jargon, ask for a short written summary on top.
Ticket counts alone are not very informative. Ask for context.
Volume and trends: Are request volumes rising or falling, and why?
Response and resolution times: Compare them with the targets in your service agreement
Categories: Which problem types come up most often? Repeated printer or login issues point to something that should be fixed at the root
Repeat issues: Which sites, departments or devices generate the most tickets?
Open and aging tickets: What has been open the longest, and what is blocking it?
After-hours activity: How many urgent calls occurred outside normal hours?
Ask your provider to flag recurring problems and propose permanent fixes rather than simply closing each ticket.
Look for sections that show the state of your protections.
Patch status: how many devices are fully updated and which are behind
Endpoint protection: how many devices are covered, and any detections or threats blocked
Backup results: success and failure by system, and the date of the last restore test
Multi-factor authentication coverage across accounts
Email security: phishing attempts blocked and any reported by staff
Accounts: disabled accounts for departed staff and any stale or unused accounts
Vulnerabilities: serious findings and their remediation dates
Focus on whether each item is improving, not just whether it is green.
Ask for a current inventory and a forecast.
Devices nearing end of life or end of vendor support
Warranties and licenses that will expire
Recommended replacements, with estimated cost ranges and timing
This lets you plan budgets a year ahead instead of facing sudden expenses.
The report should show planned and completed projects, such as network upgrades, new sites or software rollouts, with status, owner and next steps. Changes to firewalls, accounts and critical systems should be listed too.
For HIPAA, ask whether the report provides items that support your documentation, such as:
Evidence of backups and restore testing
Access reviews and account removal records
Training completion status
Updates to your risk analysis and any open risk items
The report should supplement your own compliance records, not replace them.
What worries you most right now?
What would you fix first if budget were no concern?
Are we missing anything we should be doing?
Which of our tickets showed a training need for staff?
How did we do against our service targets, and what happens when you miss them?
A provider who welcomes these questions is a good sign.
The report never changes from month to month
Metrics appear without targets or comparisons
Security items are missing altogether
Problems are described only as resolved, with no root cause
Nobody offers to review it with you
Schedule a short call each month or quarter. Fifteen minutes with your provider to discuss the highlights is more valuable than a report that sits unread. Record decisions and follow up on them next time.
UnityCare IT provides regular reporting and review meetings for healthcare and senior-living clients, and we are glad to share a sample format. If your current report does not tell you where you stand, we can help you define what it should include.
Call or text: 405-285-3845
New customers: start@unitycareit.com
Existing customers: support@unitycareit.com
Address: UnityCare Technologies, 2524 N Broadway Ste 554, PMB 947974, Edmond, Oklahoma 73034-4172