What to consider when choosing your IT provider
We understand that our potential customers are faced with a huge task when trying to decide on an IT Support Company. There are so many to choose from and services offering and cost can vary widely, so how do you know which is best for you?
In order to assist you with this huge task we have provided some quick points that we think you should ask and consider to put your IT Support Providers through their paces.
What is actually included in their contract? Make sure you compare like-for-like
It is key to make sure you are considering both cost and quality. Critical downtime can outweigh the saving made, with cheap IT support packages, in a matter of hours.
Make sure that support includes unlimited onsite visits. Most things can be resolved remotely, but this is still an essential service.
Do they have Service level agreements, and stick to their agreed response time? You can check with their current customers - find out the actual response and resolution times they deliver.
It’s not all about fixing it. A good company will resolve the issue, find out why it happened and work out how to prevent it happening again. This may be more expensive in short term, but you will see the benefits long term.
Do they provide remote and pro-active monitoring and how is this managed?
Check their references and existing clients
You should be able to contact any of their existing clients and find out first hand how satisfied they are with:
the service
response time
communication
accuracy
reliability
By checking their existing clients, you can easily find out if their requirements are similar to your own (or even more demanding).
Can you simply talk to a team member that understands your business operations?
What is their experience and knowledge?
Consider what products you use in your business - do they have relevant experience or qualifications with that product?
Make sure they have a team of specialists who can cover wide range of services and products - networking, VoIP, back-up etc.
A good IT support provider should advise and supply solutions/products that are the best option for you (not just a specific brand from which they can make the most profit).
Look for a company that has IT support service as part of their core offering. Some service providers outsource to a telephone reseller or HR agencies with IT support as a bolt on.
Are they willing to liaise with the specialist software vendor when required, even if they do not have the expertise with a specific product?
Contract terms and notice period
Do they offer a trial period? If they are as good as they say they are then a 3-month break in a 12-month contract shouldn't be an issue.
Make sure you don’t get yourself signed ino a long-term contract. A one-year service contract term is standard. You should not have to sign into anything over and above this without incentive.
Do you have an option to cancel and what is the notice period? Be wary of excessive notice periods - this should be anything between 1-3 months but no longer than this.
Company trading status
How long have they been trading and do they have a solid financial status?
What is their office like? Do they have skills and infrastructure to cope?
Complaints - can you speak to someone who will take your issue seriously?
Do they have relevant insurance? They should be able to provide you with the copy of liability and indemnity cover for your peace of mind.
Check their website:
is it up to date?
are there recent projects and news?
any feedback or testimonials from their customers?
With over 90% of our new business coming from client referrals, our reputation speaks for itself. We take pride in being a trusted IT partner, delivering first-class support that businesses rely on year after year.
Contact us to learn more about how we can assist you.