You’re on the lookout for the best managed IT company for your business, and eager about all the benefits a managed IT service can offer. However, you aren’t 100% sure how to pick the best managed IT services provider for your specific industry. Or perhaps you’ve narrowed it down, but now you’re stuck at a draw. The lowest price is not always the best strategy when picking an IT company. Using these 8 tips below will hopefully help you narrow down your search.
Here are 8 Tips to Help You Choose the Best IT Support Company for Your Business
1. Does the IT Support Company Have Experience?
How long has the IT company been is business? Experience in the technology field is vital. One wrong click on your Server can wipe out your entire business. Scary right? Someone just coming into the field won’t have the experience to know the ins and outs of IT environments. Having a newbie or pop-up IT company at the helm of your business can be scary. What happens if they delete all your files on your server? Expertise and longevity matter. Ask them how long they have been providing Managed IT services.
Does the company your considering offer Managed IT Services as their "core" business? If it is not, they are not for you. You need real IT company with real experience.
2. Can the IT Company Support Your Equipment?
Can they come into your IT environment and start working on the current equipment you have in place? Do your workstations or servers run on something other than Windows? If so, do they have experience supporting your operating systems? Like Mac OS, Android, Linux, or others. Or how about VMware, VLAN's, your brand firewall or stacked switches?
If you have to purchase new equipment so they can support you, how much will that cost? And why can’t they work on your current equipment? Most likely due to lack of experience. Unless you’re looking to switch infrastructures, finding an IT company that can support your systems is VERY important.
Are they certified in your industry’s technologies?
3. Does This IT Support Company Have Experience Supporting Your Company's Software?
What software(s) or application(s) are most critical to your business? Does the IT provider have experience with most or all of them? Do they know your industry?
Things to keep in mind: A business with custom programs shouldn’t expect an outsourced IT company to know how to use their software. However, they should be able to triage and offer 3rd party liaison support. Software development/programming and IT Support are two completely different occupations. You shouldn’t ask your developer to run your IT, and your IT company shouldn’t be expected to create or modify your internal software programing.
4. How Fast Can You Expect Service When You Need It?
Every IT company has different processes for supporting their managed service clients – response times can vary largely. Do they have a Help Desk team that answers the phone when you call? Ask for their Service Level Agreement (SLA) or response times, which should cover things like:
How fast do they respond to issues via email and phone?
How quickly are issues resolved?
What's their first time call resolution percentage?
5. Can the IT Company Handle a Company of Your Size?
Is the IT company large enough to support all your needs? Ask how many technicians they have on staff, and ask about their support processes. However, be careful, many of the sizable managed IT services companies, especially franchises, will boast of their size to try and prove their dependability, but becoming a customer of a larger managed IT services company will lead to your IT needs getting lost amidst all the others. Not to mention the level of service, tech expertise and knowledge, in most cases, will be subpar.
No one wants to explain their issues to someone new every time you call in for support. You want an IT company that cares about you and knows who you are when you call. You need to know and trust the people that are helping you run your business.
Here is the Key: Find an IT company large enough to take care of all your technology needs, and small enough to care.
6. Can They Scale to Meet Your Needs?
Being in business means knowing that some years you have growth spurts, while others are slower growing periods. Can your IT company work with your growing needs, especially if your industry has peaks and valleys? An experienced IT company can.
7. Do You Meet The IT Company's Prerequisites?
What makes your business a qualified contender for their managed IT services?
Some IT companies require businesses to have a certain number of workstations and/or users to provide IT support. This is normally because it makes monetarily more sense to have a certain amount of PC or users before a managed service cost can be justified for your business. Having these standards in place isn't a bad thing. Make sure that you are a good fit for each other.
8. Check for Education, Certifications and Partnerships
Making sure they are a reputable IT company is your responsibility. Do they hire technicians with experience? Do they offer continued education to their technicians? Does the IT company have partnerships to include major manufacturers like Microsoft, Dell, and SonicWALL. Their technicians should also hold certifications in the industry as well.
Does the owner of the IT company have a degree in technology and real hands on experience in designing, developing and maintaining IT networks? Owners should know their business inside and out. Would you hire a law firm if the founder was not a lawyer themselves?
Bonus: Look for an IT support contract with proactive and reactive services, full coverage. You want monitoring and help desk. With this type of contract, the IT company’s incentive is to NOT have problems. A win-win for both parties.
At the end of the day, choosing the best IT support company for your business is about doing your research and asking questions. The lowest price is not always the best strategy when picking an IT company. Ask yourself why are they so much cheaper. Using these 8 tips hopefully can help you narrow down your search. Make sure you know exactly who you’re getting into business with before signing any contract. IT is the core of your business, having a reliable system with experienced technicians managing it is imperative to the success of any company, choose wisely!
Find out more about Kappa's Managed IT Services: https://www.kappaservices.com/why-kappa-managed-it-services