How to choose an IT support company
Choosing an IT support company to partner with requires careful consideration as options can range significantly, as can pricing.
It’s important to think about how you’d like your IT support service to work in practice. Some organisations prefer a very hand-ons approach with their IT company, receiving regular updates on performance, engaging in strategy discussions and working closely on projects and support tickets. Others prefer to pass all IT issues to their IT company and have very little to do with the ongoing process.
Neither option is right, but finding the right company to match your needs is important. A more hands on approach requires an IT company who is highly skilled, accredited and experienced. IT can be a complex area, so you need confidence that your IT partner can not only fix problems, but also feedback to you on potential causes and suggest resolutions for the future.
If you’re looking for a more break-fix approach to IT, then you should ensure that your staff know exactly what numbers to call and the response and fix times they should be expecting. Even if you go down this route, it’s important to pick an IT partner that understand how you’ll work and what you expect, so that everyone is working to a common goal.
Part of your selection process should involve looking at online case studies, company accreditations and understanding the IT company’s approach to their customers. From there, you can shortlist between one and three businesses to speak to.
If you know the details, you should share information about your current IT system, the number of users you have and any issues you’ve experienced, or your reasons for change. It is likely that a remote, or on-site, audit of your IT network will be required to gather all of the information and you will need to provide access to any businesses you wish to carry this out. It’s best to have a good idea of who you’d like to deal with at this stage though so you don’t have to repeat the process over and over again.
Once audited, an IT support company will provide you with a quotation which is likely to include pricing to look after your existing system and some recommendations. Don’t ignore these recommendations! The chances are that the reason you’re looking for a new IT partner is related to some issues on your IT network and a fresh pair of eyes will identify these for you.
Although you’ll need to decide on your own selection criteria, don’t base it purely on price. The IT industry is very much a “get what you pay for” industry, with more experienced and skilled IT companies employing a higher calibre of IT engineer who install systems correctly and can provide quick and accurate support.
Finally, get to know your potential new IT company as best as you can during the selection process. With IT being a critical part of any business you are likely to work with them a lot, so you need to make sure you get on well!