Negosentro | Advice for choosing the right IT service provider | These days, computers, the internet and IT have become an integral part of almost all companies. Indeed, when you think about it, it is hard to imagine how much of modern business could be achieved without today’s modern tech, the web, email and communications technology.
However, as firms have come to increasingly rely more and more on their networks, it has become vitally important to choose a professional IT service provider. Here are just a few hints and tips to help make sure you find the right services provider.
Where is the provider based?
Rather than looking at where their head office is based, you should ask where your data is going to be stored i.e. what is the location of the company’s servers that will be used for your files. Location becomes particularly important if the firm is to be providing you with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services or cloud storage solutions.
Also, local laws and data protection can cause problems for data storage – particularly if your company operates in a highly-regulated business sector.
What levels of support are covered?
Probably the most important question you can ask a provider is how they provide support – and to what level. When it comes to computers, networks and storage, there is no such thing as a bulletproof system – things can (and do) go wrong from time to time. When choosing who to partner with, it is crucially important you understand exactly how the firm provides support when issues occur. The most common models are pay-as-you-go, fully managed service support or break-fix solutions. In the majority of cases, you will be better off with a fully managed service (even though you will likely pay more for this type of cover).
Check exactly what is covered by your support contract
It is unfortunately surprisingly common for firms to blithely claim they cover everything when, in fact, you may find there are very clear areas of cover/no cover. Be sure to get your prospective IT partner to lay out in black and white exactly icovered as part of your support contract – and also ask them what is not included (plus be sure to check how they charge for these extra services).
Check on response times
Remember, there is a huge difference between response and resolution times and, while you cannot realistically expect a company to give you an estimate for resolution times (the problem has not happened yet after all), they should be able to offer you guaranteed response times.
Does the company provide remote monitoring of your IT systems?
As with most areas of life, prevention is far better than cure and a professional IT service provider should be looking to identify and address potential issues long before they develop into full-blown problems. With new viruses appearing every day and malicious attacks also occurring with alarming frequency, you should look for a partner who is actively watching your back. The total cost of cybercrime in 2021 is expected to total around $6 trillion globally – a figure that, by comparison, makes online crime the world’s third-largest economy behind the USA and China.
Other important questions to ask
The above covers the most important queries you should raise with a potential provider, but you may also want to know if you will have a dedicated account manager or engineer with whom you can build a relationship. You may also want to know if they work with specific equipment providers. A company that works only with specific manufacturers will often try to shoehorn your service provision to fit their suppliers’ equipment rather than looking to devise the best solution for your needs, totally independent of suppliers.
