You’re a savvy business owner. You’ve been reading up on this whole managed IT support thing, and you see the value.
After all, you don’t have time to run around making sure your company’s tech works all the time. You’ve got places to go. People to see. Stuff to do.
Outsourced IT is in, and you’re ready to take advantage of all the benefits.it support
Benefits like . . .
“ . . . improved operational performance, reduced operational risk, cost avoidance and accelerated innovation.” – Forbes
“ . . . faster and more efficient ways to deal with the security issues of your company.” – Business.com
And,
“ . . . the same economies of scale, efficiency, and expertise that large companies enjoy.” – The New York Times
We know. Quotes from nationally-known publications and everything. This outsourced IT support thing is legit.
There’s just one problem. How do you pick the right IT support partner for your company? A quick Google search reveals way more options than you anticipated. Who knew there were so many IT support providers out there?! How do you separate the good from the mediocre?
Here are three critical questions to get you started.
1. What do you do when things don’t work?
No matter how good your equipment is, it’ll fail. There’s no such thing as perfection in technology. Something’s going to go wrong. When looking for an IT support provider, you need to know their process for handling issues.
We encourage you to ask about the following:
- What’s your availability? Can I only call during business hours, or is your support 24/7?
- What’s your average response time? Are we looking at minutes? Hours? Days?!
- What’s the nature of your support? Phone only? Do you have techs to send out to work with me face-to-face?
- What’s the pay structure? Is on-call support included, or am I going to get a massive bill for asking how to get the printer to work?
2. What do you do to keep things working?
Even though hiccups are inevitable, that doesn’t mean your network is some kind of ticking time bomb. You don’t have to wait for something to break before you can fix it. It’s entirely possible to get out in front of problems.
Proactive IT support providers do this by monitoring their clients’ networks around-the-clock. Most technical issues come with a few warning signs. If you’re looking for them, you may be able to spot them before anything stops working.
That’s what you want from your IT support provider. Someone who is committed to avoiding problems before they have a chance to slow your business down.
3. How does your support change as we grow?
Finally, the scope of your IT network is going to change over time. You’ll add a few new employees. Maybe move to a new office space. You might even want to explore working remotely.
As your needs change with growth, will your IT support provider adapt or lock up? Some providers are really good about taking an agile approach. They expect you to grow. They even encourage it. Others may not be as enthusiastic about the tweaks your network will require as your company changes.
In IT support terms, you want to ask about scalability. The more scalable a provider’s IT support is, the better.
Hill Country Tech Guys IT support.
We’re certainly not the only IT support provider around. However, we sincerely believe the kind of support we offer is the kind SMB owners really need. That’s because we’re committed to our clients.
If you’re looking for IT support, we invite you to get in touch with us. We’ll walk you through our process without any high-pressure sales tactics. We’re just good, friendly folks who happen to know a lot about IT support and are willing to help.