Top 5 tips for selecting an IT Support company

Finding the right IT Support company for your business can be a daunting task.  What do you look for? How do you know the company will give you a top level of service, and what about the cost and hidden costs?  This blog will list the top 5 things to look for when selecting an IT Support Company.

1. Do they have the technical expertise and experience?  Have a look at their website, make sure that the services they list cover your requirements and check testimonials and reviews online. Have a look and see how long the IT Support company has been in operation, if they have been in operation for 20 years they must be doing something right!
2. What are the terms of the contract?  Many IT Support companies offer a low monthly price but carefully check the contract to make sure that there are no additional charges, many companies charge extra for certain types of support or charge additional if a certain number of hours are exceeded.  Make sure you select a company that will offer a single monthly fee with unlimited IT Support.  Also check to see how long you are tied in for, a company that only has a three month notice period may perform better on a day to day basis than a company that has tied you in to a three year contract.
3. How quickly will you get a response?  There are a growing number of reports that many IT Support companies are not as efficient as they promised when bidding for contracts.   It is quite common to have Service Level Agreements stating 4 hour responses or 8 hour responses.  Check this thoroughly, there are companies that offer 15 minute responses and 60 minute responses but they have to have the systems in place to be able to monitor and uphold these kind of response times.  There are companies that have created bespoke systems suited to managing IT Support contracts and Service Level Agreements like the Cube IT Support system. Don’t be afraid to ask how they ensure that cases logged will be responded to in the set times.
4. Does the company offer Cloud Services? In recent years Cloud services have proved to be the way forward for SMEs.  Check to see if your potential IT Support company offer such services, ask whether the data centres are in the UK and also ask how long they have had the relationship with the Cloud providers.  A company that has a 15 year relationship with the same supplier shows a true partnership.  Similarly check with them to see if they are still able to support in-house systems (if you still have them).  Many IT Support companies have moved away from supporting in-house systems.
5. Do they really care or are you just another client? This has become increasingly important for SMEs.  Service in general seems to be decreasing from the smallest of companies to the largest.  Your IT is a major entity within you business and you need the peace of mind that your IT Support company cares about your IT and your business.  Make sure that you feel that excitement and passion for IT from their website, from emails and from speaking with them.  See if they are willing to adjust their contracts to suit your requirements, if they don’t have that flexibility or they don’t seem to be excited about your business, then maybe they are not the right company for you.

SHARE THIS BLOG ARTICLE