IT problems can become overwhelming for firms to manage alone, especially for SMEs with fewer resources. Outsourcing these obligations can be a much more affordable and sustainable way to address these concerns.
Hiring an IT support company comes with different considerations than if you were to develop your own department. You’re not recruiting full-time employees here, so the parameters of what you’re looking for should perhaps be slightly different.
What might you want to look out for in this situation? Keep reading below for some of the pointers we think might help you.
A Great Reputation
Your business partnerships should be with firms with stellar reputations. How can you confirm this with IT support specialists? Totality Services are highly rated for all their hard work in tailored IT support in London. Browsing their site, you’ll see they earned the Platinum Service Trusted Award. They also have the all-important Quality Management and Information Security Management certifications. If that’s not enough, they have a sweeping range of five-star reviews on Google, Feefo, and Trustpilot.
If your business is based in London, look no further than here. If you’re elsewhere, don’t settle on a service that has anything less than an overwhelmingly positive reputation. Information security and a smoothly running IT infrastructure are paramount, and a support company offering mixed results won’t get your business anywhere good. After all, it only takes one mistake in this arena to set your firm back a very long way.
Reasonable Promises
Any IT support company that promises to fix problems in moments without knowing the issue isn’t to be readily trusted. Trustworthy IT support companies operate on a case-by-case basis and make data-driven estimations, not unrealistic vows.
Of course, if they promise speedy response times as a general aim, that’s great. If you hire these specialists, you need those assurances, confident they’ll do their utmost to get things back on track in a crisis. At the same time, it’s important to mark the distinction between speedy response times and speedy resolutions. Ultimately, not every IT problem is a quick fix, even for the experts.
Cybersecurity Specialisation
Cybersecurity is no longer necessary for working with an IT support company. It’s an essential pillar of your business operations. More firms are being urged to update their cybersecurity measures by the government, with one out of three firms suffering weekly cyber attacks in 2022. The stakes have never been higher; meeting these standards is also a matter of compliance. Working with an IT support company that’s an expert in these matters is essential.
Look for experts that provide end-to-end IT services for security and hardware. They should proactively identify, eliminate, and report cyber threats at all times, day or night, 365 days a year. Additionally, the experts won’t limit their safeguards to computers – servers, networks, printers, cloud solutions, and mobiles for work use should all be monitored. If they don’t have those capabilities, look for help elsewhere.
Staff Training Offerings
IT support companies aren’t gatekeepers of knowledge. The best of them will wish to educate you and your staff for many reasons. By becoming more aware of computer problems in your company, you can develop more of a shorthand with the support firm you’re working with. You’ll speak the same language, collaborate more closely, and better understand your firm’s challenges and how to solve them. All of this paves the way for a brighter future.
It’s in the IT support company’s interests to follow through on these obligations. So, while they can take the stress out of managing your computer infrastructure, you can expect they’ll offer to train you and your workers around the best practices regarding the daily use of these machines.
Remember, there are some data breaches that an IT support company isn’t directly responsible for and would struggle to resolve. They’re helpers and consultants, not miracle workers, so ensuring you and your workers are competently managing your side of the deal is essential.
Fair Contract Terms
Try to work with an IT support company that understands the ever-changing needs of your firm. It can be a red flag if potential partners persist in trying to lock you into long-term contracts.
That’s not to say all long-term contracts with an IT support company are bad. If you’ve looked out for everything else mentioned in this article, you may be home-free. Still, caution never hurts anybody, so be thorough when reading all the details outlined in formal agreements.
Flexibility is usually a good indicator of reliable service. They’ll first hear your needs and then supply you with a quote. An SME will have different requirements than a multinational conglomerate; trustworthy IT support companies will respect that and keep your budget in mind.
Keep an eye out for things like extra charges too. If you’re changing service providers, the IT support company will ideally allow this without imposing additional fees, but that’s not always a deal breaker. So long as you understand and agree to the terms of cancellation before signing the dotted line, all is well.
Interesting Related Article: “Human Factors in Starting an IT Company“