What do I need to know before I choose IT Support for my business?

In order to find the right IT Support provider for your company, you need to ask the right questions. This will make the process much easier. As an IT Support business striving to provide a great service to all of our customers. We thrive off the tricky questions and we are confident that we can answer them. Here is a list of the question we think will help you sort through the good and the bad.

1. Can you provide me with some references from companies you work with?

Just like a job interview you should ask for references; how do you really know how good they are unless you ask someone who knows. You should always ask for references. You don’t have to call all of them, but if they can provide a few to select from it will instantly give you confidence.

If you do speak to them, here are a few potential questions you could ask:

• Do they deliver what they promised?
• Are they responsive and easy to get hold of?
• Do they stay within the projected budget?
• Would you use them again?

2. How big is your company?

IT Support companies vary enormously but as they grow so does their ability to offer more solutions and products, as does their knowledge base. The “one-man band” will struggle to provide a great service as there will always be times when they have to deal with another customer, holidays and illness.

However, this doesn’t mean you should necessarily choose the biggest company as larger IT companies can appear faceless with a lack of care.

Just be confident that the company you choose can meet all of your needs, always weight up the pros and cons.

3. Do you offer different levels of support?

Many IT Support companies will offer a choice of service levels to suit different budgets and requirements. These may include:

Pay-As-You-Go Support, where you pay an hourly rate or a fixed price – this is usually the more expensive option in the long run.

Break-Fix Support, which can be charged hourly, either paid in advance or afterwards.

Manager Service Support, where the support company actively manages your systems to reduce the chance of things going wrong. This usually involves signing a contract.

4. Will we get a dedicated account manager?

It’s important to have a high-level single point of contact with the IT Support company with who you can build a long-term relationship with. They will get to know your business and your plans and they should work with you to ensure your IT accommodates these.

5. How can we log support calls with you?

When you have an IT problem, we know how frustrating it can be, especially if you can’t get hold of the person you employ to fix it. Make sure your Support company either has a dedicated number with someone always available to answer as well as another facility, such as an online form, email address or ticketing support software that will go straight to the support team. Ideally you should have all four of these options.

6. Do you supply hardware as well as support?

Even if you purchase all your computer hardware from a different supplier, it is good to know that your IT Support company can replace any faulty parts themselves. And when it is time to replace your hardware, you may feel better knowing that your IT Support company recommended, supplied and installed it – giving you a single point of contact if something did go wrong.

7. Do you have testimonials and case studies from other satisfied customers?

There is nothing better than seeing real existing customers tell you what their IT Support company has done for them and why they are happy. Just beware that not all testimonials are legit. If they are from Mrs J Jones or anonymous, how trustworthy are they? You should check that these are real customers.