Top 5 Essential Questions To Ask Your IT Services Provider
As technology develops, more enterprises and organizations continue to invest in innovative IT solutions for uninterrupted security, communication, and growth. That’s because information technology drives every aspect of a business. Business dynamism, dynamic innovation systems, and reliable financing mechanisms make the US the IT sector’s global landscape. Your business or organization shouldn’t fall short.
And when choosing between an in-house IT system and a managed IT services provider, the latter often comes with more benefits. You gain from the convenience of improved server security to the fact that you enjoy unified communication solutions.
But without a proper checklist, choosing an IT provider can be a waste of time and your hard-earned resources. We simplify all these for you as we outline the top five questions to ask when shopping for an IT provider.
Top 5 Questions to Ask When Hiring an IT Company
1. What Are Your Long-term Plans for Your IT Services Company?
Every business has its long-term goals, and your business is no exception. Partnering with an IT provider with long-term goals is a perfect decision because they will also pass the culture to your business or organization.
Ask the prospective IT provider if they have any viable long-term plans because a provider that’s only swinging cannot help your business to grow.
The factors that you should look out for when it comes to long-term plans entail service, general growth, and social mission.
- Customer Service Goals- Ask the IT company if they aim to improve their response rates and customer satisfaction rates. Also, ask about the availability of incentives or discounts on future purchases. You can again ask them for any proof of successful case studies or services.
- Community Outreach Objectives- Community outreaches help to build a company’s name and recognition. Anyone with a business or enterprise in Illinois, for example, would want to be associated with a service provider with a good community reputation.
2. What Is Your Exit Strategy?
Don’t get into a contract with a company that does not provide a documented exit strategy. While many people think that looking into an exit strategy is pessimistic and counterintuitive, consider hiring a company that offers an exit strategy consistent with your investment and sourcing strategy.
Ideally, review exit strategies to avoid getting locked into a contract that does not meet your objectives.
Consider the following in the exit strategy:
- Continuing Service Provision- Will the company continue to provide IT support during the transition period? Of course, the right service provider should ensure that you receive the same quality level of services when exiting the relationship.
- Data Security, Safety, and Privacy- Cybersecurity is on the rise, and the trend will not stop soon. Ask your prospective provider if they will maintain the security, safety, and privacy upon ending the contract.
- Termination Costs- Ask the IT company if your company will incur any penalties on poor performance on the part of the IT company. Ensure that the contract states that your company won’t incur penalties, particularly if you can prove that the provider can’t perform the contract as expected.
3. Where Am I Being Supported from?
Well, IT problems are inevitable in the cyber-centric world that we live in today. And while most Managed IT Service Providers have a remote helpdesk to help you sort out any issues that may arise, we often recommend that you consider providers who come from within your locality.
Some problems will need the physical presence of an IT professional from your provider. It becomes inconvenient when you will need to wait for several hours or days for technical support. Thus, if you can, get a provider from your region.
Getting a company from your community is also a perfect way to give back to the community. A partnership between a business or organization and a IT company, for example, is utterly beneficial to the community.
4. Are All Your Employees Full-time Staff Members or Contractors or Outsourced?
While this sounds deep, it helps you to manage your expectations appropriately. Outsourcing is a cheaper way of providing services since entities don’t have to keep specialist personnel on higher salaries when there isn’t enough work for them throughout the year.
But on your mission to finding a good IT support company, if they outsource most of their personnel, that tells you that they lack in-house expertise. Thus, it could take them hours to organize assistance if you are in any problems.
On the other hand, a company with full-time employees indicates that they will always provide the necessary assistance whenever you need it. Again they must have only recruited the best and placed them on their payroll.
5. Do You Outsource Any Services or Support Whatsoever?
Finally, the last thing you should look out for is whether the IT provider outsources any services or support. It is partially related to the above question, but instead of touching on personnel, it touches on services. The answer to this question will help you know what to include in your contract and what to leave.
Ideally, you shouldn’t be outsourcing your IT support services from a company that also outsources the same services. This is a recipe for chaos.
Therefore, consider a company that has all the services that you need within its system. Such a feature ensures that you directly deal with whoever is in charge of your IT systems.
We’ve come to the end of this discussion. And while there are several benefits of outsourcing your IT support, choosing the right company is no mean task. A good company will help in your business’s growth while a bad one will prove costly and disastrous.
The above questions should help you zero in on the right provider that meets your overall goals and objectives. Choose a provider that will help you implement the right services. At OnPar Technologies, we stand out as one of the most professional IT support companies. You can contact us for a quote and more details on how we can help you.
