More than half of companies outsource some part of their business to third-party vendors. This ranges from accounting to IT.
One survey showed that 49% of companies that outsource IT do so to focus on their core businesses. Other reasons to outsource IT are to save money and to access skills and expertise that are not available in-house.
Companies don’t always reach their objectives when outsourcing, though. That’s because they hire the wrong IT partner. They invest time to hire a vendor only to have to find another one.
Hiring IT support providers isn’t always easy because there are so many providers out there. They all seem to do the same things so it’s hard to tell them apart.
If you’re about to hire an IT support provider, you’ll want to keep reading. You’re going to learn the top ways to find the perfect IT support partner.
Location Matters
You might think that with remote work and advances in technology, you can hire IT support providers from anywhere. You can, and they’ll be able to do the job.
There are a few things that you need to keep in mind. You’ll need to know where the company’s servers are located. Information travels from your network to the IT provider’s servers and back to your network.
The greater the distance, the longer it will take for information to travel.
If you’re doing video conferencing or need VoIP services, the distance between your office and the servers could cause quality issues.
There are regulatory considerations as well. You might do a lot of business in Europe and have to comply with GDPR and other data privacy regulations. A U.S.-based company might not be aware of the compliance standards, putting your business at risk.
Industry Experience
You should have an IT support team that has a wealth of expertise in your industry. That’s because there are industry regulations that you may have to comply with.
If your business is a government contractor, you have to meet certain security standards. In the financial and healthcare industries, there are strict laws that govern data privacy.
An IT provider that’s not familiar with your industry can put your business out of compliance. That opens your business up to fines and penalties.
Business Needs
There are different levels of IT support that you can get from a support provider. You might have a small business and just need help with maintenance and upgrades.
A business might need network computing solutions that include security, cloud migration, and tech support.
Make a list of the IT issues you have. Start with the most time-consuming tasks and things you can’t get to but worry about.
Prioritize the list from the most important down. This will help you focus on the most important tasks first, no matter what your IT support budget is.
If hiring IT support providers cost too much, you can eliminate the low-priority tasks so you get support within the budget.
Scalable IT Levels of IT Support
When you work with an IT support provider, you’re hiring a long-term partner for your business. You want to make sure that you get the support that you need now and can plan for the future.
Will you be able to get the same support for common IT issues if you add more employees? Will you need to add on more services?
Share your vision with IT support companies. Ask them how they see their services fitting your vision for company growth.
Reviews and References
Reputation is everything in the IT industry. Hire a support team that has an outstanding reputation for providing IT support.
Reading online reviews helps you separate good from bad companies. If you’re down to a couple of great providers, ask them for references.
Feel free to contact them and ask them questions. Learn about the providers’ weak points and strengths. You’ll find the provider that best matches your needs.
Preventative Measures
Since there are different levels of IT support, you might not get a provider that’s fully focused on preventing issues. They might fix issues as they arise, but that’s it.
Prevention is essential because you’ll have reduced downtime and higher productivity. Preventative measures may include 24-7 monitoring, security updates, and staff training.
Vendor Relationships
IT support companies often have relationships with software providers and hardware manufacturers. This normally isn’t an issue unless they only recommend those products and services.
That means a provider is more interested in a commission than doing what’s in your company’s best interests.
Ask potential IT support companies if they have existing relationships with vendors and how that influences their decisions. Ideally, you want to work with an IT partner that doesn’t have vendor relationships.
Read the Contract
Read the contract before hiring IT support providers. That’s because the contract spells out what services you’ll actually receive.
Make sure it’s clear how long the contract is for. Look for an early termination clause. You want to be aware of what your options are if you need to move to another IT support provider.
It’s just as important to look for what’s not in the contract. You can’t assume that something is covered if it’s not clearly stated in the contract.
Essential Tips for Hiring IT Support Providers
Hiring IT support providers can help small businesses save time and money. They allow small business owners to focus on the core business tasks instead of trying to figure out IT.
You want to make sure you hire support for common IT issues that small businesses in your industry face. Hopefully, these tips showed you what to look for in a quality IT support partner.
If you liked learning about hiring IT support services, you’ll enjoy the other tech articles on the blog. Check them out today!
