IT is an integral part of business management. Keeping your network humming is vital for the smooth running of your business.
Many SMBs float between having their IT managed in-house or by an IT vendor or a combination of both. While all these options have their pros and cons, SMBs often turn to outsource their IT support to third party vendors. While it is a cost-effective measure to get highly skilled technicians to look after the IT health of your computer network, you need to make sure that you screen the right IT vendor to meet your needs. This is a relationship that must be curated with care to benefit both parties.
Here are some top factors to consider while selecting your next IT vendor:
1. Knowledge
With IT evolving at a rapid pace, it is key for the IT support technician to keep up thoroughly with the ongoing and emerging trends, methodologies, and best practices. Big industry game-changers and decision-makers like Microsoft, Dell, HP CISCO to name a few are constantly upgrading their technology for the better. Industry Certified professionals stand apart while making valid decisions for your network. Further, the benefit of dealing with a team of a reputable IT firm is the knowledge in different areas of IT vendors that each one comes with.
2. Listen & Concerned
A good IT support vendor is one who listens to your needs and then offers a customized support plan. Asking the right questions about your business and understanding your needs is important. Today there are far too many options available when it comes to hardware to software to services. The IT vendor should make decisions and recommendations based on needs and budget.
3. Foresight
The IT vendor needs to propose a detailed plan for supporting your network. How will the new proposed technology interact with the legacy system? What new software or hardware will you need to get up and running? They should foresee any major changes coming ahead and keep you updated on the same for preparedness.
4. Flexibility
The IT vendor should be someone who can adapt to your changing business model, not someone who’s trying to just sell their service plan. Your company is unique and so are your needs, and your vendor should provide tailored solutions and be flexible to alter the plans based on your business operating model.
5. Certification
IT technicians keep themselves up-to-date with the latest trend and technology. Your next IT vendor must have trained and certified technicians to offer high skill services.
6. Support
Technical support is very crucial during the initial stages of a relationship with a new IT vendor. For the first few months of transition, your vendor should provide training to your employees and back-end support to your IT department to prevent any setbacks in your daily operations.
7. Availability
Support from the vendor should be readily available. Disaster can strike anytime, be it mid-night or on weekends. You want to have the peace of mind that your emergency IT vendor is available for service. In case of an emergency, a backup IT technician must be available to help you with an effective back-up service on-demand. It is also recommended to work with a company that has a team of IT technicians available rather than a moonlighter or “one-man operations”.
8. Cost
Cost is important. Typically, the right vendor would propose a competitive rate. If the vendor cannot make a reasonable margin on your business, then something is going to suffer. So a Win-Win approach strikes the deal. The clarity in pricing is also a very important factor that enables you to understand your purchase, be it hardware or services.
