It’s not only a New Year for you. It’s a New Year for your business.
Just as you’ve made resolutions for how to improve your personal life, it’s beneficial to make resolutions for how you can give your business a fresh new start. One resolution that may top your list this year is finding a better IT support company.
Finding the right company isn’t as easy as it may seem. Here are a few things to do as you prepare to find a new support crew for your business in 2017.
Go Over Your 2017 Budget
Before you start your search for a new computer support department for your business, you need to have an idea in mind of how much you can afford to pay.
Prices range dramatically (we’ll talk more about why next). Basing your decision only on price could mean you’re not getting the services or support you anticipate or need. Not to mention, you have to consider the possible costs of productivity loss, cyber attacks, or data loss due to choosing a poor provider.
Get the Right Quote
Ask five people in the technology industry what computer support means and you’ll get five different answers.
The term “computer support” is a broad one. One company’s version of computer support services could vary wildly from another company’s version. That’s enough to make your head spin, so let’s simplify it. There are two main models of computer support services for business.
- Time and material. This is where you pay an hourly rate whenever you have a problem with your computer. It’s a model that’s quickly fading because it feels like you’re putting bandages on problems instead of actually preventing them.
- Managed IT services. This model gives you a flat rate to cover all of your IT requirements. These requirements often include remote support, a helpdesk, and onsite support in one monthly fee. That also covers cybercrime prevention, backup and disaster recovery, 24/7/365 monitoring, patch management, and other services.
Many businesses have already or are in the process of switching away from the first model in favor of the second model. With how fast technology is developing (and how fast hackers are honing their attacks), it’s important that you consistently have a support team on your side. The managed IT services model gives you that computer support team. Interested in knowing more about how managed IT services can actually save your company money and positively affect your bottom line?
Request a quote now and we can lay out all the specifics for your organization.
As you start soliciting quotes, be sure you’re asking for specifics about what you get instead of price alone.
Have the Right Hiring Mindset
When you set out to find your new computer support crew, you’re essentially setting out to hire an important addition to your team. They will interact with your business intelligence, your staff, and you on a regular basis. You need this company to fit in with your culture for the new relationship to work.
Interview your computer support companies with this in mind. Make sure you can relate to one another and understand what’s happening with your business’s sensitive information. If you’re met with techie speak and jargon that you don’t understand, ask them to clarify. It’s important that you always get the full explanation of what’s happening in your business.
And just like you do for your employees, ask for references. Good companies that provide managed IT services have testimonials and guarantees to backup their work.
Treat Trust as a Non-Negotiable
Part of having a computer support team on your side is to keep you safe from ongoing threats. This requires a team that is proactive at protecting all your devices. To do that, your team needs to have access to your network, passwords, and other confidential information.
You’re handing over the keys to the person or people you hire. It’s not a decision to take lightly.
Talk to the companies you’re considering about how they keep your sensitive business information secure. What happens when an employee leaves their firm disgruntled with your business intelligence in hand? What do they do to protect your company’s digital assets? Ask these questions up front so you can get a clear idea of what will happen if you sign on with the computer support company.
Know What You Can Expect
Hiring a team to support your business should mean just that – support. If you need help, you should be able to get it fast.
Talk to the computer support company about how they handle incoming requests. Can you call and talk to a real person? Do they guarantee a response time to your support requests? What happens if you need help after hours?
Support also means preventative care. A good computer support department will meet with you quarterly to analyze and give you a report of your system’s health. This is a critical service that will help you stay innovative and ahead of any developing threats.
Eliminate Surprises
All of these services sound great, but how much will it cost? Although we never recommend basing your decision on price alone, we do recommend having a clear idea of what the bill will say when it arrives on your desk each month.
Monthly surprise charges on the bill are frustrating, to say the least. By working with a computer support company that charges a flat fee, you’ll never have to open the bill in a sweat wondering how much it’ll put your business back that month.
Next Step: Get Your Free Consultation
Ready to hire your next computer support crew? The first step is to ask for a free consultation to discuss your current IT setup. This will help you understand where you can improve and how competent the team is you’re considering.
We’d like to be one of the first to provide an IT consultation for your business. Call us at [phone_main] and we’ll do an onsite 30-minute consultation to analyze what you need and determine whether we’re the right fit for you.
