To guide you in making an informed decision, SevenC explores ten essential pointers for selecting the best IT company in 2023. From understanding the various IT support agreement options to ensuring a large and diverse team of trained IT support personnel, each tip provides valuable insights.
SevenC, a leading IT infrastructure and network service provider striving to identify and make available the best possible ICT strategies for its clients’ unique needs, explores 10 essential pointers for choosing the best IT company in 2023.
Every minute, website outages, cybersecurity assaults, and various other IT mishaps can cost your firm hundreds or even thousands of dollars. For this reason alone, you require a skilled and highly qualified outsourced IT company to handle your IT demands.
But how can you pick the greatest IT firm?
“Naturally, the IT requirements of each organisation will differ. Some organisations with a large amount of sensitive data in their systems may want IT assistance that specialises in both privacy and cybersecurity. On the other hand, some organisations may require less emphasis on privacy and more focus on the specific type of software employed,” says Graeme Millar, managing director of SevenC Computing.
“The first step in getting ideal IT help is finding an IT business specialising in your sector.”
These ten pointers from SevenC will assist you in answering the question: How do I select the best IT support firm for my business in 2023?
- Their IT support agreement alternatives benefit you
In the realm of outsourced IT, there are numerous sorts of IT support arrangements. Each IT company’s offerings are structured differently. Check if your expectations are in accordance with the services they provide.
The outsourced supplier becomes your IT department with a fully managed or all-inclusive IT support agreement. This sort of fixed-fee agreement places IT administration in the hands of the provider, allowing you to focus on your tasks while ensuring that your technology is handled with the knowledge you require.
You’re probably looking for a co-managed IT support agreement if you have an internal IT person or department. With a fixed-fee co-managed agreement, the outsourced provider works alongside your IT team, providing additional brainpower on complicated challenges and removing regular jobs off their plate so they may focus on higher-level activities.
In either scenario, the agreement should be written in such a way that it benefits both you and the IT business. You want your technology to be dependable and secure, and fixed-fee IT support agreements make that the goal of the IT business as well.
When the agreement isn’t to your advantage, as with block time or monitoring contracts, it’s in the IT company’s best interest to have problems so they may bill for further services. I’m sure you’d prefer to deal with a company that invests in your success rather than profits from your troubles.
- You will be provided with a large and diverse team of trained IT support personnel
Cyber security, networking, support, cloud computing, systems administration, and other skills are required in today’s company IT environments. You’ll want to ensure that there are enough trained IT workers with a variety of expertise to tackle whatever challenges your environment may throw at them. (And that there are enough of them to assist if more than one employee is experiencing a problem simultaneously.)
Some IT suppliers try to accomplish everything with a small staff, causing workers to wear numerous hats. Help desk technicians can also be salespeople, and CEOs can also be lead engineers. As a result, your supplier is preoccupied with other matters when you require assistance. Working with a company that allows its personnel to concentrate on their duties means that you receive the finest possible service.
How will you determine their qualifications?
Inquire about credentials and continuing education. Technology evolves quickly, and a culture of continual learning keeps employees’ skills sharp. For example, certifications in Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, SOPHOS, Veeam, Seacom, and Red Hat Enterprise demonstrate mastery of the fundamentals of IT assistance.
SevenC Computing’s up-to-date knowledge and IT certifications enable our support staff to master particular technologies or practices — from help desk basics to mastering cyber security and complex cloud environments.
- Your relationship is actively managed to enhance your technological experience
Computers can be repaired by any IT support business, but as Marty Kaufman shows in his book, Do IT Right: It’s Not Just About the Computers, IT is much more than that.
Technology should help your firm grow, not just keep it running. Expect your IT support provider to assist you in improving technology usage, staying on track with your technology plan, suggesting improvements, and following through.
Aside from support ticket communication, you should meet with your Client Success Manager and Technology Advisor regularly (weekly, monthly, or quarterly, depending on how quickly things change in your firm) to realign your business goals, assign resources, and report on results.
- They understand what types of firms are best suited to their service offerings
IT firms spend years fine-tuning their systems and procedures, and they understand who will profit from their specialised services. However, what they’ve built may not be your ideal option. If there are too few people, the service may be more than you require. And if you’re more complicated than their normal client, the service or expertise may be insufficient.
A mature IT services company will understand the sorts and sizes of businesses that will gain the most from their services and will be upfront when they aren’t the appropriate fit for you.
When you’re discussing your requirements and the services they provide, you should get the impression that they “understand” your company. They understand your company’s core functions, how to support you in the manner required by your organisation, and the solutions they give are proven and true.
- They have prior experience in your field
When you engage with a provider who understands your sector, you’ll notice a substantial difference in their service. They’ll be familiar with your industry’s compliance standards, common challenges, work requirements, how you make money, and how technology may help you.
- Their honours, collaborations, and qualifications are earned
Every sector, even IT, has something that makes respected firms roll their eyes. Many IT firms publicise the prizes they have received. Many of them are authentic. However, providers occasionally pay to be “granted” for marketing purposes.
Look for verified accolades from reliable sources when researching outsourced IT service providers. Partnerships are another way to know you’re dealing with a reputable service.
When in doubt, ask. Inquire about their existing partnerships and certifications, and don’t hesitate to inquire about how they achieved industry recognition.
- They have a well-documented onboarding process
It takes time to get to know each other in a new relationship. The first few months of your partnership with your new IT support provider may be difficult as you both learn how to work together.
To reduce the learning curve, the IT provider should have a well-documented onboarding procedure that allows them to swiftly obtain the knowledge they need to properly assist your firm.
After all, you wouldn’t have switched providers if you weren’t having problems. Discuss those requirements with the organisations you’re interviewing and inquire about their plans to satisfy them.
Knowing the onboarding process and timetable ahead of time will assist you in setting clear goals and avoiding misplaced expectations.
- They are concerned about their own security
The security of your company begins with your support provider. Your company is at risk if they do not take cyber security seriously for their own corporation.
You’ll want to engage with an IT support company that follows its own security best practices for its team and infrastructure.
Inquire about their cyber security posture and the safeguards they have in place to protect themselves from cyber threats. When an IT company performs penetration tests, vulnerability scans, phishing simulations, employee training, and other proactive security methods on themselves, you know you’re dealing with a mature one.
- They have a proven track record of success
The more experience an IT firm has in providing a specific service, the more qualified they are to provide that service to your organisation.
A reputable IT support firm should be able to supply you with customer reviews that reflect the sort and quality of service their clients receive.
Most support ticketing systems allow customers to submit surveys after their tickets have been closed. Request to see a sample of the feedback. (If they don’t have those surveys or are unwilling to provide the results, that’s a red sign.)
Once you’ve narrowed your options, ask to speak with a few current clients to see whether your expectations match the support they deliver.
- They have a documented method for dealing with support requests
Most IT support firms provide numerous ways to contact support, such as filing support tickets through a ticketing system, emailing, or call the help desk. There should be a written protocol for handling requests, regardless of the manner of contact used.
Inquire with the IT company you’re interviewing about how to contact support and the support process.
Here are a few questions to consider:
How are difficulties managed?
The ability to follow every step of a ticket in a ticketing system from submission to completion holds the IT provider accountable. It also gives you facts to help you make informed technological selections. If you have internal IT workers, inquire whether they will be allowed to use the ticketing system to monitor support issues.
How does after-hours support work?
Your IT supplier should always be available to help you with your IT issues. Inquire whether their 24/7 services are included in their support package or whether they are invoiced separately. If it is not covered in the agreement, you should expect to pay exorbitant rates for after-hours help.
What happens when a problem requires escalation to a higher level of support?
If a complex problem arises, you want to know that top-tier IT professionals will address it. Inquire about the timeline and what you may anticipate.
How will you collaborate with my vendors? Your IT support company should become the point of contact for all technical difficulties and work with vendors to resolve them on your behalf. For example, if you continue to lose Internet connectivity, your IT service provider should troubleshoot your network and contact your ISP to determine the source of the problem.
How does onsite support function? Local onsite help is often included in support agreements, but with the rise of remote work and unoccupied office buildings, it’s worth directly asking the question. How do they handle it if your provider isn’t local and you need a tech to come onsite?
Conclusion
After reviewing the top ten suggestions for selecting an IT support firm, you can use this information to make an informed decision during the selection process.
Interested in learning how SevenC compares to other IT support firms? Call us to speak with one of our IT consultants and discover if we’re a good fit for your company.
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