Did you know that once they’ve been outsourced, a computer and Managed IT service provider actually assume control and responsibilities of all your IT issues? They’ll offer you solutions to all your business IT problems 24/7 throughout the year! All they’ll need from you is just your input on how you need things handled in your business. As professionals, they’ll then go ahead and implement everything up to your job satisfaction.
These simple facts, therefore, mean that managed IT services form a critical part of any business especially when it comes to their survival. It is very important to select the right team that’ll be in line with your business objectives and help you achieve your goals. This article will highlight a number of factors to look out for before hiring a remote IT service provider.
- What is your assessment of their support level?
You need to have a clear idea of what you’ll be getting from them in relation to their support services. What is their availability levels? Do they operate even on holidays? These are just but a few of the issues you need to be sorted out before engaging one. You need to be guaranteed of around the clock support to ensure that your customers are attended to on the call.
Customer satisfaction is one of the main objectives of every business owner and minimization of downtime is one of the best ways of achieving that.
- Have an idea of their past successes
Try doing a thorough background check on your potential managed IT service provider so that you can have a clue about their track record. A reliable provider should typically have an impeccable track record. Through their track record, you can then go ahead and make your own assessment of what can be expected from them. This also goes a long way in highlighting the experience levels of your potential recruits which is very vital when it comes to guaranteeing a successful business partnership.
- How are your financials?
You need to conduct an analysis of your budgetary needs to see whether you’ll be able to accommodate these providers. We all know that often managed IT services due to their nature of work can take a toll on your budget. It is therefore imperative to know exactly what you are getting yourself into before outsourcing one. Let them know about your budget and see how they can work with the same without necessarily being hard on themselves.
Another thing to keep in mind is to never jump in with an annual contract. Your business is in a state of constant evolution and the IT management plan that worked last quarter might turn out to be adequate when dealing with rapid expansion for the next few months. This is why we always suggest businesses, especially in the growing stage, to always stick with the month to month plan. It gives you flexibility in choosing among competitors in the same space as well as letting you figure out a sweet spot in terms of resources and expenditure.
- What are your business priorities?
As a proactive and success-driven business owner, you need to not only outline but also go ahead and evaluate your business priorities. Once analyzed, you need now to find a team that will match your aspirations and ambitions so that you can move in the same direction. It is also important to have a clue of all the attributes you are looking out for in your IT partner so that you can have an easier choice when identifying one. Try evaluating their knowledge, size, depth, delivery model among many other attributes to see if they can come close towards matching your needs. They need not be exactly what you are looking for but at least they should be close to what you need.
- Are they competent enough to be a Virtual CIO?
The main responsibilities of a Chief IT Officer include having an overview of all the hardware and software assets of the company. They’re also responsible for creating quarterly technology reports which track the impact of the deployed IT infrastructure on to the budget, production line and the business as a whole.
Now, this is a service that can only be provided by a Managed IT Service Provider who has a great deal of insight into your particular line of business. So it’s imperative that you go with a service provider that offers proper asset and compliance management systems as well as offers actionable insights that can help grow your business.
