An IT service can be a great option for your company. They will be there to manage your network, answer your questions, and make sure that everything on the network is running the way that you need.
However, not all IT services are going to be the same. As you look through the different reviews and try to decide which service is the right one for you, it is likely that you will notice this pretty quickly. Some of the things that you should look for when choosing your IT service provider include:
1. Do They Respond Quickly?
Each company will have their own processes, which means that the response time is going to vary. This does not mean they can ignore your requests for days on end with no kind of response. Always ask for them to give you a guarantee on response times so you know how long you will need to wait. A few questions to ask include:
- How long does it typically take for them to respond?
- How fast can they solve most issues?
- How long will it take if you need some onsite support?
They should not just tell you the answers to these questions. Ask them to back up each answer with some metrics and facts so you can make the most informed decision. The faster the response time, the better it is for your business. It means you will get the help you need quickly and without a lot of delays.
2. Are They an IT Advisor or a Repair Service?
You need to look for a subject matter expert in the industry that you serve. If you run a practice for healthcare, for example, make sure that they are knowledgeable about HIPAA, EHRs, and that they use practice management software.
You need to look for someone who is able to work as a consultant or as a vCIO service and can craft customized solutions that will work with your unique requirements. They should also explain each step of the process, using plain language, that you can really understand. This can make it easier to know what is going on.
3. Has a Highly Qualified Team
You need to pick an IT service provider who can offer you access to a team of highly trained and experienced technicians who can even provide on-call services after hours. You never know when something will go wrong with your IT services and you need a team who can be there to help all the time.
It is important to pick out a provider who will ensure that the IT infrastructure is available when and where you need it the most. Check to see whether they allow you access to specialists who will check that the best practices in IT are followed as well.
4. Will They Help You Budget?
You need a good IT service provider who can help you with budgeting for all the IT services you require. At some point, things in the network will need to be upgraded and replaced. You will need to budget for this, and your IT service provider should help make this easier.
The right IT service provider can help you out by offering services for predictable budgeting and solutions that you could write off as an operating expense instead of a capital one. The MSP should offer services that are customized for a fixed monthly fee, making it easier for you to budget what you need.
Each company will have a different budget in place. You may need to sit down and come up with good numbers ahead of time. Then you can bring these to the table when talking with the IT service to see if both parties are on the same page. You can then work together to come up with the right solutions that work within your budget.
5. Ensures That Your IT Environment is Highly Secure
When choosing an IT service, you need to make sure that they can set up an IT environment that is secure for you and that they can maintain that for the long term. This is done to help your business worry less about hackers, malware, and viruses that could steal your data.
The right IT service is able to use what is known as the best-of-breed technologies that will block all the intrusions that try to get to the data, effectively eliminating them before they get into the network.
In addition to the tasks above, you need to go with a service provider that will help you to maintain your IT security while helping you maintain security compliance for all government and industry regulations.
6. Sets up Business Continuity and Recovery Solutions
There are times when something will happen with your network, whether the system goes down or there is a big attack on everything. You need to work with a service provider who is able to handle this if it does happen.
The right IT service provider is able to set up business continuity and disaster recovery solutions, both onsite at your business and for offsite cloud backups. This allows you to access your network when the office is closed or when the data is all lost from an attack.
This backup should not be done one time and then ignored. It needs to become a continuous process that should be done on a regular basis. You utilize your network often and add things or take them away. It does you no good if the information on the backup is out of date. With continuous backups, you can make sure the data is easy to recover at all times.
Choosing the Right IT Service
There are many great IT services out there that you can choose from, but not all are going to provide you with the same level of care and protection that you need for your network. Consider some of the important aspects above to help you choose the right IT service for your needs.
