As prices continue to increase and the need for technology continues to grow, it’s harder than ever for companies to build a reliable IT infrastructure. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t options for businesses. One of those options is managed IT services.
Hiring a managed IT company means getting the help you need without hiring a team. The market for services is growing so much that it reached a value of $161.37 billion in 2021.
Are you looking for advice that will help you filter your options for IT companies? Read the guide below to learn how to pick managed IT service providers.
Consider IT Industry Experience
If you’re a small company in an industry that doesn’t have much regulation, you won’t need specialized IT help. You can get by with a general provider that offers basic IT services.
But this isn’t possible in every industry. Some industries are heavily regulated — such as healthcare and finance. The usual way of doing things won’t apply in those industries.
You need to work with a company that knows your industry inside and out. They will understand how to build your IT infrastructure to meet your unique needs and won’t make mistakes that cause problems down the line.
Look at Pricing Models
Comparing IT service costs isn’t always easy. Your needs will vary, and some IT providers may not have pricing structures that cater to your business.
Take a small business, for instance. You may not have many IT requirements since you only have a few employees. All you need is someone to call occasionally to get help.
You’ll probably want to work with an IT provider hourly in this situation. This reduces costs and doesn’t tie you up with a long-term contract.
But things are different when you’re larger and need regular support. You may want to hire a provider on a retainer to get a set amount of work every month.
Look at the pricing options available to determine which ones make sense for your business.
Verify Security Services
Although you may not want to purchase too many IT services as a small business, cybersecurity is something you don’t want to take lightly. Every device you connect to the internet is a risk that can compromise your business.
You need a cybersecurity setup to keep things safe. Unfortunately, it’s easy to make a small mistake that compromises your company’s security.
Most IT companies have security specialists who can help. Verify if a company has these employees and see how much it costs to give your company an overhaul.
If you already have a security setup, an IT company can audit what you’ve already done. A second set of eyes will likely find minor issues you missed and will secure your company more.
Check the Number of Services
Even if you don’t need many IT services today, that might not be true in the future. As your business grows, you may need additional services to handle your growing needs.
It’s a problem if your current IT provider can’t meet those demands. You’ll have to find another company to work with or split services between the two providers.
Working with a company that can grow with you makes more sense. Check what services an IT company offers and see which ones will be useful to your company in the future.
Check this homepage to learn more about the different IT services available.
Opt for Proactive Monitoring
Even the best IT systems fail at times. It isn’t because of mistakes your IT team makes. Technology degrades over time, so your equipment and systems will occasionally fail.
The problem is that many companies take a reactive approach to this problem. They fix things as they happen — which results in downtime for your organization.
In most cases, taking a proactive approach to IT support makes more sense. You can install monitoring tools on your equipment that preemptively look for problems and send notifications about things it finds. This will help you get ahead of problems and avoid downtime.
Verify Response Times
Even if a company has the expertise to handle your needs, it’s a problem if they don’t do so in a timely manner. Some companies will have slow turnaround times because they are understaffed and have too many clients.
You need to verify response times before working with a managed IT company. Ideally, you’ll get non-critical issues resolved in under 24 hours.
But if you have a severe issue, someone should be available immediately to help. You don’t want to have downtime for days because you can’t reach your IT team for support.
Get Previous Customer Feedback
You shouldn’t rely on only your research when picking an IT company. It’s not hard for a company to put on a good face online and say all the right things. Then when a customer signs up, they get a drastically different managed IT experience.
Learning from companies that have been there before can help you avoid this problem. Look at online review websites to see how a managed IT company rates.
It’s also wise to reach out to your network. Other business owners have probably used IT companies before. Talk to them about who they used and which companies offered the best service.
Pick Managed IT Service Providers Carefully
Given technology’s importance to business, you can’t afford to have a subpart IT setup. While it’s not hard to set up a few computers and connect them to the internet, running a larger organization and keeping it online takes much more work.
You may not have the resources to hire a full-time IT employee, so a managed IT service makes more sense. Follow the guide above when you pick managed IT service providers to find a service that meets all your IT needs.
Do you want to learn more tips that will help you get the most from technology in business? Read more posts on the blog to learn how to make the most of business tech.
