Questions That You Should Ask an IT Support Provider before Hiring
IT support providers are many, all around the world. However, picking out the best can be a tough job. You may have found several IT support providers upon your online search on “IT Support Limerick;” yet, you cannot just randomly choose any of these, to take care of your small business IT infrastructure.
Choosing the right IT support provider would mean finding out how they work by asking a few appropriate questions. Although such questions may differ from company to company and one industry to the other, there are a few standard questions the answers to which can assure you of hiring the best IT support provider. Five such questions are mentioned below:
1. What model do you use to charge us for your services?
Most IT Support companies use the traditional “Break/Fix” Model to charge for their services. This is just like how you would call upon an electrician or plumber whenever you face a problem. However, this does not solve the problem permanently. IT is something that needs regular maintenance so as to keep working. The best model to follow here would be a “Flat Fee Managed-Service” model where in you pay a fixed monthly fee to the IT support provider to monitor and maintain all your systems on a regular basis. This can help in fixing problems as and when they occur and also in taking measures to prevent such problems from occurring in the future. This works in the best interests of the client as well as the service provider. Also, as this is a flat fee, you will be able to financially budget the same on an on-going basis.
2. Is it possible for us to go through a sample Health-Check Report that you normally send to your clients?
Such a report will give you a fair idea about what kind of checks the IT support provider undertakes on the systems to ensure their smooth running. It will also tell you if they are able to diagnose any problems and take appropriate measures to resolve them. The report that is provided to you should be easy enough to understand, without being too technical in nature. It should demonstrate the kind of effort the IT provider is putting in, to monitor and maintain your systems. A certified, experienced and organized IT support provider should have no issues in giving you a sample report to go through.
3. How many engineers are there in your firm and what are their qualifications?
Many IT support companies might brag about their certifications. However, unless they have engineers who are qualified enough to take care of your systems, you reap no benefit from them. For instance if your systems run on Windows 7 or Windows XP, the engineers who support these systems will have to be qualified in Windows 7 or Windows XP. They should have passed the relevant exams and should know what is to be done. Also, since IT is an industry that is constantly evolving and changing, the engineers that the firm hires should be in the process of acquiring the latest qualifications to keep up with such changes.
4. How are your relationships with the other IT companies?
A good IT company is one that monitors and maintains your systems, fixes your problems, manages your IT supplies and act as an advisor to you on Social Media, Technology trends and how to use IT to achieve your organizational goals. In order to do all this, IT companies will have to maintain excellent relationships with other IT companies and IT-Related businesses such as telecom companies, web design companies, data cabling companies and software development companies. An IT support company that claims to do everything for you by itself may not necessarily be a specialized service.
5. Do you perform Business Reviews?If yes, how often?
A trusted board advisor is what you want when you hire an IT support provider today. Pro-active and forward thinking IT providers are those that have regular meetings with their clients, where in they discuss things about your business. This will help them in suggesting or recommending new technological tools to achieve your business goals in the easiest and the fastest way.
Price is not the only thing you should consider when it comes to choosing an IT support provider. The best out of the lot of service providers you have got from your search on “IT support Limerick” would be the one who can work with you closely to understand your business, solve your issues and suggest brilliant methods to achieve your business goals.
Choosing the right IT support provider would mean finding out how they work by asking a few appropriate questions. Although such questions may differ from company to company and one industry to the other, there are a few standard questions the answers to which can assure you of hiring the best IT support provider. Five such questions are mentioned below:
1. What model do you use to charge us for your services?
Most IT Support companies use the traditional “Break/Fix” Model to charge for their services. This is just like how you would call upon an electrician or plumber whenever you face a problem. However, this does not solve the problem permanently. IT is something that needs regular maintenance so as to keep working. The best model to follow here would be a “Flat Fee Managed-Service” model where in you pay a fixed monthly fee to the IT support provider to monitor and maintain all your systems on a regular basis. This can help in fixing problems as and when they occur and also in taking measures to prevent such problems from occurring in the future. This works in the best interests of the client as well as the service provider. Also, as this is a flat fee, you will be able to financially budget the same on an on-going basis.
2. Is it possible for us to go through a sample Health-Check Report that you normally send to your clients?
Such a report will give you a fair idea about what kind of checks the IT support provider undertakes on the systems to ensure their smooth running. It will also tell you if they are able to diagnose any problems and take appropriate measures to resolve them. The report that is provided to you should be easy enough to understand, without being too technical in nature. It should demonstrate the kind of effort the IT provider is putting in, to monitor and maintain your systems. A certified, experienced and organized IT support provider should have no issues in giving you a sample report to go through.
3. How many engineers are there in your firm and what are their qualifications?
Many IT support companies might brag about their certifications. However, unless they have engineers who are qualified enough to take care of your systems, you reap no benefit from them. For instance if your systems run on Windows 7 or Windows XP, the engineers who support these systems will have to be qualified in Windows 7 or Windows XP. They should have passed the relevant exams and should know what is to be done. Also, since IT is an industry that is constantly evolving and changing, the engineers that the firm hires should be in the process of acquiring the latest qualifications to keep up with such changes.
4. How are your relationships with the other IT companies?
A good IT company is one that monitors and maintains your systems, fixes your problems, manages your IT supplies and act as an advisor to you on Social Media, Technology trends and how to use IT to achieve your organizational goals. In order to do all this, IT companies will have to maintain excellent relationships with other IT companies and IT-Related businesses such as telecom companies, web design companies, data cabling companies and software development companies. An IT support company that claims to do everything for you by itself may not necessarily be a specialized service.
5. Do you perform Business Reviews?If yes, how often?
A trusted board advisor is what you want when you hire an IT support provider today. Pro-active and forward thinking IT providers are those that have regular meetings with their clients, where in they discuss things about your business. This will help them in suggesting or recommending new technological tools to achieve your business goals in the easiest and the fastest way.
Price is not the only thing you should consider when it comes to choosing an IT support provider. The best out of the lot of service providers you have got from your search on “IT support Limerick” would be the one who can work with you closely to understand your business, solve your issues and suggest brilliant methods to achieve your business goals.
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