More than ever companies are reliant on their IT and with the challenges 2020 has brought there has never been a better time to assess your future IT needs.
Perhaps you already have IT Support and are reviewing your supplier. You may have an internal IT team and are considering additional resources. You may be the IT expert at your business and are looking to outsource more services.
Whatever your position, size of business, industry sector, or level of expertise, you may be asking what to expect from your IT support partner? What does good IT Support look like? What does IT Support do?
This article outlines the top 6 things to expect from your IT partner, without going into the technical details.
Cyber Security
A good IT support partner will proactively protect your business with expert cyber security services. Good cyber security consists of multiple layers of protection, which makes it hard for your business to be infiltrated. Good IT providers carry out extensive research and testing to ensure the products they use for clients are the best in the market. As a minimum Clear Thinking work to Cyber Essentials standards, which is the government standard as recommended by The National Cyber Security Centre.
5-star Service
5-star customer service should come as standard for all business relationships. Excellent service means quick response times, knowing your customers business well, understanding individual client priorities and needs, going the extra mile, and thinking long term. This should come as standard with IT Support. We measure customer satisfaction through regular surveys, our SLA first response rate (currently 98%) and of course customer retention – 96% over almost 11 years in business.
Partnership
“Working in partnership” is a frequent phrase you hear in business, but what does it really mean? For us it means communication and transparency. We’re open and honest with our clients about what IT solutions will work best for their business. By forming strong relationships, we can work together, plan ahead and ultimately deliver a true partnership that goes beyond a client/supplier relationship.
Expertise
IT is complex and technology evolves every single day. This isn’t a burden a business Director/Owner needs on top of their day to day business. A good IT provider lives and breathes IT; they research the market, research and test new products, and are aware of the latest industry news. They can provide the expertise your business needs for IT to thrive.
References and recommendations
Providing good service means clients are happy to act as a reference and provide recommendations onto other businesses. So, as part of your process in picking a new provider always ask for references.
Clear and up-front costs
It’s important to know what you are getting when you enter into an agreement with a provider. There may be monthly costs, annual costs and one off costs. It’s always good to have full transparency from your IT provider on what the set costs are and if there are any anticipated extras. For example, you may have hardware that will need to be renewed within 12 months, so you can expect a good IT support partner to explain this to you before you are expected to upgrade and pay for it!
So, do your research. To understand what to expect from your IT support partner these 6 key points have stood the test of time and are what to look for when choosing your IT support partner. Once you choose the right provider you can rest easy knowing that when IT problems occur you’ll be in good hands.
