There are so many comparison sites around nowadays for things like energy, car insurance, broadband and even hotel rooms. But, what do you do when you’re choosing an IT support provider? Sadly, you can’t just hop on a comparison site to check out all the best IT support contracts and suppliers. So, to make life easier, we’ve compiled a list of the sort of things to look out for when selecting IT support.
1. Technical Account Managers
It’s more than just a title! Anyone could be an account manager, but what you really want is a technical account manager who understands your company, your IT setup and has a depth of technical knowledge. Armed with this knowledge, a technical account manager can provide you with the IT support you require, based on your specific business needs. A technical account manager is almost like your own private IT engineer; they are the person you call when something isn’t quite right and the individual that arrives on site to sort any errant computers or systems. They will become a familiar face around your office, which is ideal for day-to-day IT and future development.
2. Customer Service Focus
Do you like being shouted at by your IT support company when you’ve accidently unplugged something (yes, it does happen!)? Or do you prefer a company that will ensure queries and problems are dealt with by a helpful and friendly team, whose sole interest is ensuring that everyone in your company feels supported and looked after? Always check how customer calls and issues are dealt with when signing a new support contract. Before becoming a customer, it can be hard to know what service is truly like, clues to look for include testimonials published clearly on the IT provider’s website, a good number of Google reviews and customer service awards.
3. Guaranteed fix times
Can your IT support company guarantee that a problem is looked at and dealt with in an agreed amount of time? Always take time to find out if the IT firm provides guaranteed fix times – this could be two, four or even eight-hour levels of support. No-one would want to wait months for a simple account creation or even worse, for no one to get back to you at all. SLAs established at the start of a contract sets everyone’s expectations, so the IT company knows what sort of service you require, and you know straight away if you’re not receiving the service you signed up for!
4. Not sales focused
We all love a bargain and a good buy, but when it comes to purchasing IT hardware and software, you need what is best for your company. A good IT sales team will be solution lead, and be able to provide you with products and services to match what you need, not what they want to make the most money on, or whatever the latest technology might be.
5. Flexible
Some businesses need regular IT support on site every week, others need the odd audit every now and then, whilst most need someone to respond to IT issues remotely. It doesn’t matter whether your IT support firm is two cities away or two streets away, ensure they can flexible and provide what you need. So, if you need someone to visit your site regularly make sure they can, equally if you need a lot of remote support check those services are easily available.
6. Website
Last but not least, what is your IT support company website like? Does it reflect high quality service, friendly staff and explain what they offer? Is it up to date and show the direction the company is heading? Can you see the staff you’ll be talking to and dealing with? If you answer “No” to any of these questions – then keep looking – there will be a better company out there.
It would be a bit daft it we were recommending all of the above and not providing it – luckily, we do. We have IT literate technical account managers, an award winning customer service desk, guaranteed fix times, a solutions team that sells things based on what you need, and – above all – a team of friendly IT professionals, working to provide a first class service to all of its customers.
