Choosing the right IT Company for your Business – Part 1

This is the first of a three-part blog series on choosing the right IT service provider for your business; particular to the South African market. This post is an overview discussing the importance of choosing the right company and some questions to ask.

Choosing a reliable IT Service provider in a heavily saturated market is no easy task, especially if you are an IT virgin like many small business owners. Google and word-of-mouth make the process less troublesome however, you need to be a little more clued up if you want to find an IT support company that understands your business and its needs. A good IT support company bridges the gap between business and IT!

Gone are the days when you grabbed the first available techie and told him to “just fix it!” We live in the Information Age where data is a precious commodity and the loss thereof results in a loss of profit. I hit the streets and spoke to some tech savvy folk and top small businessmen to get the bottom up view of how to choose a good technical support company.

Here are some points to consider when looking for an exceptional IT company:

• Can you trust and relate to the company? It’s important to establish and build a relationship with your IT provider as they will have your valuable data in their hands. This can turn into one of the best business partnerships one could possibly make!
• Do they offer Preventative or Reactive maintenance? Preventative maintenance involves routine monitoring and updating of your network and dealing with problems even before they arise. Reactive maintenance means that they only attend to a problem when something goes wrong or there is a crisis. Remember the age old adage: “Prevention is better than cure.” Most progressive IT companies are already in the “preventive mindset” and this is key to getting a good service provider.
• Do they have the right level of skills and are the people working on your IT fully supported by senior staff? Do they have quick access to support resources if a serious IT problem occurs? A Microsoft Partner company will have professional support training and qualifications as well as technical forums and libraries of valuable information at their disposal.
• Pricing is a contentious issue in the IT industry, but of vital importance to the discerning client. The cheapest may end up costing more if jobs have not been done properly the first time. However, the most expensive solution may not provide you with exactly the type of service that your business needs. The answer: Strike a balance between price, experience and service. Solid experience in a company will generally mean that their technical staff work quicker and achieve more in a billed hour. Look for companies that have regular in-house training for the staff to keep them up to date.
• Does the company keep records by pro-actively monitoring your network? An IT company worth its salt will keep records of your IT environment to help with future planning and support.

In the next post I will continue this pretty exhaustive list of questions from which to choose, leaving you well prepared to choose the best IT support company for your needs. Whether you’re in Cape Town, Johannesburg or Centurion you should now be well equipped to tackle the mine-field that is choosing the right support company.

To be Continued…

Written by: Christine Kleyn

Copywriter at The Computer Guyz