When businesses evaluate prospective IT companies against one another, it’s easy to get caught up on a basic price comparison: get two or more proposals, compare the monthly cost, and pick the cheapest one.
Now imagine you do just that, picking the cheapest option. But six months later, you find yourself up against a technical problem that isn’t covered by your agreement. Suddenly, you’re paying for a costly onsite visit and that seemingly great deal isn’t so cheap.
A company can promise proactive support, strong cybersecurity, and fast response times, but if they didn’t ask you any questions about what your business actually needs, how can you be sure they’re the right fit, no matter what the price?
An IT company that takes the time to ask how many employees you have, which are your most critical applications, and what happens when your systems go down already has a better idea of what your company actually needs than one that simply talks about what it can do.
Consider also that the company you choose may have access to your company’s most valuable and vulnerable assets: client information, email accounts, cloud applications, servers, network infrastructure, and other sensitive business information.
The goal isn’t necessarily to find the biggest, cheapest, or most technically impressive IT company. Instead, businesses should evaluate IT companies based on who can provide the right combination of service, support, security, and price that fits your needs best.
The Key Areas to Evaluate a Prospective IT Company
Comparing IT companies based on price alone is risky. A more useful way to evaluate IT vendors is to compare their performance across several broad areas, including price, rather than basing your decision on any single factor.
Business Understanding
The industry your business operates in can make a difference in the types of services you need. For example, an accounting firm might have significantly different needs from an architectural firm that needs to coordinate technology between an office and a build site.
A good IT company will want to understand the intricacies of your business so that they can make the right technology decisions for your business. Providers that recommend products or services without first understanding your environment can be more focused on selling than on solving problems. The right IT company for your business should be able to explain why recommending a particular solution makes sense for your specific business.
Range and Scope of Services
There are many IT services that are considered standard, like help desk and technical support. Others, like IT strategy and planning, 24/7 security monitoring, and onsite support may not always be included. So before you sign an agreement, be sure that you understand exactly what you’re getting for the quoted price. Sometimes the cheapest service only looks that way because they don’t include as many services as a competitor does. Clearly defining service levels, responsibilities, and incident response protocols is a must.
Responsiveness and Support
One of the biggest signs of a reliable IT company isn’t just how quickly they respond to a problem, but how quickly they can actually resolve it. Some IT companies may promise to respond to a ticket within an hour, but that doesn’t guarantee they will actually solve the problem that quickly.
After-hours support is another huge factor to consider. Not all IT companies provide 24/7 support, and IT problems don’t always occur during normal business hours. A business should know what the protocol is when a network goes down or a serious security issue occurs, whether it’s during normal business hours or not.
Cybersecurity
This is one of the most important aspects of choosing an IT company, and one a client cannot afford to treat as an afterthought.
An IT company may gain privileged access to your systems, networks, and cloud applications, making themselves a key part of your security environment. Managed Service Providers (MSPs) themselves can become a point of attack without the right security measures in place.
Your IT vendor evaluation criteria should also include cybersecurity features like 24/7 threat monitoring, endpoint security, update and patch management, and multifactor authentication. It’s also worth asking if a prospective IT vendor uses subcontractors or third-party vendors, which can potentially introduce additional attack vectors.
Backup and Disaster Recovery
Most IT companies can promise that your data is “backed up”, but what does that actually mean? When choosing an IT company, clients should consider what is actually getting backed up, and how frequently.
A provider should not only be able to tell you exactly what is backed up, but they should also be able to explain how quickly they can help you recover after hardware failure, accidental deletion, ransomware or another major disruption.
Relevant Experience
It can be helpful to consider a prospective provider’s experience with your organization’s industry, business size, and growth stage. The needs of a 25-person marketing firm can be vastly different from those of a 500-person manufacturing outfit.
A provider who has worked with businesses experiencing similar challenges may be able to offer better guidance than one unfamiliar with your industry.
Communication and Strategic Guidance
You can tell a lot about an IT company by how they handle communication. They shouldn’t only come out of the shadows when something breaks. Working with an IT company is an ongoing partnership, and that partnership should be proactive.
Ideally, your provider should offer regular account and security reviews, and identify outdated or unsupported technology. One area where the best IT companies separate themselves from the rest is in lifecycle planning. Top IT companies help you plan not just for today, but for future technological upgrades and recommendations. Your IT partner can become more than just a help desk. They can help you understand what needs attention now, what can wait, and what improvements should be planned for later.
Transparent Pricing
It can be tempting to select the lowest price quote, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get the same level of service as a higher-priced option. Organizations searching for an IT vendor should look at the total scope of the agreement, in addition to price. Lower priced options may lack after hours support, onsite services, or be missing other critical aspects of IT.
Pricing should also be clearly explained so that you know exactly what you are paying for, and don’t get surprised by hidden fees. It’s also important to consider the overall contract length, renewal terms, and potential cancellation fees.
Essential Questions to Ask Before Hiring an IT Company
When you know which areas to evaluate IT companies on, you can ask targeted questions to help narrow down your options. Asking the right questions will reveal not only what a provider offers, but how their offerings fit your business.
1. ow does your support process work?
This question will naturally reveal how you contact the IT company, what their support hours are, and how it handles urgent problems. You can also tie this into how quickly they respond to an incident versus how quickly they resolve an incident. Those are two separate issues, and the answers matter.
2. What’s included in your service?
Two competing IT companies can offer similar service structures, but what is included at those price points can vary significantly. Ask “what exactly is included in our monthly agreement, and what costs extra?”
Most IT companies include standard services like routine technical support, network management, software administration, and cybersecurity, but some may charge extra for after hours support, onsite assistance, or other key services. Before agreeing, find out how the provider handles work that is outside the standard agreement. This can help you determine if a “low price” is really as low as it seems when all services are considered.
3. How do you approach cybersecurity and backups?
Cybersecurity is one of the most important IT vendor evaluation criteria, so don’t be afraid to make it a big part of the conversation early on. Ask how the provider manages access to client systems, protects privileged accounts, monitors for threats, and handles security incidents. Because they may have administrative access to your systems and data, you need to ask how they handle their own cybersecurity, in addition to their clients.
Backups are also vital. Ask a potential provider how they would handle a ransomware attack or major hardware failure. How would they help you recover? A reliable IT company should be able to explain what is backed up, how often, how restoration works, and how backups are tested.
4. How will you learn about our business?
A provider making technology recommendations without ever learning about your actual business may be more interested in selling a package than actually becoming your IT partner.
Ask how the provider will assess your current technology and needs before making recommendations. They should take time to understand your industry, employees, workflows, critical applications, and growth plans. Consider asking what their onboarding or initial assessment process looks like.
Does the company only contact you when something goes wrong, or do they proactively help you address aging technology and plan for future upgrades?
5. Can you provide references from similar businesses?
A provider may have an excellent reputation and been in business for years, but if they’ve never worked with a company in your industry, its worth asking how they would address your specific needs.
Asking for references, particularly from companies within your same industry, and with similar size and technology needs, can give you a better sense of how the IT company communicates, responds to problems, and supports their clients over the long haul.
Choose an IT Company That Fits Your Needs
Finding the right IT company should involve more than simply scouting for the lowest price, or the longest list of services. Businesses should prioritize an IT partner that not only provides reliable support, but takes the time to understand their business needs including cybersecurity and long-term technology planning.
In a crowded landscape of IT providers, asking the right questions can help you zero in on a provider who will help you avoid unexpected costs and service gaps.
Looking for an IT partner that can provide a proactive approach to your technology needs? ITque can help. We serve a variety of industries in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Contact us today to begin discussing your business’s IT needs.
