If your Kingston-based business has decided to contract with an IT service provider for tech support, then you’ve made the right choice.
Outsourcing your IT to a third-party provider can give your business access to subject matter experts, improved scalability, cost savings, the ability to focus your resources on core business development tasks, as well as more robust business technology strategies.
However, you’re not done yet. You still need to choose the IT services provider that’s best for your business. With a large number of choices in the market in Kingston, Ontario, this is no easy feat.
That’s why we’ve created this quick guide to the most important criteria to use when evaluating potential IT services providers in Kingston. This list will help narrow down your choice of providers, so that you can choose the business that’s best sorted for your unique needs.
1 - Understand what your business needs
Before even looking at potential IT services providers, it’s first critical that your business evaluates and identifies what skills your in-house IT team already possess. Perhaps you have a small team with expertise in IT maintenance, or maybe you don’t even have an IT team at all.
Evaluating what you currently have will help your business fill skills gaps in your existing team and avoid overpaying for services you don’t need. This is the first step in working with an IT services provider that has the knowledge and skills required to fulfill your specific requirements.
2 - What services do they offer?
Now that you know the capabilities of your internal resources, you can begin to narrow down your provider based on the services that they offer. If you just need a partner to perform maintenance and repairs then a repair service provider is all you will need, but if you need more complex services then you’ll need to ensure that potential providers are able to deliver them.
In most cases, businesses will want to find an IT services provider that can act as a consultant. Organizations will benefit most from a partner who is able to build customized solutions that help the business to achieve their unique operational goals.
3 - Will they help you budget?
A good IT services provider should be proactive. By that, we mean they should build IT strategies and customized plans well in advance of implementation that help your business meet specific goals, and then help you budget for them.
To do this, IT service providers should give you information that helps you predictably budget for future improvements and maintenance, and helps you write solutions off as operating expenses instead of capital one's where possible.
It’s always good to agree to a customized package of services for a fixed monthly fee that you can count on, so you always know how much budget you need for your outsourced IT.
4 - What are their response times?
All organizations have different processes. As a result, response times can vary significantly. Depending on the type of service you need, you may also want to ensure that the company you partner with is able to respond to your requests quickly.
Important questions include; how long do responses take?; how fast are issues typically resolved?; and how long will it take to deliver onsite support if needed? In many cases, IT service providers will provide guaranteed response times as part of the contract with your business.
5 - They keep cybersecurity top of mind
Cybersecurity is becoming an increasing concern for small and medium-sized businesses. The IT services provider that you partner with should be able to ensure that your business is operating with a highly-secure IT environment.
When implementing new solutions, the IT services provider you choose should use a range of technologies to identify and prevent cyber threats from intruding on your network. Mitigating the risk of viruses, malware and hackers will not only protect your company’s sensitive data but also give you peace of mind that you are doing all you can to prevent cyber threats from impacting your business.
6 - Market reputation
Once you have narrowed down your list, it’s time to do some market research to help you choose the right partner and avoid a bad purchasing decision. When it comes to choosing a trusted provider, delighted customers are a good sign of a company’s market reputation.
Looking at IT services providers reviews will give you a good indication of how they have successfully worked with other businesses. Once you get further to a purchasing decision, make sure to ask for references so you can learn first-hand from organizations within Kingston how the IT services provider helped their business. Are you interested in learn
ing more about choosing the right IT services provider? Get in touch with OT Group today. Our team of Ontario-based IT experts would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
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