Published by Jones IT
Rapid changes in technology, the scale and complexity of cyberattacks, growing compliance requirements, and changing business needs – are all challenges that effective use of information technology (IT) can help overcome.
But IT is an immensely broad capability that covers everything from applications to cybersecurity and compliance to physical infrastructure to the cloud. Creating an IT team with such an expansive skill set is an expensive and time-consuming affair. So, most small and medium businesses prefer to outsource their IT to a third party to fill the skill gaps rather than cultivate an in-house team of IT specialists.
As a small or medium-sized business owner, selecting an IT services provider is one of the most impactful decisions you’ll make because the technology partner you choose will be a close advisor on your organization’s present and future technology needs. Selecting the right IT service helps streamline operations, minimizes security risks, and significantly reduces research, development, and deployment time for critical IT projects.
So how do you make this important decision of choosing an IT service provider?
This article lists the most important factors to consider when choosing an IT services provider so that your organization can make the most out of its investment in technology.
How to Choose an IT Service Provider?
- Identify Your Technology Needs
- Ask Your Network For Referrals
- Weigh Your Requirements Against The Services Offered
- Choose Proactive Over Reactive Service
- Check If Security Is Their Priority
- Look For Simple And Flexible Plans
- Make Sure They Are A Culture Fit
In the following sections, we discuss each step in detail.
1. Identify Your Technology Needs
Be it IT or any other service, the first step in selecting a service provider for your business is to know what you need. When planning a journey, you need to know where you are, where you want to be at the end, and the means available to complete the journey. Similarly, when planning to invest in an IT service, you need to ask the following questions:
- Where is the organization at with respect to IT?
- Where does the organization want to be with respect to IT in three years?
- What are the expected outcomes from IT?
- How much investment in IT is the organization planning to make in the long and short terms?
Having clarity of the organization’s needs and approach to technology is the first step in selecting a service provider. Coming to the table prepared with your requirements and budget helps set expectations and ensures that you get into a valuable relationship and not simply a sales deal.
Being upfront about your budget is ok because you will have to spend not just on service but also on hardware and software. You also need to be aware that your budget is very likely to increase in the future as you keep up with the evolving technology. A good IT service provider will give you sound advice with respect to investment in technology.
As a business owner or IT manager, you don’t need a detailed investment plan upfront. A ballpark figure should be good enough for an experienced IT services provider. And, they will be able to help you prioritize what you need right away and defer less important things for the future, accruing little to no technical debt.
2. Ask Your Network for Referrals
After you have gained an understanding of your requirements, the next step is to look for a third-party IT service provider. You can easily run a search online to find plenty of IT service providers with varied specializations, service offerings, and expertise.
But before you turn online, I recommend reaching out to your network. As a business owner or IT manager, you must have a wide network of many who outsource their IT management. Getting referrals from your colleagues and friends ensures that you get access to trusted and verified service providers, saving you a lot of research time.
While you could rely on third-party reviews and testimonials, word-of-mouth referrals and recommendations are superior since you know exactly who they are coming from.
3. Weigh Your Requirements Against the Services Offered
Not every service provider will be a good fit for your organization. Depending on your requirements and the specializations of the service providers, there may be gaps or in many cases a complete mismatch.
Many IT service providers specialize in a particular technology environment such as PC or Mac, Google Workspace or Microsoft365, IT helpdesk, or networking. That is why the first step, i.e. identifying your technology needs is so important. Knowing the exact services that your business needs lets you narrow down the list of possible technology partners.
Another important evaluation criterion is centralization. Look for a service provider that can handle all your IT requirements. Even if they do not have the expertise in-house, they should have partnerships with vendors and other service providers that enable them to fulfill your requirements. Your IT management will be a whole lot easier and IT operations more efficient if you don’t have to spend time coordinating with multiple vendors.
The highly mobile workforce of today needs to be able to use technology on the go and needs remote IT support when technicians can’t simply drop in for a look. The IT service provider you choose must be able to efficiently support your employees no matter where they are- in the office, working from home, or from another country.
Another fairly new requirement that organizations, especially those adopting remote and hybrid work environments, must consider is the ability of the IT service company to provide location-agnostic services, especially related to device lifecycle management.
4. Choose Proactive Over Reactive Service
The reactive or “break-fix” model of technology support is nothing to scoff at. Every piece of equipment or software will break down at one time or another. And businesses nowadays rely so heavily on technology that there will always be something broken that needs fixing. So reactive IT support will always be part of any IT service provider’s toolkit.
However, IT services must not be limited to that. The goal of a good IT support specialist is to stop preventable issues from reoccurring. So when you take your problem to the IT service provider, in addition to solving the problem, they should also be able to suggest ways to prevent the problem from occurring in the future.
So when you are evaluating IT service providers, ask them about their approach to technology support and troubleshooting methodology.
The value of a good IT service provider is not restricted to solving technical problems. They can also help with policy-driven and behavioral initiatives including educating end users on cybersecurity, application use, compliance, etc.
5. Check if Security is Their Priority
In the last few years, managed IT service providers have become prime targets for cybercriminals looking to scale their attacks. The last thing you would want is to suffer a data breach through your IT services provider who was supposed to protect you in the first place. So you need to be absolutely certain that your IT service provider has the best in class security controls in place.
When evaluating the IT service provider, ask them about their internal security practices and how they manage the data privacy and the interests of their clients. Seek information about their vendor management programs, regulatory oversight, internal governance, and risk management policies and practices.
If an IT service provider has compliance certification such as System and Organizational Control 2 (SOC2), that is a great indication of their commitment to data security and you can rest assured that your organization is in safe hands.
6. Look for Simple and Flexible Plans
No matter the size of the organization, budget is always a key consideration when evaluating IT service providers. But, not all budgets can be evaluated in the same way. Sacrificing quality for cost can have a far-reaching impact on the long-term sustainability of the organization. Often it is necessary to use non-traditional financial metrics to evaluate investments in IT because its impact on the bottom line is not always evident.
Avoid service providers that offer complicated subscription plans and contracts. Complicated subscription plans leave ample room for hidden costs and fees. Also, seek clarity about flat-fee prices as they often come with caveats such as different pricing for engineering or project hours.
You also need to consider that your organization’s IT support needs can and will fluctuate. This is especially true for startups and high-growth companies. So you need answers to the following questions:
- What happens when your organization scales up or down?
- How does scaling impact your budget?
- Does the service provider make it easy or difficult to scale up or scale down your IT requirements?
Look for service providers that make it easy for you to scale up or down without having to worry about the service costs. Your service agreements must also detail exactly what the provider will do, i.e. what is in scope and what is outside the scope.
7. Make Sure They are a Culture Fit
If you are going to work closely with a service provider on a day-to-day basis, it is necessary to establish a good relationship. A lack of culture fit will lead to behavior and attitude conflicts resulting in friction and delays.
So you should make it a point to look into your potential service provider’s company culture. Make sure that their company culture and communication style are in harmony with that of your organization.
When you are on call with your potential service provider, pay attention to how they make you feel. Are they helpful? Are they polite? Are they thorough in information gathering? Are they upfront about costs? Are they willing to work with you to solve the problems?
Conclusion
Given that IT is an integral part of modern organizations, the IT partner you choose will have a huge impact on your business. A competent IT service provider will help you overcome the many technical challenges and circumvent the pitfalls of poor IT practices.
Therefore, choose wisely giving thorough consideration to the evaluation factors listed in this article.
© Jones IT
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