Is your IT Company Doing What They Should Be Doing?
What should your IT company be doing for you? Are they doing it to your satisfaction?
Most of the time, when I start a conversation with ‘Is your IT company doing what they should be doing,’ it doesn’t go for more than five minutes. I tried to get my colleagues’ opinions in the office last week, and four things came out:
- Most executives equate this question to a market speak.
- Some business leaders don’t know what to expect from their service providers.
- There is no clear way to deduce if your IT company is underperforming.
- Organizations fear switching IT companies.
The discussion was so intriguing that I thought you could learn a thing or two from it. This article is basically going to be primed on that conversation I had with my fellow IT experts.
Let’s begin with the first observation because it’s going to shape how we proceed from here. Is it pure market-speak? No. Do I intend to convince you to seek IT support from Atlantic-IT.net? To be honest, yes. Here is the thing — we have so much confidence in the quality of services we offer that we don’t want you to miss out on.
But that’s beside the point. The primary goal of this write up is to help you critically evaluate your IT company’s performance. At times, being with one service provider for a long time breeds complacency. The question is — are you getting the best service from the IT company?
Let us give you some insight.
What Should Your IT Company Be Doing For You?
Your IT Service Provider Should Take Cybersecurity Seriously
Cybersecurity is inarguably one of the most valuable services you’d expect from an IT support company. And reasonably so — the last few years have seen U.S. businesses suffer some of the dreariest attacks in history.
How should your IT supplier protect your network from these threats? By designing and deploying proactive and strategic preventative measures. Any device hosting company data should be encrypted. Has the service provider enforced measures like DNS filters, password complexity and expiration, and DMARC protocols? In IT, you are only as safe as you are prepared.
It is also the support company’s responsibility to look at all possible scenarios of successful breaches and formulate fast-response protocols. Nobody is safe, and it’s supremely utopic to imagine that no attack will go past your security gateways. A prepared firm is likely to limit the impact and damage costs of data breaches. Note that a response plan is useless if your staff are not privy to it. The IT company should train your staff on cybersecurity awareness, the details of the response protocols, and routinely monitor their preparedness levels. If you are working with a progressive service provider, expect them to help you launch simulated attacks once in a while. This is particularly essential in identifying more vulnerable personnel and departments — and areas that need keener attention.
Your IT Service Provider Should Deliver Help Desk & Consultancy Services
Digitization has really empowered the present-day consumer; they will demand and feel entitled to clarifications at any time of the day. Unfortunately, your in-office staff only have limited working hours. As a forward-thinking executive, you decide to outsource IT support to guarantee round-the-clock help desk services. So, what happens if your end-users are still complaining they are not being attended to?
It’s not only your end-users who may need support. You or your staff may also want to be assisted with some technical issues. Is the support team always available for consultations? After registering your issue, how long does it take before your problems are resolved?
IT support is not just about technology; the ‘people factor’ is equally critical. Your users should be able to reach the experts conveniently and feel that their opinions are valued — and taken into consideration.
Your IT Service Provider Should Deliver New Technologies/Network Infrastructure Management
Is there a better job description for an IT company than to deliver the latest technologies? Innovators keep on coming up with unique technologies almost daily. Some of these innovations apply to your organization, while most of them don’t.
Whose job is it to identify the technologies that will be meaningful for your firm to invest in? Your IT company. They should also provide support in deploying and managing the hardware and software.
Your IT Service Provider Should Deliver Communication Vendor Management
Given that IT dynamics prolifically evolve, no single firm can know it all and have it all. It is inescapable that you will need third-party help, especially on issues of communication.
If you are going to outsource communication from third-party vendors, your IT company should be at the forefront in assessing the prospects for suitability. Just because they are not providing the communication services doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t manage them.
How Can You Tell That Your IT Service Provider Is Underperforming?
There is only one sure way — conducting a network assessment.
Even if your operations are miserably staggering, you can’t be so sure the problem lies with the service provider until you carry out an audit. Sometimes the review results may point to the complication being your other employees. If, after assessing your networks, you realize that your service provider is underperforming, you can either tell them to improve or transition to a better IT company.
Most firms do not go with the latter because switching of IT companies is presumably complicated and too risky.
How Risky Is It To Switch IT Companies?
The stakes are high, especially if you are transitioning to a less experienced support firm. It’s the new company that should guide you through the whole process. So, the risk levels depend on the competence (and mainly experience) of the new IT supplier in facilitating transitions.
It may surprise you that most switches are smooth and successful.
Is Your IT Company Doing What They Should Be Doing? Always remember that the success of your business significantly depends on how well your networks function. When it comes to IT management, your organization deserves nothing short of the best.
Are you looking for the best IT company in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey? Your search ends here:) At Atlantic-IT.net, we offer more than just IT; our services are business-oriented and value-priced.
