No matter the size of your business, it is essential that you choose an IT company who will understand the unique needs of your industry, provide you with excellent support, and be easy and pleasurable to work with.

In your area, you may have numerous IT support companies to choose from, but making the wrong choice could cost your company money, time, and resources.

To aid you in your search, the following list of questions can help you interview potential IT companies in a more thorough manner. Use these questions across the board when speaking to potential IT hires. Doing so will ensure you receive the best care and support and ideally, that you form a strong, long-term relationship with your IT support provider.

Top Questions to Ask Potential IT Companies

1. What types of support contracts do you offer?

IT companies generally offer 2 to 5 or more support contracts that clients can choose from. These are catered to various company sizes and structures.

For example, if you only need occasional IT assistance for the particular industry that you’re in, you may want to go for an IT company’s most basic contract. Larger businesses and those that specifically involve IT for numerous internal and external systems may require a larger, more comprehensive contract.

If the company you are interviewing answers that they only have one support contract available, but that it can certainly take care of all your needs, see this as a red flag. You want to know that you’ll receive service that is catered to your specific IT support level.

2. What exactly will we receive in “Contract A” if we choose it?

Let’s say you speak with an IT company who does offer varied levels of service. Choose a contract or level of service you think you’d be most interested in, and get an idea of exactly what that support package will provide you and your business with.

You want to get specific here. You should have a good idea of what you can call on your IT support company for at any given time. Often, certain included requests are part of a flat-rate fee, paid monthly or annually, but other services will come with additional charges. You need to know what these are from the get-go if they exist.

3. How do you handle cybersecurity?

Now, more than ever before, cybersecurity is essential to businesses of any size.

Phishing scams, drive-by downloads, and other malware attempts could potentially put your business under. As a CEO or manager, you don’t have time to monitor these things on your own. You need an IT company who specializes in cybersecurity to monitor suspicious activity and implement security measures that will prevent attacks in the first place.

4. Will a specific account manager be assigned to our account?

When you need IT assistance, you generally need it right away. Having a specific account manager assigned to your account will make it more likely that you’ll get the attention you deserve.

When a company does not provide unique account managers, you’ll often find yourself being transferred around a phone system, having to explain time and again the services you require. It’s better to have a designated individual you can count on for reliable support.

5. How quickly will you respond if we have a problem?

Downtime because of a tech issue should not be an option for your business. A cybersecurity breech involving malicious software such as ransomware, a website outage, and various other tech problems can cause immediate fiscal hemorrhages for your business.

As a result, you need to know that the IT support company you hire will be there in a flash when you need them. Talk in terms of “average response times.” They should be able to give you a good idea of what to expect should you call them with a problem during business hours, on the weekend or a holiday, or in the middle of the night.

The need for proper IT support and care has grown an exponential amount over the past five years. Not only will a quality IT company be able to streamline your technology, save you valuable time, and improve your technology ROI, but they’ll also be able to improve your company’s daily tasks and customer/client satisfaction.

Always be thorough when hiring IT support. The questions above offer a great place to start.

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