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Successful business owners are
good at what they are good at, and unless they are in the industry,
that's not usually computer networks, back-ups, configuring and
installing, defragging, tweaking and patching. Computer technology
is highly skilled work.
Unfortunately, good, highly-trained technology professionals with
wide experience are hard to find and a smaller company doesn't
really have enough work to employ a dedicated, fulltime IT manager.
To compound the problem, technology changes fast and keeping abreast
of the times is not easy for the 'man in the street'; it's easy to
get 'taken for a ride' and it's hard to avoid buying 'a pig in a
poke'.
Because of this, the smaller
and medium-sized company can get left behind in terms of technology
and the larger companies with a dedicated IT team has a distinct and
clear advantage over the smaller companies trying to keep up with
the competition unless they know how to choose their IT support
person wisely.
So how do you choose your IT
support company? Here's a few questions to ask your prospective
Information and Communications Technology provider:
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What qualifications
does your IT provider have? Check that your IT provider
has a degree or equivalent in computer software technology.
-
How many years'
experience does your IT provider have? The more years
of experience in the industry that your IT provider has, the
better. Knowing what will work and what won't, knowing how to
relate to older machines and software, and understanding the
history of some of the technology around today means that your
IT provider is more likely to provide a workable and effective
solution in the minimum time possible.
-
How many industries
does your IT provider have experience of? The wider the
experience of your IT provider, the better.
-
Does your IT provider
have experience of accounting and accounts? Everyone
has to keep accounts, no matter what type of business they run.
And if your IT provider understands accounting they will be able
to help you organise your accounting software so that you are
able to use it efficiently and spend the minimum amount of time
on accounts.
-
Does your IT provider
offer a guarantee on response time? Every moment of
down time is money lost to you and no business can afford to
wait around until the IT guy can get to you. Look for an IT
provider with a guaranteed response time.
-
Can your IT provider
cover your type of computer, e.g. PCs; Macs? Some IT
providers have a strong preference for a particular type or
brand of computer, regardless of whether that is the best
solution for that client. Check that your IT provider can give
you unbiased, professional advice.
-
How will your IT
provider help you to calculate & budget for IT expenditure?
You need to have an IT provider who understands your business
and your budget. He needs to have access to special rates from a
wide variety of suppliers. He needs to be willing to work with
you to give you optimum IT equipment in your business.
-
Is your IT provider
an organisation that has the efficiency of your network as its
priority? One of the advantages of having a guaranteed
service level is that your IT provider wants your business
network to keep working even more than you do. With a break-fix
model the IT provider gets paid when he fixes a fault, so the
more faults the more work. With an SLA the IT provider gets paid
to keep your systems working efficiently at all times.
-
Is your IT provider a
service organisation that contacts you and keeps you informed?
It's important that you are kept up to date and informed with
how your network is working and that your IT provider can
explain things in a manner that you can relate to and so make
informed decisions.
-
Is your IT provider a
member of the New Zealand Computer Society? The New
Zealand Computer Society has a code of conduct for members to
adhere to, so when you deal with a member of the NZCS you know
you are dealing with a qualified professional.
-
Does your IT provider
understand how crucial continuity of service is to the success
of your organisation? No business can be guaranteed to
be up and running and on line every minute of the day, every day
of the year, but your IT provider needs to treat your business
with the same care that he would treat his own and be willing to
do its utmost to keep you up and running 99.9% of the time.
Softpro provides a
comprehensive IT service for small and medium sized businesses.
Contact us today. |
