Finding an outside IT company for your small business or dedicated franchise can sometimes be a complete pain, but it doesn’t have to be! There are thousands of IT companies, freelancers, and small businesses that cater to other businesses with Information Technology service solutions and offer various services. However, sometimes they may have a service you need, while they may lack in another. Finding an all-in-one solution may be hard, but we’ll tell you how to choose the best options and a fool-proof guide on how to find one!
Here are ten questions you should be asking when interviewing an IT company.
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Look for Variety of Service
Many professional companies and IT companies have a dedicated amount of services that they can provide. Some are strictly proficient in networking, while others handle other hosting or file backup services. When it comes to your business, the whole point is to provide exceptional creativity, connectivity, and security to make your business operations better.
If you’re running a business, you will need a ton of services aside from just a dedicated one. Look for an IT company to provide extensive backups and cloud backups, full-network routing solutions, internet service, VoIP service, security monitoring, and Microsoft Exchange e-mail services.
Of Course, Look at Prices
While looking for the right infinite solution in your IT staffing, you want to figure up the costs as well. Many IT companies have different tiered packages, as well as flexible prices and additional fees based on things such as storage space, bandwidth usage, etc. By ensuring that your proactive managed service offers its deals at a fixed rate, you can ensure that the price you pay per month will be worth every dollar you may need to spend.
Overall, you’re going to spend a lot less when it comes to paying off an outside IT company as compared to your very own localized internal IT Staff. You don’t have to pay for additional workman’s compensation insurance, actual worker’s health insurance, other taxes, expenses, and more office supplies for someone you hire with a contracted plan. On top of that, you also don’t have to pay employee wages for the insane amount of downtime that many companies face regarding having their IT staff just lounging around waiting for a problem.
Don’t Hesitate to Check Background Education.
When interviewing an IT company, you can request a background check if you want to be thorough.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. As with any contractor, feel free to ask for some previous or current customer contact information when scoping out an IT company. Of course, do keep in mind that some companies have policies to disclose certain information, but they’re generally happy to provide a few companies or clients they work for.
Many people who don’t work in IT may not know all of the technicalities that are in place when it comes to having a top-notch networking connection in their building. However, they should be able to ask about them. If you don’t know what is being said, look for an IT company that will treat you like a part of the family, and that will help explain things so you can understand them in plain English, without feeling ashamed.
Most contracted services for IT may have to have licenses and technical certifications or degrees to provide additional services. From programming to Network+, Security+, and even A+ education, most IT professionals can provide the information for you (and some of them the proof) should you ever doubt their capabilities to perform the task you need to be done.
Why is VoIP Important?
Using 3CX will save you money over traditional PBX systems. When interviewing an IT company, see if they also manage VoIP.
VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) is a top-rated tool these days, and even most internet providers offer this type of phone service. You want a company that handles VoIP services and their other IT services because you can ensure that you have additional security and privacy. Many businesses have been under attack in recent months. With a high-quality hosted VoIP service, you can use your one dedicated connection for your phone lines. While also having the best digital phone models, call transferring abilities, forwarding, and all of the benefits and perks. You get all this without having to deal with the big phone company, and it’ll cost a fraction of the price.
How Else Can I Make Sure the IT Company is Legit?
Don’t fall into the trap of “I’m an IT professional” scammers. Make sure that you do your homework on individuals, and ask around. Ensure your IT company is willing to provide extra tips to help you with your everyday needs as a business. No matter if it’s a small business or corporate office, your IT company should help you out. You can see how you can benefit when you hire an all-in-one networking solution that can do it all!