MD: When you’re looking for a reliable IT support team for your company’s website, it’s possible to find dozens of support companies. Follow our simple but very effective tips on choosing a great service to fit all your requirements and expectations.

How to Select a Reliable IT Service Vendor

When you’re looking for a reliable IT support team for your company’s website, it’s possible to find dozens of support companies. But how to choose the best one? Follow our simple but very effective tips on choosing a great service to fit all your requirements and expectations.

In the IT business, it’s quite important to select well-known companies for cooperation. But how to understand the service is trustable? Is a certain company a good choice? What will be if some problem occurs?

Before signing an agreement, we recommend interviewing your potential IT suppliers to select the most suitable IT provider for the business. Read 10 questions below you have to ask.

10 Questions to Ask Your Potential IT Provider

When you have to choose a great IT provider, it’s important to read about the company and see what other clients write about their experience. But also, you need to ask questions. Contact the support team and start interviewing your potential provider right now!

Where is the provider based?

This question isn’t about the provider’s office location but where their servers are. If you need services on VoIP or cloud hosting, the location can affect the quality.

What areas does the provider cover?

It’s not necessary to choose only from providers that are based in your location. But ask this question to make sure the company can provide their services in your area.

What levels of IT support does the company offer?

Most IT providers offer various packages of services to fit the client’s needs. You may find break-fix support, managed service support, and ad-hoc support. Make sure the provider offers the most suitable variant for your needs.

What does the provider support exactly in their contract?

Stay away from the companies that promise to “support anything” without giving any details about their services. Some providers offer complete cover but they charge for additional services or log only a certain number of tickets. That’s why it’s important to understand what level of service you’re going to get. Ask the company about different support levels and read carefully all the details about every one of them.

Which services are not covered by the contract?

Even if you think a certain service is covered, don’t be afraid to ask the provider for extra details. Some additional services may not be included in your contract. Ask the company to send the list of services that may be charged additionally. Clarify their hourly or ad-hoc pricing to understand what sum you will have to pay if you need this type of service.

Does the company have guarantees on the time response?

If you’re experiencing a problem, the IT service vendor must guarantee their response times. It may vary depending on the service you are getting. For various levels, there may be various response times. Ask if the response time means the response time itself or resolution time. For example, if the vendor says the response time is 1 hour, find out if they will just respond to you within this time or the company will resolve the problem within 1 hour. Be careful if the vendor says they can resolve your problem in a particular period. Needless to say, you can expect they will do their best but how can they know a certain problem may be solved within a particular period? Sometimes resolving problems can take longer to find the cause of the issue.

Does the IT provider offer remote monitoring and management?

This is an important question because surely you need a company that offers 24/7 management and monitoring to prevent any issues that may disrupt your online business.

Does the provider offer an account manager?

Of course, we understand you’re looking for a reliable IT support service to cooperate for many years. It’s important to find a team that will know your company and your plans for the future to fit your goals and needs. It’s necessary to get 1-2 experienced account manager contacts you can work with.

Does the IT service provider offer an experienced engineer?

Do not expect to get help from only one engineer. A reliable IT service provider has a good team of experienced and dedicated engineers to help with all the problems you experience.

Does the IT provider collaborate with certain software and hardware companies?

Of course, it’s not a problem if a provider works with certain manufacturers. Watch out for those companies who are focused to search for the best decision to fit your needs rather than the reputation of the company providing this kind of service.

We hope that our tips were useful and you will find the most suitable and reliable IT service vendor to develop your business.