With numerous IT services providers on the market, it can be hard to identify the right IT company to work with. Not all providers offer the same level of service, and unfortunately not all IT companies can be described as ‘good’.
So how do you know if an IT service provider is good? As well as looking at reviews and testimonials from their customers and asking for recommendations from trusted associates, here are a few things that differentiate the good providers.
3 things good IT services providers do, and 3 things they don’t
Good IT service providers DO
Understand their customers and their users – these providers will take the time to understand your organisation, business objectives, challenges, IT function and requirements before proposing how they can help you. Their on-boarding process is customer focused too, ensuring that by the time their services go live they have a complete understanding of how their services will impact your business and users.
Offer specialist services – there are so many different aspects to IT that to provide a comprehensive outsourcing solution an IT service provider has to have a large team of skilled IT professionals, with numerous specialisations. While providers like Cloud Business can offer a range of services because of our internal capacity, we also specialise. For example, we’re though-leaders in the Managed Services arena, we’re digital transformation experts, we have a market-leading cyber security services team and we’re Microsoft Gold Partners with extensive experience in deploying Modern Workplace solutions.
Add value – increasingly business leaders understand how IT is not purely an operational function but can also be a strategic partner in achieving business objectives. Good IT services providers also understand this and will work with your organisation to align their services with business strategies and goals. Great IT services providers will go a step further and look at where they can deliver even more value, working with your organisation and IT team as a strategic partner.
Good IT services providers DON’T
Try to fit your organisation to their business model – while Managed Services are more cost effective because providers are able to offer multiple customers the same services, good providers align their services with your organisation not the other way around. Good providers won’t force their customers to pay for services they don’t need because they’re part of a ‘package’. Instead they’ll offer a variety of options that can be tailored to your needs.
Offer general IT services – the saying ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ is very true in IT. For many IT services providers it’s not possible to have, and maintain, the skills needed to provide a vast range of IT services. IT is constantly evolving with new technology and threats impacting how services are delivered. Keeping up-to-date on such a diverse range of specialisations is not feasible unless the provider has large team of specialists.
Stick to Service Level Agreements – good providers deliver more than the bare minimum. They are constantly looking to enhance their service and go above and beyond SLAs by doing more for their clients. Instead of just monitoring IT systems and responding to incidents, they will be exploring ways to make your IT more efficient, driving cost savings and increasing performance.
Is your IT service provider good? If you want to benchmark the IT support your organisation currently enjoys, download our checklist to rate it against industry standards. Click here >
