Rapid growth in cyberattacks, evolving software technology, increasing compliance requirements and changing business needs… these are challenges that all small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are facing in 2024 and beyond. You may be looking at local IT companies for help.
Think about it: All SMBs are in the same boat; trying to do more with less. The only solution that can help is the application of cutting-edge information technology (IT). But IT is an immensely broad category that covers everything from software applications to cybersecurity, compliance, cloud computing and much more.
Creating an in-house IT team with such an expansive skill set is expensive and time-consuming—even if you could find, recruit and afford the talent. This is why most SMBs outsource their IT to a third party to fill the skills gap.
As an SMB owner, selecting an IT provider is one of the most important decisions you will make. Selecting the right provider can help streamline operations, minimize security risks and help plan the future success of your company.
Steps to Success
So how do you make this most important decision? This blog post lists the most important factors to consider when choosing from among local IT companies. After all, you want to get the most out of this key investment.
Follow these steps when comparing local IT companies:
- Identify your technology needs.
- Ask your network for referrals.
- Weigh your requirements against the services offered.
- Look for proactive vs reactive service.
- Ensure security is the top priority.
- Look for flexible plans and pricing.
- Ensure the company’s culture matches yours.
Now let’s look at each step in more detail.
1. Identify Your Technology Needs
Whether it’s IT or any other third-party service, the first step in selecting a provider for your business is to make an inventory of what you need. Whether you have made this decision before or not, you will have to determine answers to the following questions:
- What are the current pain points in IT? What’s working, what’s not?
- What capabilities will you need in three years? Or five?
- What is your budget for IT, both short- and long-term?
Clearly understanding your organization’s needs and approach to technology is the first step in selecting a service provider. Sharing your requirements and budget helps set expectations and ensures that you form a valuable relationship, not just sign a sales agreement and hope for the best.
Some business owners want to be cagey about how much they can afford, thinking they may get a better deal. But not revealing your budget will simply get you ignored. Being upfront about your budget can establish trust and help determine what you will need for service, but will also help make decisions concerning hardware and software costs.
Keep in mind that your budget is likely to increase in the future as your business grows and keeps up with evolving technology.
As a business owner, you do not need a detailed budget plan. A ballpark figure should be enough. Prospective local IT companies can help determine what you need right away and defer less expensive solutions to the future, so you don’t accrue unneeded debt.
2. Ask Your Network for Referrals
While you can easily search online to find IT providers with varied specializations, service offerings and expertise, here at BrightFlow Technologies we recommend you start with your network. Whether it’s through your local chamber of commerce or some other networking entity, ask other business owners who they use and if they have been happy with their services. Getting referrals from your colleagues and friends will help you compile a list of trusted providers, saving you a lot of research time.
While you could rely on third-party reviews and testimonials, word-of-mouth referrals and recommendations are helpful because they speak to real-world results.
3. Weigh Needs Against Services Offered
Not every provider will be a good fit for your company. There may be gaps or in some cases a complete mismatch, especially if the provider has not served someone in your specific industry.
Many IT providers specialize in a particular technology environment, such as PC or Mac, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, IT helpdesk or networking. That is why first identifying your needs is so important. Knowing the exact services that your business requires will narrow down the list of possibilities.
Another important evaluation criterion is whether an MSP can meet all your needs. Ideally, you are trying to avoid a patchwork of solutions. Even if an IT provider does not have specific expertise in-house, they should have partnerships with other vendors and service providers that will enable them to fulfill your requirements. Your IT management will be a whole lot easier and IT operations more efficient if you don’t have to spend time coordinating with multiple vendors.
The highly mobile workforce of today needs to be able to use technology on the go and needs remote IT support when technicians can’t simply drop in for a look. The IT service provider you choose must be able to efficiently support your employees no matter where they are: in the office, working from home or in another country. This is a new requirement for many companies since the pandemic, which led to remote and hybrid work environments. As a result, your IT provider should offer “location agnostic” services. This is especially true when related to device lifecycle management.
4. Choose Proactive Over Reactive Service
The reactive or “break-fix” model of support is still a viable approach to IT services in 2024. Every piece of equipment or software will break at some point. Because businesses today rely so heavily on technology that there will always be something broken that needs fixing. So reactive IT support is still very much on most local IT companies’ list of offerings.
However, IT services must not be limited to that. The goal of effective IT support is to stop preventable issues from happening in the first place. If a problem arises, in addition to solving the problem, your MSP should be able to suggest ways to prevent the problem from occurring in the future.
When you are evaluating IT providers, ask them about their approach to technology support and troubleshooting methodology. The value of a great IT provider is not restricted to solving technical problems. They can also help anticipate policy-driven and behavioral initiatives. This includes training all employees on cybersecurity, application use, compliance and much more.
5. Ensure Security Is Their Top Priority
In the last few years, managed IT service providers have become prime targets for cybercriminals looking to scale their attacks. The last thing you would want is to suffer a data breach through your IT provider who was supposed to protect you in the first place. As a business owner, you need to be certain that your IT provider has the best-in-class security controls in place.
When evaluating IT service providers, ask all candidates about their internal security practices, how they manage data privacy and the interests of their clients. Seek information about their vendor management programs, regulatory oversight, internal governance and risk management policies and practices.
If an IT service provider has compliance certification, such as System and Organizational Control 2 (SOC2), that is a great indicator of their commitment to data security. This can provide peace of mind that your organization is in great hands.
6. Do They Offer Flexible Plans and Pricing?
No matter the size of a company, the IT budget is always a key consideration. Not all budgets can be evaluated in the same way, however. Sacrificing quality for cost can have far-reaching impacts on companies’ financial or reputational survivability. Cybercrime can be a company killer. In accounting speak, that means one may have to use “non-traditional financial metrics” to evaluate investments in IT because its impact on the bottom line is not always evident.
Be sure to ask questions about service providers’ plans and contracts. Are there hidden costs and fees? If flat-fee pricing is offered, are there any special caveats?
Remember, your company’s IT support needs can and will fluctuate. This is especially true for startups and high-growth companies. As you shop local IT companies, obtain answers to these questions:
- What happens when my organization scales up or down?
- How does scaling impact costs?
Look for service providers that make it easy for you to scale up or down, depending on your needs or budget. Your service agreements must also detail exactly what the provider will do, including what is in and outside that range of costs.
7. Ensure They Fit Your Culture
If you are going to work closely with a provider on a day-to-day basis, it is necessary to establish a great relationship. A lack of culture-fit will lead to behavior and attitude conflicts resulting in friction and delays.
You should make it a point to learn about your prospective service provider’s company. Make sure that their company culture and communication style are in harmony with your organization. As local IT companies pitch for your services, pay close attention to how they make you feel. Are they:
- Helpful and polite?
- Thorough in information gathering?
- Upfront about costs?
- Willing to work with you to solve problems?
- Able to provide references in your specific industry?
Information on Local IT Companies
As you search for a new MSP for your organization, we would be happy to discuss our approach to IT service and support. Contact us for more information or to set up a no-strings-attached meeting.
