How do you know you’re getting the best IT support out there? If you’re not in IT yourself, how do you know what questions to ask? Here is some information to uncover while you’re looking at IT support companies.
1. Experience
The best IT companies will have experienced leadership. Who is the CEO? Who is head of the help desk/IT support team? What is their educational and professional background?
In the case of our IT support company Inderly, I am the founder and CEO and I have an advanced diploma in Computer Engineering Technology from Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. I started my career straight out of college at a Toronto-based managed IT services company, and serviced hundreds of local businesses over a ten-year span. Next, I launched my own IT company Inderly, where we deliver a specialized IT-as-a-service offering, the Cloud Office.
I have clients that have been working with me for a decade. I find that bad service doesn’t earn loyalty. So, the next step in your search for quality IT support is to look at testimonials and seek out referrals from existing clients.
2. Referrals
Most IT companies have testimonials on their website. Check if these are up to date and if the company is experienced in servicing offices like yours. Once it looks like the IT company provides the services you think you might need, you’ll want to engage them in a meeting and start developing a relationship.
The best IT support companies should be able to answer your questions to your satisfaction, and add any missing information that is important for you to know. But if you are considering moving forward with a company, always ask them for a client referral. This will help you assess their expertise and trust-worthiness.
We are trusted by our Toronto-area IT support clients because of our experience, our level of service, and the effort we put into developing positive relationships. If you are interested in becoming an Inderly client, don’t take us just at our word – we’ll give you a referral.
3. Accountability
Sometimes, one needs to be an expert to know an expert, and because of this it can be difficult to find out who are really the best quality IT support companies.
We are accountable for our work by design. By that I mean we offer a full IT package as a monthly service rather than piecing it out and expecting our clients to be responsible for all the moving parts. We deploy many different products and services, and our clients are not on the hook for any of those supplier contracts.
We use what we sell, we practice what we preach, and we don’t sell our clients anything we can’t also maintain via our help desk/IT support team. Ask your potential IT support company who is responsible for IT products that don’t work. Ask them how you know they will do what they say they are going to do. Their answer will help you assess their level of accountability.
4. Commitment
We come across many IT support companies who prefer to lock in clients to IT support service contracts that last 1-5 years. This can make it difficult for clients to leave or switch providers if needed.
Make sure you know your options. Many progressive managed IT service providers today are no longer requiring clients to sign service contracts.
At my company, I realized how much I didn’t like being locked in to service contracts, so why would I do that to my clients?
Here, clients can switch providers at any time – there are no long-term contracts locking them in. Good customer service is extremely important to us, and that means no one is ever stuck.
5. Good suppliers and products
One last thing to check is the suppliers used by your potential IT support company. It doesn’t so much matter whose partner logos appear on the IT company’s website. But do ask them about their real experience with these suppliers and their products. Does the IT company know how to implement and maintain the products they are selling?
You may be interested in a particular solution for your office such as emergency backups or cloud desktops. If so, ask any IT support company to provide an example of a client for whom they’ve already rolled out the solution. Preferably, you will also get a client referral.
Feel free to ask us about any of the products and services you see on our website, or our preferred suppliers:
