10 Critical Questions You Should Ask An IT Company Before You Decide To Hire Them
Working with the right IT company can be an eye-opening experience. They know how to review each department, process, and protocol for avenues to improve, automate, and streamline processes – creating a more efficient environment that actually saves you time, money, and stress.
Here’s the thing… Your business almost certainly has untapped potential when it comes to technology. But the wrong IT company will never show you this because they won’t integrate themselves into your overall business enough to figure it out. Instead, they’ll simply provide a few services and call it a day.
Questions To Ask Before You Hire
So how do you know you’re hiring the right IT company? It all comes down to being prepared with the right questions to make an informed choice. Here are 10 critical questions to ask BEFORE you hire them:
- Do you answer your phones personally or is it outsourced to a third-party? And while you’re at it, ask them how long you can expect a response for issues, even after regular business hours.
- Will you be monitoring my network around-the-clock for any potential issues? If so, what will they be watching for? This should include security threats, unauthorized access, and overall, making sure everything is up-to-date.
- What are your plans for backing up my critical applications and data? Make sure they’re planning to have an onsite, as well as an offsite backup system in place for greater redundancy.
- How often do you verify and test the backups? If they don’t verify and test the backups, that’s a bad sign. If they don’t verify and test the backup at least once a week, that’s another bad sign.
- Will I be given network documentation that details everything? You should receive detailed, written network documentation that outlines software licenses, passwords, hardware information, and other important data.
- Do you offer any sort of guarantee on your services? This tells you how confident they are in their ability to keep you satisfied with their technical support. If they don’t offer anything, it’s worth asking if you’re locked into a contract.
- Will I be locked into a contract, and if so, for how long? If they’re expecting you to be a satisfied client, they shouldn’t need to lock you into a long-term contract that’s filled with complex stipulations.
- Do your technicians have current certifications and undergo regular training? You want to feel confident knowing their technicians are keeping up with the pace of technological advancements.
- How do you manage your progress on projects and/or tickets? The ideal answer? They provide frequent updates, status reports, and follow-up calls or emails to keep you in-the-loop.
- What is covered in the agreement between us? You don’t want to sign an agreement and find out they don’t cover remote or onsite support or something else you’re going to need.
If you’re not satisfied with ANY of their answers to the questions above, don’t move forward. There are simply way too many options nowadays to choose one that doesn’t make you happy. You don’t want to make a decision you’ll regret a few months from now, especially if that decision locks you into a contract.
For more information, click here to get in touch with us or call us at {phone} to schedule a consultation.
