Are you in the market for an IT support company?

IT downtime costs companies $5,600 every minute. Having quality support services is vital to avoiding this downtime. But picking the best company for the job can sometimes be a difficult task.

We are here to help. Read on for the questions you need to ask IT support companies before you sign a contract.

1. What Are Your Support Levels?

Every business has different needs. These are based on your hardware and how you use it. There is no point paying for services you don’t need. Check whether the company offers pay-as-you-go support, and compare it to what you actually need.

2. What Is My Response Time?

Any reputable support company should be able to offer you a reasonable response time. This may change depending on the level of support you sign up to.

Remember that this isn’t a time to resolution. It only guarantees they will not ignore you.

3. Is There an Account Manager?

It can be hard to form a relationship with a company if their representative keeps changing. Having a dedicated account manager allows your two companies to learn about each other and improve your working relationship.

4. What Can We Call About?

It is important to know when you can raise a ticket. Does the company only provide help when something breaks, or will they provide general troubleshooting and advice? Technical assistance, even when things are working, is valuable to any company.

5. What Are Your Payment Terms?

IT support companies are varied when it comes to payment terms. You will most likely have a monthly cost, and then 15 to 30-day terms for extra work. Make sure you know exactly what you are signing up for.

6. What Area Do You Cover?

You will only be looking at companies that will cover your current location. But it is worth looking into the full area they cover in case you want to expand your business in the future.

You don’t want to have to rely on multiple companies if you can avoid it!

7. Who Do You Work With?

After you send an issue to your support company, they may need to escalate to the manufacturer. Check to see who they work with. If they have good relationships issues are likely to be dealt with much faster.

Expertise with your hardware and software will also help all support queries.

8. What Isn’t Covered?

You have to set aside money for contingencies in your IT budget, so it is important to know what is and isn’t covered in your support contracts.

The best way to do this is to ask what they do not cover. This might reveal edge cases you didn’t expect.

9. Do You Have Testimonials?

Every company is going to tell you that they are the best in the business, and offer great value for money. Being able to speak with existing customers that have actually dealt with the company will reveal the truth.

Questions You Should Ask IT Support

As long as you ask IT Support Companies these 9 questions you will be going into any contract prepared. These questions will make sure that you know what exactly it is you will be receiving, and how reliable the company is.

If you are in need of IT support service, then contact us today at Inception Network Strategies.