10 questions you need to ask your IT service provider 1

Opting to use an IT service provider entails many benefits. One of the main advantages is the fact that it allows your company to focus more on its core business activities while using highly specialised IT operators, thereby enabling the creation of the most appropriate business strategy. Your IT service provider will treat you as a partner and will have the flexibility to produce a solution that is customised to your company’s needs.

Ensuring your IT service provider meets your needs

When selecting an IT service provider, there are many different factors to be taken into consideration. It is important to learn as much as possible about the potential IT provider and understand all the services they offer in order to choose the most appropriate one. You should be able to ask them anything you might think is significant in terms of IT service management. The following list covers the 10 most important questions to ask your IT service provider:

1. What is you software implementation project management experience? And what are your qualifications?
2. Do your employees possess the necessary skills to provide suitable IT support for my company?
3. Do you have the ability to grant 24/7/365 network monitoring and management, as well as an after-hours response?
4. Will you consistently (and proactively) offer new ways to improve our network’s performance by providing the appropriate IT service management?
5. What are your written product development and updating procedures?
6. What methods will you utilise to reduce potential conflicts between other software applications my organisation uses?
7. Will you send detailed invoices that clearly explain what we are being billed for?
8. What guarantees will you provide that my company’s data is being kept safe?
9. How will you manage the estimation of the workload placed on the various system components for my company’s peak usage time?
10. Does your service comply with all the relevant statutory laws and regulations?

The above questions act as a basic guide and should be the starting point in negotiations between you and any existing or potential IT service provider. You should also be able to add more questions regarding your business’ specific requirements, which will help you with recognising the full potentials and advantages of managed IT services.