It’s Monday morning.
Your most important client is at reception waiting for a meeting. You’re about to give the most important pitch of your life. You’re in the meeting room, making last-minute preparations.
Then it happens.
Your network goes offline, and you can’t access that presentation.
It’s a scenario that’s all too familiar to many businesses. It’s often only after disaster strikes that you realize the importance of reliable IT.
That’s why choosing a dependable local IT support team is so important. Here are five tips to help you do that.
1. Focus on Your Business’s IT Support Priorities
When you hire an outsourced IT support company versus an in-house team, your first job is to assess your business’s needs. That will help you get clarity on what you need and your priorities.
First, conduct an in-house audit of your current IT setup. That will help you spot strengths and weaknesses. You may prefer to hire an external auditor if you lack expertise in-house.
When running this audit, it’s essential to be thorough. So, consider issues like hardware, network security, and aging software.
Once you’ve done this audit, it’s time to single out those areas that require the most urgent attention.
You can use this information to create a roadmap for the future, outlining what changes and upgrades you need and in what order and timescale. You should always align this with your core business strategy.
For example, suppose you have a new product launch happening later this year. In that case, you might want to think about prioritizing marketing tools that will help you promote that launch.
Remember to think about where newer technologies could be beneficial to your business. That might include AI, robotics, or cloud computing.
2. Look for Expert Local Managed IT Services in Los Angeles
If you have a business in LA, it’s essential to focus on an IT help desk that’s nearby. Proximity will ensure they are in the same time zone and readily available by phone or person to help with a technical problem.
Expertise is also vital. Not all IT support services in LA and worldwide sometimes have identical specialisms or depths of knowledge.
Yet, reliable and trustworthy outsourced IT support means having technical people who can assess and fix any complex problem.
When you shortlist local IT support providers, examine their history in the industry.
Have they served other LA businesses of a similar size?
Do they have other clients in your industry?
If they have case studies on their website, these are useful to read. They’ll tell you a bit more about their experience and approach.
Look at the technical specialisms you need for your business. View the provider’s list of services to see if it’s a good match.
For example, if you are in the financial or healthcare industry, you’ll need advanced security expertise from your specific support team.
In those cases, look for a company that specifically provides IT services for financial industry needs or healthcare IT managed service providers.
3. Understand the Service Level Agreement
Each IT support company will have an SLA – a service level agreement.
This agreement outlines the scope of the support you’ll receive for your company and targets for how and when issues will get fixed. It’s vital to grasp the details of this as it can vary. You need one that is fully aligned with your business.
The first thing to look at is what services it includes.
For example, perhaps you need someone to manage your hardware, but you have people in-house to oversee your network and software. Or you might need something more comprehensive.
Another factor to check is the timescales for responding to a support issue. If you are a 24/7 business, you’ll need the same level of support for your IT.
You want to avoid a Monday-to-Friday service agreement and have a critical issue unattended over a weekend.
Look at the flexibility of these arrangements and whether they are scalable. If you are growing as a business, you’ll want a support arrangement that can grow with you.
For example, you may need new financial software soon, and you must choose a company with the knowledge and capability to help you scale your IT.
4. Choose an Outsourced Tech Support Team With Excellent Customer Service
You want a support team with an excellent track record in looking after their customers. Responsiveness and first-rate communication skills are two qualities to compare in your shortlisted companies.
It means that when a problem happens, you’ll have a dependable team to get started on a fix and keep you informed of their progress. That will be critical to your business operations.
Read through any online reviews or customer testimonials. Read through customers’ comments to get a feel for the company.
It’s also essential you speak to the IT support team directly. Ask the group how they handle customers and their customer service principles.
You should also help a support team manage your expectations. Be clear about what you want.
If you wish to receive hourly updates by phone when there is an issue, tell them to provide this and ensure it’s part of your service agreement. It’s always best to do this upfront to ensure both teams work harmoniously.
5. Consider Value for Money for IT Services in Los Angeles
You may feel tempted to compare the quotes side-by-side when comparing different IT support providers.
But remember that a final quote doesn’t always show the complete picture. What’s more important than the cost is the value for money you’ll get in that agreement.
Take security monitoring, for example. If one package includes network monitoring, the team may be able to spot potential threats to your environment.
By spotting issues before they happen, you’ll save yourself the trouble of a security breach.
That could come at a financial cost and reputational damage. In other words, low-cost services may not be valuable for money if they include critical services that help your business in the long run.
Choosing the Best Local IT Support Company in Los Angeles
An excellent local IT support company is like an extension of your team.
They’ll keep your technology up and running when it matters most. It means you have peace of mind that your business operations won’t break at those critical moments.
Now it’s time to see what the Be Structured Technology Group can offer your LA business.
Our passion and expertise for technology means you’ll have trusted experts to hand – when you need them.