If your business resides in Southern California, are you considering outsourcing your IT support in Los Angeles to a managed IT services company?
This can be a major step forward for your company, delivering impressive cost savings and improved performance while freeing up your internal teams. However, it’s a big decision, and one to consider carefully. Not every IT team will be a great fit for your company, and asking the right questions now can save you time, money, and headaches down the road. If you’re looking into the IT consulting Los Angeles has to offer, we’re here to make the process a little easier.
Today, we’re sharing 10 critical questions to ask any prospective company before moving forward.
1. What Kind of Services Does Your Team Provide?
Not all IT consultants provide the same range of services. Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure you clearly understand what you’re paying for and what you can expect.
At Be Structured Technology Group, we’re proud to provide all-inclusive managed IT services for your organization. This covers all of the IT tools that your company needs to realize unparalleled success, such as:
- x424/7 monitoring
- IT consulting
- Virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO) services
- Comprehensive cloud services
- Data backup and protection
- Antivirus protection
- Comprehensive cybersecurity
- Network and infrastructure management
- Vendor relationship management
- Live IT support
If the provider that you’re considering can’t provide a list similar in depth and breadth to this one, then you could wind up overpaying for performance that under-delivers. Our services are designed to stack onto one another, providing a solid IT foundation that meets your company’s specific needs. Read more about our local IT support to learn how we go above and beyond the competition.
2. How Much Experience Do You Have?
It’s true that everyone has to start somewhere. Still, you don’t want to trust your IT consulting services to someone who’s brand new to the tech space. Before you get too far into the interview, ask the representative to detail the level of experience that their team members possess.
You can read all about how Be Structured got its start, but there are some of the highlights you need to know. First, though we’ve been together as a company since 2007, our staff and leaders have years of combined IT experience. Even our CEO has advanced IT knowledge and expertise!
It takes a ton of real-world skill to keep an entire business network up and running. You need a team that’s capable of handling everything you need, from daily end-user problems and server management to infrastructure planning, cybersecurity, and more.
3. How Are Your Pricing Plans Structured?
As you browse the full library of managed IT services offered by a given company, it can be difficult to gauge how much you’ll wind up spending on the effort. After all, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of price. Rather, these plans will be customized to fit the unique needs of each company.
While this type of support can be challenging to budget, the best companies have simple, straightforward pricing models that make this step infinitely easier. When you know these numbers up-front, it becomes much easier to predict and manage your monthly bill. This way, you can plan for the future growth of your company, as well!
One red flag to avoid? Be wary of companies that are overly vague about how their pricing models work. It’s not uncommon for unscrupulous providers to conceal their pricing until the very last minute. Or, you might encounter some that will advertise flat, hourly rates that sound manageable at first but overflow your budget in no time.
By billing on a per-user basis, top-tier managed services providers help you avoid unnecessary surprises. This way, you can rest assured that each person in your company is fully covered.
4. Do You Offer Around-the-Clock Monitoring and Support?
Viruses and intruders don’t clock out at 5:00 p.m. That’s why you need 24/7 monitoring and support services to protect your systems, even when you can’t be there.
When you partner with a best-in-class managed services provider, you can be confident that your hardware and software are constantly safeguarded against hazards, and protected in emergency situations. Not only does this provide invaluable peace of mind, but it can also make your teams more productive.
Think about it: What would you do if your network went down for even a few hours? Your workforce could be rendered virtually unproductive, which can negatively impact your operations, as well as your bottom line.
Our team at Be Structured is always on guard, monitoring client systems for any signs of intrusion or any type of unusual behavior.
Our staff is available for immediate support 12 hours per day, five days a week. If you need assistance outside of those hours, don’t worry. One of our technicians is always on-call to assist in emergency situations or manage high-priority issues.
If the company you’re interviewing doesn’t offer the same level of service, consider the cost implications of leaving your network open to such security gaps. You deserve to trust your systems to a provider that will handle them with the same level of care and attention that you would.
5. What Is the Average Onboarding Time?
Whether you’re switching from an in-house IT consulting team or another managed services provider, it can take time to get up and running with a new consultant.
While the onboarding process may sound complicated and complex at first, it doesn’t have to be that way. An experienced, reliable IT services company can take the reins more effortlessly than you might expect. Though it can take some time to set up your network to accommodate remote hosting, expert implementation managers know how to streamline the process so you can get started as soon as possible.
This reduces your overall downtime and gives your productivity a boost. Your internal teams can get back to doing what they do best, while we’ll take care of every IT aspect for you.
6. What Industries Do You Serve?
Before you partner with an IT services provider, you want to make sure that they’ve worked with a company in your industry before. While this doesn’t necessarily have to be a deal-breaker, it does help to know that they’re familiar with the intricacies of your particular niche.
We’re transparent about the industries that we’ve served and supported in the past. You can read more about them on our network services industries page. A few representative ones include:
- Financial services
- Non-profit organizations
- Professional services
- Wealth management
- Architecture firms
These are just a few of the sectors that our team has helped managed. However, we recognize that every individual industry has its own set of IT needs. We’re dedicated to freeing up your staff members so they can focus on your core organizational goals.
While you’re asking about the industries that a specific company serves, a strong follow-up question would be, “How many customers do you currently have?” Larger, more established managed services providers will have a large number of clients, representative of many different industries.
This is a good indicator of their experience, thought leadership, and marketplace recognition. If the company has online reviews, feedback, or customer testimonials, take the time to read them, too. They can include details to help you learn how others have enjoyed their partnerships and gauge how yours might go.
7. What Geographic Areas Do You Serve?
You don’t want to get too attached to a managed IT consultant only to find that they don’t provide service to your area. To save you that setback, we clearly share the areas we serve right on our website!
Our office is located in the heart of the LA financial district, close to the historic city center. As such, we’re passionate about supporting small and mid-sized downtown businesses and giving them the boost they need to succeed.
Consider just some of the major cities we serve:
and many, many more.
Our geographic range is wide-reaching and vast. We serve the greater Los Angeles and Orange County regions, and we’d love to add you to our list of satisfied local partners.
8. Do You Offer a Free Consultation?
Be wary of support firms that require you to commit to a plan before you even know if the services are right for your company. It’s also concerning when a consultant charges for an initial consultation, as this is simply an introduction and brainstorming session that can lead to a greater partnership down the road.
We’re proud to offer a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your company’s IT support needs. This is an opportunity for us to learn more about the applications that your business currently uses, as well as your future goals. Then, we’ll share how our services can help reduce your in-house IT burden, improving productivity and lowering costs over time.
9. What Is the Size of Your Staff?
There isn’t a right or wrong answer to this question. It all has to do with the size and scope of your company’s IT needs.
If they’re substantial and complex, then you might require the services of a large-scale team that’s big enough to handle it all. Or, you may prefer to work with a smaller company that can take a more personal approach to every client account. Then, there are companies like Be Structured that strike the perfect balance.
Although our team is large in size, we still manage to provide dedicated, personal service to each client we serve. We’re committed to providing top-notch security, supporting your company’s daily functions, and responding quickly to every need.
Ultimately, you want to hire a company that has a large and well-staffed help desk like ours. This way, you’ll know they’re always there to help with your issues, no matter how big or how small they might be. They should also be dedicated to training and empowering their Account Managers, who are tasked with providing routine support and strategic assistance.
Generally, the bigger and better-equipped a consultant’s team is, the more varied and diverse their experience is, too. This is a definite plus that can help you maximize your technology budget and get the most out of your investment.
10. What Separates You From the Competition?
Finally, it’s critical to ask each consulting company what sets them apart from the rest of their peers. In other words, what is their defining characteristic that no one else in this space can claim?
For our team at Be Structured, our core differentiator is our real-world IT experience. As you do your research and due diligence, you’ll quickly find that many managed services providers are simply salespeople and executives. While you need a degree of sales knowledge, that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
You don’t want to be stuck paying for services that you can’t use, simply because you felt pressured to agree to a plan. Our leaders are experts in the information technology space, with years of experience they can bring to the table. This makes them especially qualified to recognize core issues in your operations and recommend unique solutions that fit the bill.
We’ll design your IT solution from the bottom up, empower and support your employees, and safeguard your data. What’s more, we’ll provide it all under a comprehensive, cost-effective package that’s more affordable than a full-time, internal IT expert.
IT Consulting Los Angeles Can Trust
Your IT systems are too valuable to trust them to just any managed services provider. When you need a reliable, around-the-clock team that will provide the full range of support you need, we’re here to help.
There’s a reason why Be Structured has quickly become the leading outsourced technical support group in LA. We offer the all-inclusive solutions you need to keep your network protected at every turn, all without the heavy workload and high costs of a dedicated, on-staff IT team.
We’re the experts in IT consulting Los Angeles knows to trust, and we’ve love to talk to you about how we can help your company succeed. To learn more about the services we provide, go ahead and schedule a free consultation!
