Did you know that roughly 74% of businesses outsource IT to some extent? There are various reasons why the majority of companies leverage managed IT support. IT services can give you access to pooled expertise, better security, enhanced compliance, and cutting-edge solutions. What’s more, it can also trigger substantial cost savings.
According to research, companies who use outsourced IT services can enjoy IT savings of up to 55%.
However, if you’re looking for IT support in Los Angeles, you need to be discerning about which IT service provider you choose.
Although there are numerous benefits to using managed IT support, you’ll only be able to enjoy these fully if you pick the right provider. If you select an IT services provider who doesn’t offer top-notch services, you might end up spending more than you expect, only to receive sub-par support.
The quality of your IT infrastructure can have a direct impact on businesses operations, competitiveness in your market, and, ultimately, your bottom line.
To make sure you partner with the right IT support in LA, keep reading to find out what qualities to look for in providers.
Experience
One of the first things to look for in an IT service provider is experience. Although newly opened operations might not provide a bad service, they don’t have a track record behind them. While their offerings might be competitive, there is always the chance with a new provider that they might end up shutting down.
If you go with an established IT service provider, you’ll benefit from their industry experience. Established providers are more likely to have dealt with a business similar to yours in the past. In which case they will be better equipped to offer you tailored solutions that work.
IT is a complex, evolving field. If you go with a managed services provider who’s been around the block, you can be pretty certain they’ll know what’s required to make your business’s IT department run like clockwork.
Besides this, you can also rest assured that an established IT services provider will remain in business for years to come. Switching IT support providers can be disruptive, and you want to reduce the chance of being forced into this by your provider suddenly closing down.
Innovation
While you want to go with a managed services provider who has experience behind their name, you also want to ensure that the provider you choose focuses on innovation.
IT is a fast-moving area, and you need a provider that will be able to implement the latest solutions. At the same time, you also want one with foresight. A good IT support company will be able to suggest upgrades and integrations that will last into the future, and won’t become redundant overnight.
It can be hard to ascertain from the outside looking in whether or not a provider is innovative. However, once you start looking at different IT Support Los Angeles options, you should be able to gauge their overall approach.
Is it forward-thinking? Or do you get the feeling that they are simply copy/pasting solutions across their client base?
A Focus on Security
If you’re on the hunt for IT support in Los Angeles, another quality to look for is a focus on security.
Security isn’t a glamorous area, which is why it sometimes doesn’t get the attention it deserves. However, hacks and security breaches can cost businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars. What’s more, it can also result in business closure.
Research shows that 60% of businesses that undergo a data breach or hack close down within 6 months.
Because security breaches can be so detrimental, it’s essential that you vet providers in terms of their security offerings. Ideally, you want to choose a managed service provider who specializes in security.
If you’re wondering how to gauge whether security is their specialty, check their service pages. Do they feature security as a standalone offering? If so, this can be a good indication that security is one of their core services.
24-Hour Availability
One of the big benefits of managed IT support is that it can give you access to round-the-clock support. However, this is only true if the provider you choose offers this.
Although 24hr support has become an industry benchmark—especially when it comes to IT support in LA—this doesn’t mean that every provider offers it. There are still some providers who have yet to grasp the need for 24/7 support services.
According to reports, one hour of downtime can cost SMBs up to $100,000 in losses. Having 24hr support from your IT service provider means that if something does go wrong, you can ensure that it gets rectified immediately. No more waiting until the morning, or paying your own IT staff overtime to get things up and running.
Long story short: double-check that the managed service provider you choose does in fact offer 24/7 support and monitoring.
Swift Response Times
Besides vetting for 24/7 support, you should also ensure that the managed IT service provider you select has fast response times. Waiting around for your provider to get back to you isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time. What’s more, what is the point of 24hr support if you still can’t raise someone quickly?
To gauge whether or not a potential IT service provider has fast response times, test them on a few channels. For instance, you can give them a call and see how many rings it takes for them to pick up. You can also shoot them an email, or hit them up on social media.
Employee Support
Another important feature you should look for in a managed services provider is employee support. If you’re going to take the leap and hire on outsourced managed IT support, then you want to make sure that your employees can benefit from this.
No matter how tech-savvy your employees are, there will invariably be times when they need tech assistance. In some cases, you might have existing in-house IT staff that can meet this need. However, there are also many situations where this could be better done by your IT service provider.
Therefore, query potential providers and see whether employee support is part of their offerings.
Tailored Solutions
IT isn’t usually a one-size-fits-all situation. That’s why it’s important that you look for providers that realize the importance of tailored solutions.
Ultimately, you need your IT solutions to work for your business, not against it. This is where tailored solutions shine. Instead of you and your employees having to work around the limitations of your systems, a good managed services provider will be able to supply you with solutions that increase productivity and truly meet your individual needs.
When looking into potential providers, try to feel out what types of systems they implement. Do you have generic solutions that they scale up or down according to business size?
Another way to see whether a provider specializes in tailored solutions is if they have pre-priced packages. Pre-priced packages are often, by design, inflexible. On the other hand, if you have to get a custom quote, this usually means that the provider is focusing on individualized rather than blanket IT solutions.
Disaster Recovery Plans
Besides watertight, cutting-edge security, another critical service that your managed service provider needs to offer is disaster recovery plans.
No matter how sound your security and data protection measures are, you still need to have a strong disaster recovery plan in place. If something entirely unforeseen happens, you need to know that your business’s IT operations and data is still secure.
What’s more a comprehensive disaster recovery plan needs to cover all aspects of your business and its functions. Disaster recovery is an area where your entire company needs to be involved and catered to because everyone has to respond in different ways when disaster strikes.
This is why, here at Best Structured Technology Group, we work with every department of your business when structuring disaster recovery plans. These include sales, c-level employees, and operations. Through this, we build practical plans for how your operations will continue, even if the worst possible scenario unfolds.
Proactive Maintenance
Traditionally, IT departments operated on what is known as the break/fix model. When components broke or software malfunctioned, IT technicians would implement a fix. Fortunately, the world has moved on since those days.
Now, most IT support providers carry out proactive maintenance. What this means is they actively monitor your systems for early signs of failure and malfunction. Once these are detected, technician teams can carry out upgrades and maintenance before anything goes wrong.
This reduces downtime and disruptions and increases productivity for your business.
Remote Monitoring
One of the essential components of proactive maintenance is remote monitoring. Through constant remote monitoring managed IT support providers can pick up and diagnose issues before they even happen, without needing to visit your premises.
Remote monitoring gives providers the data they need to conduct thorough and effective remote monitoring.
Besides this, remote monitoring is also vital for maintaining rock-solid security. This is why we implement 24hr monitoring for all our clients. We watch out for potential threats, intrusion, and unusual behavior.
Vendor Partnerships
One of the reasons why managed IT support services can be so cost-effective is because providers often have vendor partnerships. These allow them to access vendor discounts. These savings they can then pass down to their clients.
Therefore, if a potential managed IT support provider has a number of vendor partnerships, they might supply you with slightly discounted solutions.
Additionally, vendor partnerships are also an indication of trust and professionalism. Large-scale IT vendors aren’t likely to partner with fly-by-night IT support operations. Instead, they usually only partner with providers who have been in business for some time and have a good track record of business.
Concentration on Business Results
In essence, IT solutions are a means to an end. The end is enhanced business results. Therefore, you want to engage a managed service provider who is looking to help you achieve your business goals.
You don’t want a provider who is only interested in keeping your IT systems up and running. You want a provider who is passionate about the success of their clients and dedicated to helping them achieve this success through the right IT solutions. You also want a provider that is able to plan for the future, and work closely with you to support growth.
CIO-Level Service
Last but not least, make sure that the provider you choose offers CIO-level services. This type of consulting will ensure that your MSP works with you to achieve the business results you need.
Hiring a full-time executive employee that only focuses on IT is often impractical for a lot of SMBs. However, this doesn’t mean that you don’t need the services and insight of a CIO.
Fortunately, some IT support providers offer virtual CIO services.
For instance, when you sign up for our managed IT support services, you will gain access to IT consulting services that are on par with that of an in-house CIO. We will assign you a c-level employee / IT consultant who can guide and assist you with:
- IT budgeting
- Strategies for increased revenue through the right IT solutions
- Security, disaster recovery, business continuity, and compliance
- Reducing operating costs
As you can see, these are not areas that a junior IT technician can assist you with. This is why we ensure you have access to c-level consultants who are equipped with strong business acumen.
Are You Looking for IT Support in Los Angeles?
Are you looking for IT support in Los Angeles? Here in LA, we are blessed with having an array of services at our fingertips. However, this doesn’t mean that you don’t need to be discerning when it comes to selecting an IT services provider.
As you can see, the quality of your provider’s offerings matter a lot. In today’s age, the functionality of your IT solutions can either be a competitive edge, or a stumbling block that impacts productivity, customer relations, brand image, and more.
Fortunately, if you’re on the hunt for the best in managed IT support, you don’t have to look far.
At Best Structure Technology Group, we’re dedicated to providing our clients with tailored solutions, impregnable security, round-the-clock support, vCIO consulting, and more.
Contact us today to discuss your unique needs.