The Right IT Support for Your Business

Tech’s continuous evolution has made our lives easier than ever before – our workplaces and homes are more connected now than they ever have been before. The capabilities of technology have led it to spread throughout organisations across the globe in every industry sector – regardless of business size or shape, business owners are becoming wise to the value that it can offer.

Implementation of the right tools, and top-quality support surrounding the use and security of those tools, is essential – in the modern age this should be a leading consideration for business owners.

Our reliance on tech is growing. IT support companies seem to be appearing everywhere because of this fact, but most of these companies are making wild – and frankly unrealistic – claims – such as providing ‘the best support’ – being the wildest of them all, how can anyone claim to offer you the best support before even learning about your business?

Some may believe we are thinking too much about a relatively simple task, because IT support is just IT support, isn’t it? Well, no, not at all, as the level of support that your organisation requires will depend on the individual needs of your organisation.

IT support has become the wrong term for this service in the modern world – as we have already said, it is no longer just support that businesses need. In the past the name matched the service, but we are no longer so oblivious to what technology is capable of. Previously, technology had not achieved the level at which it could be moulded to a business’s individual needs, or, further, to a specific department in an organisation. Today, all of this is possible.

There was a time when you ‘couldn’t plan your next move’, which is now a phrase that would strike fear into the hearts of most modern-day business owners. Planning is a key part of every business in the modern world – without it there will be simply no chance of survival.

Modern IT support does much more, as it is capable of being shaped and honed to your individual wants and needs, and it can evolve and grow alongside your business.

The IT specialists from the external company tasked with managing your account shouldn’t be an entity that are only spoken to in the event of a disaster – they must become an integral part of your team and share your visions and passion for the prolonged success and growth of the business. They must match this enthusiasm with the knowledge of what tools and procedures will be the best for your company to make those aims happen.

Let’s look at what good, modern IT support should look like.

What Will a Good IT Support Specialist Do for You?

Show interest with proactivity

By far the most important of all is proactivity. Most IT companies preach it in their sales pitch when attempting to acquire your services, but, a small minority actually offer a proactive approach to their services. A good provider should get to know your organisation inside and out; they should look back to the history of your organisation in an attempt to learn about its future. In fact, it would be fair to say that many IT support providers could advertise themselves as insurance providers instead, and they definitely wouldn’t look out of place – they only want to offer reactive support in the event of a problem, rather than implementing preventative measures to stop the problem occurring in the first place.

You must find a provider that shows genuine interest in the prolonged success of your organisation. They must find out what works and what doesn’t through your data and from talking with your team – after all, who knows the system better than the people that are using it daily? Doing this will give them a chance to prepare for the problems we previously mentioned in a way that suits the way you do business. Unfortunately, we can’t give you a blanket statement of what works (because what works for a marketing agency wouldn’t work for an estate agent, for example). Remember that every organisation is different, and your IT support should be catered to you with this fact in mind.

With a proactive approach to IT support, small problems don’t have the chance to become large ones. With strategically aligned IT at the forefront of operations, and proactive support around the safest and correct way of utilising all that tech has to offer, your business can always be operational and not face any potentially business-defining downtime.

Allow for unlimited calls

Don’t even consider IT companies that limit the number of calls you can make to them. How can you anticipate the level of assistance you are going to need, or when you are going to need it? Completely disregard them as an option – if you could see into the future, you wouldn’t need IT support at all!

Effective communication

Tech minded individuals – it is fair to say – aren’t predominantly the most gifted of communicators. Of course, that doesn’t shroud their capabilities in regard to implementing the right tools technically, but it does affect the effectiveness of combining them with the right actions.

The right provider will clearly communicate with you and your team; their ideas for the future of your organisation must be concise and shared clearly. Without this top level of communication, you will lack the plans and targets from which you not only monitor success but also rely on to decide what changes are needed to boost efficiency and growth.

Your provider must be in contact with your organisation often. Of course, don’t expect a call every day but a call with an agreed scheduled time in-between is expected.

The best providers will go the extra mile, and they will know your business inside out – in both a technical sense and a personal one – they need to learn how your organisation ticks so they can grow a familiarity with the challenges your team are facing daily.

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

SLAs are vital: they define the parameters of your service. Every provider will offer something different, so take your time to find a number of potential providers, speak with them, and make a revised decision based on what your organisation needs – whatever you do, don’t just sign the first contract you are offered.

In the following article we will outline a checklist for you to follow, which will provide you with exactly what to look for in an IT provider, hopefully making the process much easier for you whilst ensuring you find an IT provider that works in the best interests of your business.

Innovative, flexible & trusted

We at Techguard are your innovative, flexible, and trusted IT Managed Service Provider. Highly experienced, with hundreds of very satisfied clients, our priority is to provide an exceptional IT service that makes a positive and immediate impact to add real value to you and your business. Techguard is a close-knit team and is run like a family business. Davide, Techguard’s Managing Director, feels that this is the cornerstone of his growing and thriving operation. When we say ‘everyone knows your business’ we mean it, as each team member supports all clients, and not just a selection. Get in contact and see what our Techguard team can do for you.