How to find the best IT specialist for you organization.

Jun 2, 2012 by OltzOlsten682

IT managed services factor into nearly every business transaction conducted at your firm. Therefore, it’s important to be very selective about your IT consultant. To find the best IT partner for your needs, begin by checking references.

Procedure for Checking IT Consultants’ References

Use your social media network to ask for IT consultant recommendations. Create a list of four or five recommendations from those in your industry. Then dig deeper by asking for additional references from each potential IT consultant. Consider asking these references the following questions:

1. Does the same consultant visit your office each time?

When it comes to IT managed services, the best situation is to have a consistent service representative. Otherwise, your employees may have to waste time explaining your system to the newbie that shows up at your office. Moreover, as the IT consultant becomes more familiar with your system, he or she becomes more efficient and your ROI improves.

2. How well does the consultant communicate with your employees?

Your own intuition will give you a good idea of whether each consultant will be a good fit for your firm. However, you can weed out poor service providers early by asking recommendations about any challenges of working with each IT firm. Perhaps, as an example, you’ll inquire, “What are the worst and best parts of working with ________?”

3. Does this IT provider have a back-up plan if your service representative is unavailable?

If an emergency occurs, and your regular IT consultant is unavailable, you want assurance that your IT managed services will still be handled with care.

Queries for Each Possible IT Consultant

The second stage of vetting IT consultants involves meeting face-to-face with each organization that remains after your research into recommendations. Here are some helpful questions to ask at this point:

1. Can you offer fixed pricing?

Contractually speaking, fixed / retainer-based pricing is often the best choice for IT managed services. A retainer structure guarantees that you’ll pay the same amount each month, even if dozens of extra hours are required in certain months. IT consultants often prefer retainer contracts too, since in this situation they are assured a regular income.

2. What software and other certifications to you have?

Ideally, your IT consultant will be well versed in the specific systems used in your business. Just as doctors specialize in certain physiological systems, IT consultants often focus on a certain niche industry. To ensure that your IT partner will be an expert in the IT needs of your industry, ask for a complete list of current certifications.

3. Will you allow my employees to help you?

A great fear among business leaders is that a wealth of IT knowledge will be lost if an IT partnership ends. To prevent this occurrence, and to cut your IT costs over time, ask each consultant if he or she will allow employees to handle the less technical aspects of your IT managed services. This will allow you to shave billable hours in the future – and to assign your IT consultant to more advanced issues.

Last steps: Once you have the right IT consultant in mind, and a service agreement has been drawn up, analyze the contract very carefully. Your lawyer and your accountant should each take a look at the agreement before you sign any contract for IT managed services.

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