What questions should you ask your IT provider before signing a contract? How does a blog help your business? Get answers by reading this post. This article discusses the top 6 questions that are important to consider as well as some answers to those questions.How will my current devices work with this service?
- Do I need any additional hardware or software for this service?
- Is there a cost associated with cancelling the contract?
- What are the payment options and what is the cancellation process if I want out of my agreement early?
- How often will I be billed, how much in advance, and when can I expect payments to arrive each month?
- For what does my monthly fee cover (e.g., unlimited support)?
- What happens if I need to cancel my account?
- Will this be the only IT company I work with or will they assist in other areas of my business as well (e.g., accounting)?
- Is there a contract length and what is it?
The length depends on both parties, but typically lasts somewhere between one year and five years.
- How many technicians do you have?
- How many staff members work at your company?
- What is the size of your team in terms of number and skill sets?
Do not forget that it takes a lot more than just technical skills to keep up with today’s business demands. You will want someone who has experience managing projects, budgets, customer service needs as well as supporting various technologies like VoIP telephone systems or cloud computing platforms. This person may be called an IT project manager (PM), but they are also usually the ones designing networks and other infrastructure components such as servers, firewalls, etc., which means they must know about the various security protocols to protect your data.
How do I know if we will be a good match?
What are the specific needs of my organization and how can you help me with them? Do not forget that IT service providers exist to solve problems for businesses, so they want to understand what is most important in order to provide value.
Do you have an SLA (Service Level Agreement)? What does it cover?
An agreement between two parties about some aspect of their relationship where one party agrees or promises to give something valuable to themselves, usually on the condition that the other person complies with certain terms as well. A Service Level Agreement specifies exactly what conditions need to be met by both parties before either side owes any obligations.
What is your cancellation process and how does it affect my contract?
How will the service be monitored or maintained? Are you responsible for any hardware failures if they happen during this time period (e.g., a virus)? Keep in mind that some providers may offer 24/365 customer support while others do not, so check before agreeing to anything.
Do I have other IT needs beyond those we’ve discussed here today? Consider whether your provider can help with everything you need out of an IT company including printing services, website design and development, data backup solutions etc.?
