What To Demand From An It Technical Support Provider
Finding the right people to maintain your IT infrastructure is essential to the efficient operation of your organization
. There is no lack of technical support providers available to you, so how do you choose? Although it's tempting to dismiss the problem with the belief that one provider is as good as another, in reality there are several critical characteristics you should insist on before contracting for IT services.
Single-Source Accountability
One truism when trying to get technical support is it's always the other guy's fault. The hardware vendor blames the operating system. The operating system maintenance staff blames the application. The application developer blames the hardware. No one takes responsibility, the problem doesn't get solved and the customer gets lost in the shuffle. Modern IT infrastructure is complex and department managers don't have time to spend days on the phone with countless vendors trying to find a solution. They need one person to accept the challenge and deal with the problem.
Ask if your technical support provider offers single-source accountability. This means they will take charge of all your IT infrastructure issues regardless of the source of the problem. They don't handle just hardware failures or software compatibility issues or network issues. They take responsibility for all of your IT problems, and if they don't have a ready answer they will take the time needed to find one. This holistic view of your systems allows them to spot and solve systemic problems that piecemeal solutions may not address.
Responsiveness
When your IT infrastructure has problems, you need help now. You could use email or voicemail, hoping someone gets back to you in a week. Or maybe you could wait on hold for an hour, be told you are talking to the wrong person and then get transferred to another hold queue. IT problems can have catastrophic effects on company profits, and yet many technical support providers offer less responsiveness than your average pizza delivery.
Your company deserves a rapid response. If your building was on fire, is the 911 operator going to direct you to a web site that tells you how to fight the fire yourself? Are you going to be told a firefighter will show up next Thursday somewhere between 10 and 4? Of course not, so why accept that for IT emergencies? Insist your technical support offer low response times and low escalation rates so you can be assured you get the help you need at the time you need it.
Experience and Credentials
IT infrastructure technology changes quickly, but your business can't afford to implement the latest gee-whiz development every week. Your IT department is a blend of newer and older technologies working together in varying levels of harmony. You need technical support providers who are well versed in a wide variety of IT systems from reliable legacy products to cutting-edge developments.
This capability comes from years of providing technical support services to a wide range of clients. Newer technical support companies may look good on paper, but they rarely have the experience of more established organizations. Older companies are likely to be more stable. This is important because the last thing you need is your support provider suddenly going out of business.
Ensure the company's experience matches your organization's needs. Ideally the provider should have direct experience in your industry rather than using your company as a learning opportunity. Experience with other industries allows them to bring a broad range of solutions more specialized organizations might overlook.
Company Philosophy
IT infrastructure isn't just about technology. The best technical support providers don't simply tout the latest version of everything as the answer to every client problem. They take a look at the big picture and how these technologies affect the people and processes in your organization.
For example, your company wants to increase network security. Your IT consultant suggests a security system used in government nuclear weapons facilities. It effectively eliminates any chance your data can be stolen or damaged. It also makes data harder to access even for authorized personnel, slows down the work flow, decreases morale as employees complain about the new system, and requires a substantial expenditure far greater than any loss from data theft. Is that the right solution?
Find a technical support provider who considers the needs of your organization - your entire organization. They should consider how these changes will affect operations, be able to balance the costs of different solutions, and find a solution ideal for you.
by: Steve Bulmer
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