Change isn’t easy, as a rule. Changing your company’s IT support provider can be an especially daunting prospect. Fears of disrupting the infrastructure your company runs on can sometimes make it seem easier just to stick with the IT support provider you know, even if it provides inadequate IT services. Doing that would be a mistake, though. Your business could benefit greatly from finding a provider that’s a better fit. There are several signs you should be aware of that suggest your business would be better off with a new IT support provider.
Your Current Provider Only Provides Limited Support
It’s a bad sign if, when you have an IT problem, your current IT support provider frequently tells you there’s nothing it can do, because it doesn’t support the software or hardware involved. That should not be an acceptable response. With very few exceptions, such as for custom software, your provider should be able to help you with anything. A good IT support company is always improving, expanding its capabilities, extending its knowledge base. A good support provider should be focused on finding a way to help your company instead of making excuses for why it can’t.
Your Current Provider Takes too Long to Resolve Problems
When you have an IT problem, you need it resolved right away. Downtime, or even just a period of slow production, can really do a number on your company. Even if the issue is a minor one, there’s no reason why your company should have to put up with poorly functioning IT resources. If your IT support provider just isn’t getting the job done in a timely fashion, you need to switch providers right away. There’s no sense in operating with a needless handicap.
Your Current Provider Has No Strategic Vision
Your company needs more than cookie-cutter IT solutions. Every business has its own needs, its own strengths, and its own vulnerabilities. Every business also faces ever-evolving cyber threats. Your business needs an IT strategy that’s tailored to it, something that makes your company ready to take advantage of new opportunities as they arise. Your IT support provider needs to have a vision for your company, something that finds the right IT solutions for it and provides a roadmap for future IT development. If yours doesn’t, you should switch to one that does.
Your Current Provider Keeps Pushing New Hardware as the Only Solution
Your IT support company shouldn’t see all your IT support calls as sales opportunities. Yes, there are situations where the best solution is new hardware, but it’s not the right solution for most problems. If your provider always tries to sell you on something new, it’s a sign that they’re much more interested in maximizing revenue than in providing your company with the help it needs. A good support provider will put what’s best for your company first.
Your Current Provider Has Poor Communication
When your company is dealing with an IT problem, you need to be kept up to date so you know what to expect. You may need to take certain steps if the problem can’t be fixed immediately. You not only need to know that your IT company is on the job, but you also need to know what it’s already done and what it’s going to do next. If your IT company takes forever to respond to you, if it doesn’t keep you updated on its progress, then you’re effectively blind and helpless. You need an IT support provider that responds to you right away and keeps you in the loop through the whole process.
Your Current Provider Just Does the Bare Minimum to Get By
Your IT support provider should be more than just barely satisfactory. If it only does the bare minimum to get by then your company can’t use your IT resources to get ahead. A good IT support company should look for new ways your technology could be helping your company. It should find creative approaches that can give you an edge over your competition. If yours isn’t, your company isn’t getting all it can out of its resources.
Your Current Provider Is Reactive Instead of Proactive
On a related note, you need IT support that does more than merely react to problems. Being reactive can take care of the problems you experience, but it does nothing to prevent new problems from occurring. Even if your IT support provider is good at taking care of problems in a timely fashion, each one is still an interruption. A good support provider proactively takes steps to keep new problems from arising in the future.
Your Current Provider Doesn’t Improve Productivity
Your company’s IT resources should make it easier for your employees to do their jobs. If you don’t see how those resources are improving productivity, that’s a sign that you don’t have the right IT support provider. The right provider will not only help your technology improve your productivity, it will teach you metrics that you can use to actually measure that productivity.
Your Current Provider Doesn’t Accept Responsibility
Sometimes accidents happen, and sometimes hackers will get through even good defenses. However, if your IT company constantly blames your IT problems on other sources, it’s a sign that the problem is actually your IT company. It’s not at all likely that your problems are always the result of events beyond the company’s control. In all likelihood, it’s just covering up its own mistakes and shortcomings.
There’s a Size Mismatch
Even if your IT support provider is responsive, communicative, forward-thinking, and skilled, you still need to switch providers if it’s not big enough to provide you with effective support. If your company has recently undergone an expansion, it’s possible that you’ve outgrown your IT support provider.
Your company needs IT services that will not just help it survive, but which will help it grow. If your company exhibits any of the warning signs described above, you should give some serious thought to switching IT support providers.
