Your business is unique.
Your IT needs are unique.
Does your IT provider give you unique solutions?
When looking for a company to outsource your IT needs, consider looking for a company who values solutions customized to your unique business needs instead of blanket solutions that only solve a portion of your issues, or that give you added solutions that you get no benefit from.
The first step in identifying an IT solution provider that is customized to your business needs, is to work with an IT company that spends time with you learning about your company, your IT expectations, and where your current IT systems are as well as where they need to go to meet your expectations. An IT company that is ready to solve your issues WITH you instead of FOR you will most likely ask questions like the following:
What does your business do well? How do you operate on a day to day basis?
What are your overall business goals, strategies, and expectation?
What are pain points that you would like your IT provider to help solve?
What are your IT expectations: how dependent is your business on internet/software/etc, how long can your business survive with inevitable down time
What is your current IT infrastructure able to handle?
After these initial discussions are had, a more meaningful discussion about out where your IT solutions are at currently and where they need to grow to meet your expectations are to be had. From this point an IT provider focused on working WITH you and not FOR you should do the following:
Run a detailed assessment on your current IT solutions
Discuss budget and solutions that fit your desired budget
Come up with a game plan for how your IT will transition into a solution that meets your expectations
What you'll notice about this model of doing service is that you are never pressured to commit to services that you do not need and your expectation are spelled out from the beginning. Often times businesses and their IT providers are on different levels when it comes to expectations for service. When an issue arises, these difference in expectations are highlighted and lead to frustration for businesses and IT providers.
After your initial plan is set in place you should expect your IT solutions provider to be in regular contact with you and have set meetings to discuss expectations. Your needs can change rather rapidly and a service provider focused on solving your issues WITH you and not FOR you should be equipped to meet your needs as they change over time.
If you're in the market for an IT solutions provider that is dedicated to meeting and exceeding your IT expectations WITH you and not FOR you, our team at Mapletronics would love to discuss our options with you. Feel free to reach out to us or call us at 574.534.2830. We are an IT solutions provider with offices in Goshen, IN and Columbia, TN.