When outsourcing one’s IT support, it is necessary to look at what is included in the service – and to know what should be included in the service.
Nowadays, advancements in technology have made it possible for businesses to outsource their IT support – something that would have felt completely bizarre just a few decades ago. Thanks to wireless communication, cloud software, and many other hallmarks of the digital age, a business no longer has to compromise quality for availability. We actually spoke to a company that provides these types of IT support services in London. They said that, in 2023, there are many options for outsourced IT support. But how does an organisation discern which services are right for them?
A Good IT Support Service…
There has always been a particular association with IT support – because it used to be such a niche field (before technology became ubiquitous), people thought that IT engineers would take liberties due to the fact that their expertise was in-demand. This gave IT support a reputation for taking a long time, and for engineers to take shortcuts. In 2023, however, the quality of IT support, and the standards that are expected are very high. It is no longer acceptable for IT professionals to take as much time as they want, as long as the issue is solved. Fixing the issue is the bare minimum, and businesses want a timely, proactive service. Below are some of the features an IT support service might offer which can give you an indication of their quality:
1. Unlimited Access to Support
If a business is trading an in-house IT department for an outsourced IT support service, they will definitely expect to have unlimited access to support. The company we spoke to provides IT support for Schools, and they said that many of their clients rely solely on them, which is why their flagship service plan includes unlimited calls to their helpdesk and unlimited callouts to customer sites.
2. Round-the-Clock Monitoring
A good outsourced IT support service actually has some potential advantages over in-house IT support. An in-house IT team will have the same hours as the rest of the organisation, which means that if an IT problem occurs, it will have to wait until business hours. However, the best IT support service providers offer 24/7 monitoring for their clients’ systems – this allows them to be able to react to IT problems instantly (because many high-quality providers also offer extended hours and 24-hour support).
3. Service Analytics
It stands to reason that, when you pay for a service, you expect it to work well for you. The last thing you want is for something you are paying for to degrade in quality over time. In the context of IT support, the risk is that a business’ IT changes will change slowly and surely over time – if this is unchecked, the IT service the business is paying for may no longer meet their needs. However, a good service provider will consistently report on their performance, to make sure that their work continues to benefit the client.
4. Project Work
Technically, IT support services are purely focused on an organisations existing IT infrastructure and setups. But, there are many times where businesses will want to get project work done. According to the company we spoke to – who provide IT support for Construction firms, among many other types of companies – the majority of their clients have projects they want help with. These projects vary from overhauling devices or other hardware, to migrating their infrastructure to the cloud. A good IT support service should include access to ad-hoc project work (at a preferential rate, of course).
