In principle, the concept of IT-managed services is really straightforward. A client company forms a partnership with an IT managed service provider so that their IT needs (and often wants) are handled for them by somebody who is, at the very least, competent. In fact, in many cases, managed IT service providers in Sacramento have a vastly higher degree of IT competence than the SMB clients they serve.
This theory can work perfectly well in practice, but for that to happen, you need to team up with the right IT-managed service provider. With that in mind, here is a guide to finding the best IT-managed service providers in Sacramento.
1. First of all start by defining your needs and wants
At this point in time, IT managed services is a huge industry and different managed services providers in Sacramento have found different places within it. Some are generalists and of these, some may offer both breadth and depth of service, whereas others will be more limited as to what they can do. Some are specialists. Their business model is usually to fill in the gaps in corporate IT teams. Keep reading to get IT Managed Service Providers.
While each SMB is different, it’s probably fair to say that they’re usually best served by a company that can offer a broad range of services. This makes it possible for them to get everything they need from one provider and hence keep life simple. Whether or not an SMB needs depth as well as breadth will vary according to their individual situation.
In short, you need to be clear about what you need and what you want (and which is which) in order to check whether or not any given IT managed service provider in Sacramento can fulfill them. When it comes to your needs, remember to think about any compliance programs with which you may need to comply (HIPAA, PCI/DSS, GDPR). When it comes to your wants, you may find it helpful to give them weighting, so you can see which should be your highest priorities and which really don’t bother you too much.
Taking the time to set all this out clearly right at the beginning of the process can make everything go much more smoothly later on.
2. Draw up a list of IT managed service providers in Sacramento who could do the job
At this point, you’re basically just checking hard facts and one of the first hard facts you’ll want to check is whether on not an IT-managed service provider actually is in Sacramento or at least near Sacramento. You’re likely to discover, very quickly, that quite a few managed service providers are only listed as being in Sacramento because they offer services in the Sacramento area. This is not likely to be very helpful if you need remote support.
When you do find an IT-managed service provider in Sacramento, check their range of services. If that looks like a good fit, then take a quick look around their website, in general, to see what impression it gives. You might then want to do an internet search on their name (but be cautious about giving too much weight to isolated reviews).
3. Reach out to the remaining candidates for further information on their services
At this point, you will want to inform yourself about the companies’ pricing models and SLAs. This information may be on an IT-managed service provider’s website, but often you have to make an inquiry.
The standard pricing models are per user, per device, and tiered (basically a subscription which includes a bundle of services). You may also get the option to add services on a pay-per-use basis. Keep reading to get IT Managed Service Providers.
For SLAs you want to ask about the availability of staff and uptime, standard operating procedures, client duties (in other words, what is expected of you), procedures for when problems arise, response times and performance metrics, guarantees, and warranties (and compensation policies) and termination policies.
4. Reach out to your top picks for a detailed proposal
Getting all the information above should go a long way towards reducing your initial list of candidates down to a more manageable shortlist. Your next step is to provide them with details of your needs and wants and ask them to draw up a customized proposal for your organization.
5. Arrange an interview with up to three candidates
Once you’ve established who really can do the job, you want to focus on finding the best partner for your organization. A part of this will be seeing who can fine-tune the proposal so that it best suits your needs and wants, but most of it will be finding out about their corporate culture and attitude to customer service.
If you’re interested in partnering with one of the best IT-managed service providers in Sacramento, click here now to contact Aperio. IT.
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