IT Support Folsom

Finding the right IT support partner in Folsom

No matter how well you run your business in general (and your IT infrastructure in particular), there are almost inevitably going to be times when you need a bit of extra help. When that happens, the most convenient and cost-effective option is generally to bring in an experienced IT support partner. With that in mind, here is some guidance on finding the right IT support partner in Folsom.

Thinks To be Considered While Choosing IT support partner

Start with the end in mind

These days, SMBs are more likely to need IT support for ad hoc projects than for traditional break/fix support. At least, they probably should be. If your company is continually experiencing issues that need to be fixed, then you might want to start by looking at moving to IT managed services to keep everything running more smoothly on an everyday basis.

Projects, by contrast, can and should be planned out in advance and if you do a thorough job of it, then you should have at least a fairly realistic idea of what sort of help you are likely to need and at what point in the year. This will give you a solid foundation for deciding not only what skills you need from an IT support partner, but also what sort of budget you should set aside to pay for them.

As always, it’s a good idea to allow a little extra money for overrun and for potential break/fix support as well. Even though break/fix support is unlikely to be an IT support company’s main business these days, things still do break and when they do they still need to be fixed and fixing them will be outside the scope of a standard IT managed services contract.

This means that it’s a good idea to be prepared for break/fix incidents and since, in principle, your potential liability is unlimited, you might want to combine sinking funds with insurance.

Be clear about your needs and wants (and which is which)

Needs are non-negotiable. Wants can be anything from highly-desirable to nice-to-haves, but either way, you could live without them if necessary. Sometimes there can be a bit of a blurry line between the two and when that happens it’s down to you to make it clear enough for everyone to know where they stand. For example, do you need an IT support partner in Folsom or would it be OK to have an IT support partner near Folsom, say in Sacramento? If you’re fine with looking a bit out of town, how far out are you prepared to go?

On that point, it is generally safest to look for an IT support partner who is fairly near to you geographically. There are two main reasons for this. First of all, even though most IT support is provided remotely, there’s still a chance that you might benefit from on-site support on the odd occasion, maybe even in an emergency. This is a whole lot easier if you are using an IT support partner in Folsom or at least near Folsom than it is if you are using an IT support partner who is based at some distance from you.

Secondly, using a local IT support partner means that you are both on the same legal page. In other words, you will both work to the same local laws and any disputes between you will be handled by your local courts. If you sign a contract with an IT support partner from further afield, then the chances are that it will specify that it is governed by the local laws in the IT support company’s location and that any disputes will be handled by their local courts. This will not necessarily be convenient for you.

Remember the importance of the human element

Finding the right IT support partner in Folsom is a lot like finding the right employee for your company. You’ll need certain job-specific skills and while the price is unlikely to be everything, in the real world it will still be a consideration, possibly an important one. At the same time, however, you’re going to need to work with your choice, which means that you need to be able to get on with them (and vice versa).

In other words, never sign up to an IT support contract without actually speaking to a company representative (preferably in person) and seeing what feeling you get from them. Ideally, they should be able to show that they’ve done their homework on you and your industry. At the very least, they should be able to demonstrate that they treat SMBs with respect rather than just seeing them as a cash stream which allows them to chase bigger contracts.

If you’d like to speak to an experienced IT support partner in Folsom, please click here now to contact Aperio.IT.

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