Although changing your IT support provider is not an easy decision to be made hastily, it frequently results from need rather than choice.
Businesses frequently get petrified by the apparent agony of switching support providers, forcing them to put up with subpar services until the costs become unmanageable
It’s challenging to determine whether your supplier is qualified. Reviews may be manufactured, and getting one will unavoidably provide a favorable response.
Whereas, there are several warning signs that you may watch out for, which point to the need for a change.
1. You don’t know who is working on your systems
Even companies operating in the same industry are unique. Therefore, your company should consider an IT Provider a partner. Hence, this implies that they should be a strong ally who can assist you in integrating IT with your business objectives and who should be curious about the details of your activities and how IT fits in.
2. Your provider isn’t offering preventative maintenance
This point ties to the previous point. Thus, If the same problems continue to arise and interfere with your company’s production, this should raise a red signal; that Your IT partner isn’t aggressively trying to identify the underlying causes of these problems. Suppose you get paid by the hour; this may be annoying since these problems take up your valuable time, and you also get charged to resolve them continually temporarily.
It would be best to switch to a monthly contract in which you pay the same amount each month, irrespective of how much “repair” labor is required. So, Providers operating in this manner will try to demonstrate their worth in other ways rather than constantly mending broken items.
3. Your IT infrastructure is constantly out of compliance with regulations and industry standards
Imagine your IT Company has decided to continue using out-of-date, obsolete gear or software without confronting you. In that case, they are endangering not just your assets but also your credibility. So, if you’ve been with your existing provider for a long time, you may have become less vigilant, not recognizing that industry standards have deteriorated. So first, assess if your present supplier is fulfilling their objectives; if issues persist, it may be best to search for a different one.
4. Your provider doesn’t care about the security of your data
We have already said it, and we’ll repeat it again and again. It has never been more critical to safeguard your company from cybersecurity risks! Scam artists are constantly developing new and advanced ways to break into enterprises. So consider again if you believe your company is secure.
Conventional anti-virus software is insufficient to protect your company against an assault that might put you out of cash or, worse, unable to operate.
Therefore, you require a sophisticated and robust security policy to protect you from the numerous ways hackers attack organizations nowadays. That’s why Your IT support company should be demonstrating its abilities here.
If they haven’t previously given you thorough cybersecurity alternatives to safeguard your company, that’s a warning sign. Or, if they’re offering you a cybersecurity package that doesn’t include every aspect of your company, that also causes concern.
5. They fail to meet their promises
Both you and your IT support provider share responsibilities. So Keep in mind that a one-way relationship isn’t a relationship. It’s exploitation. This relationship can quickly end if one person does not fulfill their obligations. When anything goes wrong, you must demonstrate how they followed your provider’s guidance and performed to a specific level. Hence, Providers must describe what went faulty, how it’s being corrected, and how they will easily avoid it.
It’s time to walk on if every time anything goes wrong, they choose to point the finger at you (and you have followed their advice), say it’s not their concern, or refuse to give answers while claiming the problem is with someone else.
6. They are slow to respond
Things go wrong every second, it’s okay, but when they do, you need to be confident that your IT provider will handle the matter for you as the speed of ticket response is crucial. Your IT services provider wastes your energy/cost if it takes too long to answer every submitted ticket.
So, you should be confident that your issues are dealt with promptly; if they can’t, there should be clear communication about the problem and the proposed remedy.
7. They have a high turnover rate
Every company has some personnel churn; however, if it’s hard to get in touch with someone who knows your industry, network, and team, it might be time to look elsewhere. A decent IT Provider should offer you a group of devoted support personnel who are acquainted with the requirements and processes of your company.
8. You suspect they are not being honest
Your IT provider should convey how much time you are accumulating and your outstanding issues at any given time. So, they could easily track The progress of any problem being worked on at your company using advanced ticket systems. Ultimately, you deserve much better if your IT provider isn’t entirely upfront with you about the solutions they’re offering or if you discover that they aren’t thoroughly outlining their extended time costs.
9. You need to call for support multiple times per week
These everyday problems compound up when employees become irritable and less efficient, which might be expensive for your company. Your IT support provider may no longer be able to help your company if they cannot address reoccurring issues or are just interested in Band-Aid repairs.
10. The way you communicate with your IT Provider makes you uncomfortable
Building trust between clients and IT Providers requires open communication. It will be challenging to develop a productive partnership if you have trouble understanding one another, either because the provider only speaks technologically or because they are unfamiliar with your company or industry.
So, if you’re not confident in your provider’s day-to-day service, you’re unlikely to be satisfied with their ability to provide in a catastrophe recovery scenario. It would help if you had confidence that your IT Support partner would be there when you require them the most.
Takeaway
It may appear more straightforward to continue with what you have than to take the risk of finding a different service provider.
On the other hand, poor IT assistance can have ramifications throughout your organization, such as missed time, reduced productivity, and employee frustration.
Innovation Networks can help with all-in-one solutions if you have doubts about your IT provider. Innovation networks provide a broad range of IT Services to companies in British Columbia and across Canada. Over 10,000 people utilize our all-inclusive solutions, and we handle more than 500,000 inquiries yearly.