It didn’t hit me how serious business owners and managers like to evade this question until a friend brought up the topic in our office, about six months ago. And truth be told, the last few months have been nothing short of an assertion of his observation.
To some extent, it baffles me how one would not see sense in evaluating the performance of one of the most critical functions in their organizations. As I interacted with several executives, in my quest to find the truth, I deduced three main reasons for this behavioral pattern:
This article seeks to address these observations and help you answer this question — as partial and honest as I can manage.
Let’s start with the third observation because it will shape how we move forward with the rest of the article.
Am I inviting you to assess your engagement with your current supplier as a way of trying to woo you into contracting 403Tech? To be honest, yes. But don’t get me wrong. The truth of the matter is that we are so confident in the quality of the services we offer that we believe you should be on board.
While this article does not focus on marketing our services to you, we intend to show you what you are missing. We aim to help you know the KPIs of any IT service provider. In the end, if you do not decide to contact us, we will be convinced that your current supplier is up to the task — which is sincerely good for your business.
There are many key performance indicators depending on the scope and industry of your organization. I narrowed them down to five, which cut across all enterprises.
Response/Resolution Time
Allow me to jog your memory a little. Do you remember when the support company was persuading you to engage their services? Are you confident that they are still that enthusiastic in their service delivery?
When you or someone else in your organization tries to reach them for help, do they get an immediate response? After your concerns are heard, how long does it take for them to be resolved?
If you think they would have responded a little faster, you’re not happy, and so are your customers. Today’s end-users want answers, and they want them almost instantly. You hired a service provider that is taking centuries to respond to your users; you may be surprised at the number of potentials that you aren’t converting into customers.
When Was The Last Time Your Networks Were Reviewed?
Nothing limits your scalability like a service provider who deploys IT solutions without considering your specific needs. Does your IT supplier routinely review your networks and align solutions to your business framework?
The IT dynamics are evolving by the day. What is your support team doing to ensure that you are at per with these developments? New threats are emerging daily; if you have an IT supplier that is not keen on updating your systems, you are surviving on susceptible networks.
What Are The Terms Of Your Contract?
It’s only an incompetent service provider that will trap you with a ‘strapping contract.’
What’s a strapping contract? “You have to settle a breaking fee equivalent to the sum of the service bill of the remaining period of the contract. You have to notify us of your plan to switch to another service provider six months in advance. The agreement must run for at least seven months.” Do these conditions sound familiar to you? You are in a trap!
Why would an IT supplier go to these lengths to bind you? They are not confident in their service provision. So even if you are not happy, you will have to wait a little longer.
How Frequently Does The IT Company Do Backups
What’s your most priceless asset? Is it your computers? Is it your IT staff, or your catering unit? No, the organization’s most valuable property is its data. You rely on data to gauge your performance. It’s your data that informs your policies and frameworks. If the data gets to the wrong hands — like hackers or your competitors — it may be a business-ending event.
Primarily, you hired the service provider to safeguard your data. Then one day, an employee accidentally deletes some very critical files. And it dawns on you that you have no backup.
Does your IT supplier routinely back up your files? For safety, your data should be backed up at least twice a day.
Testimonials From Other Clients
Sometimes it helps to reach out to your fellow clients and compare notes. Do not just rely on filtered reviews or testimonials posted on the service provider’s page. It may turn out you have the same concerns, or to your shock, they are ‘way happier’.
Now that you know what to look for, can you confidently say that you are happy with the services of your IT company?
If you are pleased, there is no need to go any further. If you are not, you are probably wondering how hard it could be to switch IT companies.
There is no definite answer to this question. It all depends on the service provider who is leading you through the transition process.
Some isolated instances have turned out messy and tragic, widely blamed on the ineptitude of the new IT suppliers.
An established and experienced support firm will always advise you to:
Your potential to grow and achieve your goals is hinged on the quality of IT support you have. Be honest with yourself, are you really happy?
If not, find out how 403Tech can help you.
Click here to get started or call us at (403) 215-7506 to schedule a consultation.
403Tech is one of the Top 50 Managed IT services companies in Canada.
