How to Evaluate Your IT Services Provider in Houston

In order to meet your business objectives, you need to work with an experienced IT services provider in Houston that can resolve technology issues quickly. Whether you hire an IT staff, occasionally work with a break-fix firm, or partner with a long-term managed services provider, you need to periodically evaluate your technology and the people in charge of it. Here are ways you can make sure that your IT experts are giving your business a competitive edge:

Overall Performance

It’s important that you’re happy with how your IT support is set up and you know what to expect. When IT people do not meet expectations, you need to be concerned about alternatives. How often does your business experience downtime? With today’s technology, it should be close to never, since modern providers have backup solutions for power outages and security breaches. One of the most important ways to measure overall performance is how well your IT provider have helped you cut costs and increase productivity.

Technical Issues

Naturally, you want your IT services provider in Houston to stay updated on the latest security technology and strategies to prevent cybercrime. Any managed services provider (MSP) that doesn’t make security a top priority is not in tune with the present. Hackers are constantly learning how to outsmart the most intelligent systems, so it’s a given that your IT provider will be sharp on security. The provider should also want to make sure your downtime is near zero. Experienced technicians should resolve issues quickly.

Your IT dream team should be proactive in keeping problems from manifesting into quagmires that lead to downtime. Constantly backing up data, testing backups and tracking devices are helpful ways to prepare for any disaster. An IT team that aims for a winning reputation is ready to take action in emergencies, whereas an inexperienced team may be indecisive. A quality provider also makes sure that all your software licenses are up-to-date.

Communication Issues

You don’t have to have a deep technical vocabulary to evaluate your IT personnel. As a decision maker, you should view IT from a business perspective as to whether they are helping or hurting company profits. They are helping when they take proactive measures and alert you as soon as possible when problems arise. By catching problems early, a quality managed services providerMSP can save companies money on maintenance.

One of the main purposes of a computer consultant is to analyze and provide expert advice on technology that will help a business. The best MSPs want to develop long-term personalized relationships and cannot afford to rely on the break-fix model. You need to work with a team of experts that you trust who can bring in a diverse variety of talent and ideas to the table. It should be easy to brainstorm with your IT team to collaborate on competitive and innovative solutions.

Every now and then, you need to evaluate your IT services provider in Houston to make sure they are up to speed with your business needs. If you need to upgrade to a more experienced and responsive company, contact us at ICS to learn more. We want to help you focus on the core of your business while we make sure your technology runs smoothly.

Jason Simons

ICS is a Texas-based 40-year-old technology company specializing in Managed IT, VoIP, Video Conferencing and Video Surveillance solutions for US and International businesses. ICS has over 4000 regional installations and specializes in multi-site businesses between 25 and 2500 employees. ICS’s customers enjoy the experience of ICS’s Total Care program which provides clients flat fee services with obsolescence and growth protection. Whether a customer elects to deploy their IT, Video Conferencing or VoIP in the cloud or on the customer’s premise, ICS can provide a full turn-key solution for our clients under one flat monthly fee.