Whether you’re having doubts about your current IT provider or you’re looking for an IT partner for the first time, you should be aware of these red flags.
A Good IT Provider Would Never…
Finding a partner you can trust with your data and your IT budget is critically important to your business success. If your IT provider has done any of the following, it’s time to reconsider your investment in their services.
#1: Hold your passwords hostage
In serious cases, an IT provider refuses to share your own network passwords with you. Their goal? To squeeze more money out of you. Some IT providers have refused to grant access to network assets to the network owner because of a disagreement over payment, or, in some cases, to prevent the network owner from looking for another IT provider.
Holding passwords or other assets hostage is a serious violation of provider-client trust. A good IT provider will always share your passwords and network assets with you. After all, it’s your company – not the IT company – who actually owns them.
#2: Not carry their own cyber insurance policy
Cybercriminals continue to find more ways to hack into networks and demand payments. According to CNBC, “Given the rise in attacks, the growing sophistication of these incidents and the potential financial impact, having cyber insurance coverage has become critical for many organizations.”
If your IT provider doesn’t carry cyber insurance, then any breach in their network could affect you – and you could be stuck with the bill. If they insist that you pay for cyber insurance, but they don’t invest in it themselves, that’s a major problem. A good IT provider will carry appropriate cyber insurance that will cover costs such as legal fees, loss of income due to business disruption, fines, and more, that result from a breach.
Find out more about our IT solutions
#3: Takes their time responding to you
The saying is old, but it’s true: time is money. If a key line-of-business software suddenly fails, or if your hardware breaks right when you need it, you need a responsive IT provider who will quickly resolve the problem. Sitting around and waiting for your IT provider to respond will cost you in both the short and long term.
No good IT provider would avoid your call or push off your support ticket knowing that every minute that ticks by is costing your company precious time and resources. Instead, they will quickly and efficiently respond to your request to get you back up and running with a little interruptions as possible.
#4: Not communicate with your team
A lack of communication is recipe for disaster. A miscommunication as minor as not communicating which day they will be on site to fix an issue could end up costing you time. Or, the miscommunication could be a much larger issue, such as not seriously discussing your long-term tech strategy.
Some IT providers don’t communicate as often because they don’t take small businesses’ IT issues seriously. And yet, 43% of cyberattacks every year target small businesses. A good IT provider knows that small businesses, especially those with less than 1,000 employees, are vulnerable to cyberattacks. They’ll prioritize clear, consistent communication around all issues, from small problems to large-scale concerns.
#5 Solve your problems with incomplete solutions
Have you ever had an IT guy or gal come out and “fix” a problem, only for it to happen again two days later? Incomplete, haphazard solutions are a hallmark of an IT provider that you don’t want to continue working with. You waste both time and money when your provider doesn’t take the time to correctly fix your issue the first time you call.
A good IT provider will fix your problem correctly the first time, whether that problem is integrating a new app or fixing a network problem. They will be a partner in your success and set up your solutions with your long-term strategy and goals in mind.
Discover who EIS is
#6 Send you invoices that don’t add up
Here’s another bright red flag: invoices that charge you more than once for the same service or that are not what was originally agreed upon in your contract. If your IT provider is sending you more bills than you ever thought you’d receive or if the line items aren’t matching up, it’s time to look for a new partner.
Respecting your time and money go hand in hand. A good IT provider will be transparent about service pricing from the get-go, and you won’t see any surprise invoices on your desk.
#7 Give you the “standard” IT provider treatment
Some IT providers treat all their clients the same way. They have the attitude, “No matter what your business is or your goals are, this is how we do it.” Their definition of service is the one-size-fits-all approach.
Whether you need help migrating to the cloud or you just need to be completely certain about your backup and disaster recovery processes, a good IT partner will provide solutions that are customized to you.
EIS Is Your Long-Term Partner
Our team at EIS is proud to say that we do everything we can to avoid the 7 practices listed above. We are a trusted managed IT services provider, supporting businesses and meeting their IT needs for over 20 years.
We help businesses like yours by:
- Solving problems you don’t know you have – usually around data security.
- Improving business continuity by moving to the cloud.
- Providing consistent IT spending.
- Sharing guidance, planning, and vision for what seems like a jumble of IT terms, services, and processes.
- Implementing strategic business communication solutions.
At EIS, we believe simple is successful. There’s so much jargon involved in IT, and we want to keep the IT provider relationship as efficient as possible for you. Our success is tied to yours, and that means we’re here for you for the long term.