What should you look for in an IT service provider?

As a new(ish) business owner, you know it’s important to surround yourself with people and teams that can complement your skills and abilities. You cannot do everything. You may want to, but for you to build a successful business you have to find the right partners/people, so you can focus on what you do best.

Finding the right IT service provider that allows you the freedom to focus on what you to best is uber important. if you make a mistake, you will probably pay in time and money which are both scarce at the moment.

It’s no secret that technology is evolving at a breakneck pace. As a result, it can be difficult to keep up with all of the new advancements and what they mean for your business. One way to keep up with the latest trends is to find an IT service provider who offers proactive technology solutions. An IT service provider that relies on proven technologies can help you solve problems before they happen and make sure that your systems are always running smoothly so that your IT just works. Here are some aspects you should consider when choosing an IT service provider:

Competencies – The systems and process they have in place to help you
Solution – Will that actual offering be of value to you
Capabilities – How strong are they, will they be around for a while
Relationship Dynamic – Do you feel like an equal in this partnership

Your job is to assess if the service provider has the ability to their job effectively and efficiently. The way you do this effectively is to ask questions. These questions must be probing in nature and must be backed up by evidence sourced from an independent third party.

In the next sections, we will unpack these important considerations in helping you to determine the right IT service provider.

Competencies.

The question areas you should be asking the prospective service provider about their competencies are

People – Are their people qualified, In the IT world this is usually established if a person has professional certifications.
Processes– Has the prospective service provider adopted best practices like ITIL for service management
Technologies – What technologies have they adopted for their own internal management.
Track record – Ask them to relate similar success stories that will meet your requirements

Solution.

When it comes to this area of assessment, this is where you should have done your homework. You need to be clear about what you want. If you cannot relate what you want, how can you expect anybody or provider to deliver on that. One way to think about this is to ask yourself what success looks like. Apart from your list of requirements, you should ask potential service providers about other aspects of their solution

Fit to requirements– how closely does the solution meet your needs
Delivery implementation – is the process & time frames acceptable
Pricing – Are you within your budget
Switching costs – how difficult is it to move if you do make a mistake
Terms & Conditions – have your read, negotiated and understood them

Capabilities.

Thus far you have now probed of the specifics of the solution, you must now turn to asking more strategic questions about the providers overall capabilties

Financial strength – are they resilient enough to still serve you when you need them
Infrastructure – Do they have the necessary and appropriate infrastructure to service you and others
Management & systems – Do you know who their management team, how accessible are they
Other complimentary services – What else could they offer you, or do you have to deal with many IT service providers

Relationship Dynamics.

Its time now to turn our attention to softer issues. They name suggest that it may not as important as the other considerations but in fact it is the most important. In a sense you are getting married to you service partner. So, the question you must ask is what type of partner do you want?

Culture – Your IT service provider should understand your company’s culture and values and should be aligned to yours.
Strategy – Is the service provider targeting you or are you a square peg in a round hole
Relationship management – You should work with a service provider who can work with your team
Relative important – Is there parity in the relationship or are you just a blimp on their radar

In conclusion, a practical way to keep track of how a service providers fairs, is to score each consideration, then after interviewing a few services providers, you will have a good sense of which service provider to choose. Remember no system is full proof ultimately you must rely on your gut.