You’ve taken a long, hard look at your business and one thing has become very clear: It’s time to outsource your IT. Maybe you’re worried that you don’t know what you don’t know. Maybe you just don’t have the time or resources to manage your IT. Or maybe your IT is causing you a lot of stress. Whatever the reason, it’s important to find the right company for your cybersecurity outsourcing – or it could create more problems than it solves.
In our last blog, we examined the reasons to outsource and the reasons not to outsource. If you find yourself squarely in the “time to outsource” category, you might be wondering how to find the best company for your IT needs.
It’s important to find an outsourcing partner that is a good match for your company and will do what they say they’re going to do.
So how do you find a good fit when you’re looking for cybersecurity advisory and consulting services? Ask the right questions! We’ve put together some questions you should always ask an IT company before you hire them.
Ask These 5 Questions to Find the Right IT Partner for You
1. If I hire you for cybersecurity outsourcing, what is your response time?
When your business is shut down at 3 a.m. due to a ransomware attack, is your IT company going to be there for you? How do you know for sure?
Take a look at the service level agreement (SLA). Does the contract specify that there is a 24/7 emergency response?
It’s also important to ask what kind of response you’ll get. Is it limited to an online, remote response or will a staff person be on-site if that is needed to get your systems up and running?
And finally, how do you know the IT company is going to honor the SLA? Ask them for referrals from current clients, especially clients who are similar in size to your business.
Time and time again we see big IT companies fail to follow through on their promises – especially if you are one of their smaller clients. Find a company that is committed to providing your small business with personalized, responsive service.
Your business should have the trustworthy IT support you need when you need it. When your technology is down, time is of the essence. Find an IT company with a proven track record of providing prompt and friendly support to small businesses.
2. How do you proactively help us avoid downtime?
Do they make proactive recommendations or wait for things to break? Ask the IT company how they will proactively help you avoid downtime. Do they have specific policies and procedures for proactive management? Ask them to provide those to you in writing. Their 24/7 monitoring services should include:
- Servers
- Desktop PCs
- Firewalls
- Switches
- Data backups
- Antivirus updates
Your business’s success is dependent on your technology working flawlessly. Your IT company should take a proactive approach instead of waiting for technology problems to happen.
3. How do you manage backups?
Can you imagine hiring an IT company for cybersecurity outsourcing – only to find out during a crisis that they failed to do a backup?
Your IT company must communicate with you about your backups. How often will backups happen? How will they show you that they’re doing what they say they’re doing? If an IT company that provides cybersecurity advisory and consulting services doesn’t have a plan to verify backups with you, you’ll probably want to find a different provider.
Your data is invaluable. When it comes to backing up your business’s data, you can never be too careful. Your company can’t afford lost files and crashed systems. Look for an IT provider that provides both cloud-based backup and/or off-site data storage solutions, so you can get back to normal operations by quickly restoring lost files after a system failure, power loss, or even worse.
4. Will you give me personalized attention or is my business smaller than your ideal customer?
Lots of IT companies offer cybersecurity outsourcing. But the reality is that it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. An IT company that mainly services large corporations is going to give priority to serving those clients that make up a larger portion of their bottom line — and low priority to a small business.
As a small business, some IT companies won’t give you the attention you deserve. Make sure that you’re partnering with an IT company that values your business no matter the size.
5. Will you recommend replacing my current servers/workstations or will you work with my current equipment?
As a small business, you probably don’t have the budget to completely replace your current IT equipment. However, the fact is that some cybersecurity advisory and consulting services will require you to replace your equipment because they don’t service your current equipment.
Make sure to ask if they are willing to work with your current equipment, and if not, what it will cost to upgrade to their recommended equipment. You should never have to settle for a one-size-fits-all solution. An IT provider should assess your business needs to find the appropriate solution when it comes to your servers and networks. They should never recommend a solution you don’t need or want.
Cybersecurity Outsourcing: Find Out If We’re a Fit For Your Business
Now that you’re armed with a list of questions, we hope you’ll contact us to see if we’re a fit. We’d love to learn more about your business’s IT needs, and take the time to answer each of these questions for you.
Contact us today to set up an appointment and learn more about our cybersecurity advisory and consulting services.