IT Professional Companies: How to Determine IT Needs Before Hiring

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IT Professional Companies: How to Determine IT Needs Before Hiring

Jan 7, 2020

Key decision-makers need to know their IT needs before searching for IT professional companies. Virtually all companies today require some form of IT support from network management to PC troubleshooting, backup storage, security, and server management.

Why is this necessary? The truth is: the most significant relationships between businesses and IT partners occur when senior managers can identify the aspects of their IT that need the services of an expert third party and the tasks that can be left for in-house IT staff.

To help you understand your need for business IT support, here are some critical questions to ask:

1. How large is my team?

Your IT needs depend on the size of your business. If you factor in your team’s size, you will avoid the risk of signing up for the wrong service deal. For example, if you need to provide support for 500 workers or fewer, you will see considerable cost savings by outsourcing your IT to a managed service provider (MSP). Most MSPs use sophisticated automation tools to monitor your workstations and servers. They can serve you at a low cost with these tools because their relatively large client-base expenses are shared.

2. Is round-the-clock support necessary?

One central question is: How much will we lose if an incident or significant IT failure occurs? If the costs of network failure or a server shutdown are relatively high at any time of the day, you need to invest in 24/7 support.

While you may consider using in-house IT personnel for this, keeping all your staff on duty during holidays and on weekends will be practically impossible. The smart choice is a good MSP. A reliable MSP will already have a helpdesk open round-the-clock to handle service requests when your staff is off duty.

3. How much can we spend on IT?

Having direct access to in-house IT staff is a luxury for most small and mid-sized businesses. The average salary of an IT technician is over $70,000 according to data from Indeed. Glassdoor estimates the cost of keeping an IT manager at over $100,000 per year.

Also, there are certifications and regular training required for your staff. This shows that hiring an IT professional for full-time work is prohibitive for most businesses. But whether you have a small or large budget for IT, you can still enjoy full IT support for all your business needs from a managed IT provider.

4. Do we work with or store sensitive data?

If you deal with sensitive data like SSNs, health, and customers’ financial records, you need to keep it secure. For full regulatory compliance, you must use the most robust encryption technology and protect your workstations and network from malware and security breaches.

Working with an MSP is an effective way to protect your precious data assets. Your MSP will have a dedicated security team that will keep your systems updated with the latest security patches and anti-virus updates. They will also take proactive steps to prevent data breaches and implement a fast recovery plan if any cyber attack occurs.

 

Win With Garden State Computing Managed IT Services

Take the next step and contact us today to learn more about choosing a professional IT company to manage and support your business growth. You can also give us a call at 973-636-7350 for a free consultation.

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