Are you getting ‘bang for your buck’ from your IT company? If you’ve been working with the same company for a long time, you might want to conduct an audit to ensure you are still being provided with great service when compared to other suppliers on the market.
This may feel slightly awkward, but it makes good business sense – and your IT company need not know that this is what you’re doing. Through careful observation and asking the right questions, you can gauge if you’re still being well-looked after – or if you need to shop around for another supplier.
Below are five simple tips to get your audit off to a great start.
5 Steps to Audit Your Existing IT Provider
1. Revisit the paperwork
Dust off the initial contract you signed with your IT supplier and see if they are still providing you with the stellar service they promised at the beginning. Some things may have slipped over the years without you realising.
By taking a look at the contract, you can identify any gaps in service and take note of areas for improvement.
Read more: Why you should set KPIs for your IT company
2. Increase communication
As the old saying goes, ‘the squeaky wheel always gets the oil’.
If you hardly ever check in with your IT company, they might presume you’re happy with the level of service and divert some of their resources elsewhere.
Start reaching out more and monitor their response. Are they proactive and willing to help? Or do they take days to reply to a simple email?
3. Introduce KPIs
As discussed in a previous blog post, introducing KPIs is a great way to hold your IT company accountable for the service they promise to provide.
You wouldn’t go years without measuring the performance of your employees, so try to think of external contractors in the same light. The KPIs don’t need to be complicated or difficult; they are merely a way to agree on your expectations, in writing, so your IT supplier is aware of the level of service you require.
4. Assess their readiness for growth
When you were first starting out, you would have chosen an IT supplier that was perfectly suited to a small start-up.
Now that you are a fully-fledged business with several employees and big goals, you need to check whether your IT company can keep up with the pace of your growth. Do they have the infrastructure and resources to help you innovate? If not, it might be time to move on.
5. Reevaluate rates
Since entering into an agreement with your IT supplier, the ‘going rate’ for IT assistance may have fluctuated slightly. There is the chance that another company may be able to offer you the same level of service for a lower price, or that some more innovative players may have entered the market.
There’s no harm in shopping around and asking other IT providers for a quote, just to see what else is out there. Even if you do decide to stick with your current supplier, it’s always good to have an idea of where the market is heading for future reference.
Want to know what’s big for IT this year? Download: An essential guide to IT for SME business – Risk, Security and Productivity
