Choosing a Computer Support Company For Your Small Business

Milwaukee WI

02 August, 2021

9:38 AM

Description

Our names are Jake Polzin, President, and Toomas Mitt, Founder of TBG Technologies, an IT support company since 2004. The reason TBG Technologies exists is that we believe small companies are ignored. We are talking about really small businesses. Those with ten or fewer employees usually get the short end of the stick when it comes to technology support. They have the same goals as big corporations. They have the same technology issues. But they have a tough time getting good, reliable help. Now that computers have become a requirement in business, how do you make sure you can keep things running? For very small businesses, having full-time, in-house IT staff is out of the question. That means choosing a computer support firm to keep you going. So how do you choose? History Just like hiring a new employee, you want to check the work history of any support firm you are considering. Can they supply references? If not, move on. If they do supply references, be sure to check them out. If they don't offer references, walk away. Another step is to go to the internet and look up the company. Do they have a website? A good option is to open Google and enter the company's name along with the word "review." For example, if you are looking into the Acme Support company, go to Google and enter "Acme Support review." You might be surprised what you find. There may be no reviews at all, which is OK. There may be real reviews. Read them and decide. Proposal What is the firm proposing? Are they proposing to monitor your network? They should. Can they remotely access your systems even if your staff is not working? This absolutely must be an option. Do they provide reports on their activities? Do they give you access to your own data like usernames and passwords? Or do they keep them from you and only give them to you "as needed?" Are they suggesting you upgrade your hardware right away? That could be a red flag. If your hardware is quite old and has been failing or is no longer supported, this may be reasonable. If not, it could just be a way for them to add to your bill. What is their backup strategy? Are they able to get your systems back up and running quickly if they should fail? Do they have different levels of backup? Does their backup strategy include having off-site backups, perhaps in the Cloud? And what is their recovery-after-disaster procedure? Security How do they propose to handle your network security? Anti-virus and anti-spyware are important. How about your passwords? Do they suggest a password policy that requires password changes regularly? Do they endorse 2-factor authentication? Cost Is their cost reasonable? Do they charge for travel to your office? Do they have a different rate for remote or onsite service? Do they want you to sign a contract and does it auto-renew? What is the cost per workstation in this contract? The typical cost per workstation for full service Managed Service contracts is anywhere from $50 to $100 per workstation per month. (TBG's Peace of Mind service package is half that, by the way.) Confidence Finally, do they instill confidence? Can they communicate well? One of the biggest complaints we hear of support companies is that they don't listen, and they don't clearly explain what they are doing. Or worse, they don't explain at all. Your computer system, even if it is made up of only 2 or 3 computers, is the backbone of your business. Be careful when deciding who to rely on to keep it running! In the coming weeks, we'll be posting additional educational information so you're able to become the best business owner you can be. We'll touch on backups, anti-virus, internet safety, cyber-attacks, ransomware, the cloud, email safety, VOIP, and others. Jake Polzin is the President and Toomas Mitt is the Founder of TBG Technologies, located at 11300 W. Greenfield Avenue, West Allis, Wis. 53214. Tom can be reached at [email protected] and Jake can be reached at [email protected]. www.tbgtechnologies.com We Make Technology Behave.