What should you be expecting from your IT provider?

The COVID-19 pandemic and the successive lockdown have posed severe challenges to businesses the up and down the country. The IT sector is no exemption, many IT providers are likely feeling the burden of increased workloads at a time when self-confidence and operational efficiency is being tested by remote working.

Nevertheless, as an industry, the IT sector is better equipped than many to deal with the operational tests presented by the pandemic. You should, therefore, continue to expect a certain quality of service from your IT provider. While their capability and several aspects of their operation may be tested, you should expect them to step up to the challenge.

What specific elements should I expect from my IT provider?

Timely support and maintenance. Simple support demands should still be dealt with in a somewhat timely manner. Not having to wait days for straightforward connectivity issues to be resolved. Some interruption is unavoidable due to extraordinary demand for IT support, but if your business operations are severely affected by unsatisfactory support it may be time to look for a new support provider.

Solutions that are suitable in terms of scale and cost. It’s difficult to guess how long lockdown restraints will continue to affect working procedures but it’s safe to accept that life isn’t going to return to normal any time soon. Which is why it’s important that your IT provider delivers solutions that are sufficient as opposed to compromised ‘quick-fix’ solutions in the expectation of a swift return to normality.

If data access is importance you may want a remote connection to your office network or a business-level cloud storage solution in place. You shouldn’t rely on physical storage devices, email attachments or personal cloud storage accounts if these solutions are insufficient, impractical, or possibly put your data at risk. Equally, if communication is essential to your business your IT provider should be able to set up collaboration platforms or even an advanced VoIP system so that you can continue operating successfully.

Fundamentally, your IT provider should have enough understanding of your business to tailor requirements that meet your needs and are commercially possible.

Protected and Compliant Solutions. Many businesses have to comply with a considerable amount of compliance regulation both industry-specific and more general legislation such as GDPR. Before the lockdown, the Financial Conduct Authority made it clear that companies should ‘take all reasonable steps to meet their regulatory obligations.’ Your IT provider should therefore only offer solutions that allow you to operate in adherence with any regulatory compliance obligations you currently have.

For many businesses Compliance largely affects personal data and how it is used and stored. Your IT provider should be able to locate hardware such as Laptops and ensure that they are secure, updated, backed up and feature acceptable anti-malware protection. They should continue to carry out proactive, preventive maintenance to monitor for cyber threats and counter them before they are able to cause damage.

Consultancy. Your IT provider should continue to be accessible for advice and guidance. Their service desk should be open and reliably managed at the hours they specify and any emails you send them should also be answered on time.

Ultimately you should feel like your IT provider ‘has your back.’  If they are conspicuous by their absence right now - when you need them most – it is fair to believe that they will definitely let you down in the future.

The global crisis we all find ourselves in may have you feeling sympathetic or you may be slightly more prone than usual to tolerate poor service...but you shouldn’t.  If you are experiencing any of the issues above ask yourself whether or not your IT company is really up to the task of supporting your business through adversity, and if not, it may be time to look elsewhere for an IT partner.