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I recently started a job with an IT company called System Architects as an Account Executive, and my boss had asked me to do some research on our competition and how we stack up against them.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to share some of my findings to help potential clients use this post as a reference point to understand some of the obvious, and not so obvious, things to look for when considering outsourcing your IT.

So how did I go about doing this?  Firstly, I Googled some of the common key phrases people would search for in this scenario.  Phrases such as “Outsourced IT Services”, “Outsourced Service Support Toronto”, “Managed IT Support Toronto” and “Outsourced IT Toronto”. Try not to use “Top IT Services Toronto” because you will generally get biased websites that would only tell you what you want to hear.  

Now in order to deliver an impartial view, I know it may seem hypocritical considering I work for an IT company myself, but I will refrain from using the names of the competition and let you be the judge when completing the recon work for your employer.  I’m sure you will realize who I’m referring to as you complete your own assessments on what makes a good managed IT provider.

In today’s business market, transparency is key, especially when it comes to your company’s IT.  The sites that you are visiting, are they providing online pricing or do they support E-Commerce?  After all, it is an IT company, they should have the ability for you to shop on their site. Do they have 24/7/365 support?  Do they allow you to customize services? Are there any types of contracts or penalty fees associated with doing business with the company and are they displaying those terms online?  These are just some of the questions that should be asked.    

This is your private data and information that needs to be handled with integrity and the highest level of security.  What do you really know about the site you are visiting?  Is the company running background checks on its employees?  If not, why not?  Would you risk the chance that someone convicted of Fraud potentially having access to the servers that all of your data is stored on?   Does the organization have Professional Liability Insurance?  If they don’t, do you really want to take the risk of doing business with a group who has access to your entire IT structure?  I mean don’t get me wrong, everyone can put a cap on the amount of liability you have, but if you don’t have it at all, then some red flags should be set off.  Generally, there are three reasons as to why a company may not have this.  It either can’t be afforded, the company has done something wrong in the past, or their contracts are not deemed legitimate documents that could be upheld by the insurance company.  Now ask yourself, if Professional Liability Insurance isn’t covered, do you really want your information handled by this organization? What would your reaction be if your data was leaked or lost and you figured all of this out after the fact?

There are so many questions that people don’t even realize they need to ask when making such a crucial decision.  Is the business accredited by the Better Business Bureau?  Do they have their own cloud hosting, Toronto facilities or are they subcontracting your information to other people?  Does the company have their own off site backup capability or is it a third party that is being used?   Are you able to go and visit these facilities?  You may be asking why all of this is relevant and the answer is simple, if you are outsourcing to a company that is outsourcing to other companies, then is your information really secure?  Whereas, if you have a company that develops, designs and manages the whole infrastructure for its customers, then you are now dealing with a provider offering you a one stop shop.  You have the peace of mind knowing that your information is sitting at a specific server, located in a specific building, and most importantly you can trust your information is safe and secure.  You don’t ever want to find out the company you hired, subcontracted your account but now that subcontracted business has gone bankrupt.  Or that you hired a Canadian company to outsource your IT and they subcontracted it to another IT company that is overseas without telling you.

I’m hoping all of the above content is an eye opener when looking for a reliable Business IT Services provider.  I can’t speak for other organizations, but System Architects has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, provides full transparency with the types of services, pricing and contracts, which are all available online at our website for you to see, without ever having to contact a sales rep.  We list exactly who we are working with, because we are not afraid to hide our clients, we would rather showcase them.  System Architects is transforming the way businesses look at outsourced IT providers.

I hope this article has shed some light on how to select a reliable IT partner, as there is a lot more to consider than just technology when looking at outsourcing.

 Written by Rishi Dhunna