Is Eye-T right for you?

There are many important criteria of a tech and IT service companies and most companies claim they are qualified, but how do you know who is worth their salt? How do you know which IT support company you can trust? Which have the experience to handle tough network support challenges or can provide 24x7 help desk services that actually help?

• Size of the tech support company

Typically the size of the tech support should correspond to your organization's size. If you are a small business, you can select a tech support company with 6+ supporting staff. Try to avoid a company that only has 2 or 3 staff, as they do not have the enough dedication for the required tech support.

• Does the company have 24 by 7 support?

Many companies claim they have 24x7 support, where actually they might not have. Try to call their support line at office/off office hours to test if they do have 24x7 support.

• Client reviews

In any business to business purchase, it's very important to check the provider's client rating. You need to make sure the company has client feedback from the same size client company as yours. You need to gather at least 3 client's feedbacks in the evaluation process.

• Company's response speed

In IT tech support situation, how fast the company can respond to your request is critical. As disaster recovery requires immediate response, you want to make sure service provider's response is efficient. You can also get the reference check from the client ratings.

• Technical expertise

You want to make sure the service provider covers a broad range of tech support, not just the issues you face now. The broad coverage is to make sure any time in the future if you have other tech issues, you can reply on the same provider rather than searching a new provider. In business to business purchasing, it's good to consolidate to the same provider as you know the old provider's business better than the new providers. Therefore there would be few "surprises" arising.

• Cross platform coverage

This criteria is related the above. Does the company support Windows, Mac or Linux? Make sure the service provider support multi platforms.

• Track record and current ramp up for service releases

Make sure the service provider has regular service releases and keep customers informed on these updates.

• Traning material and documentation

The service provider should deliver to client complete training documentation and assist in client knowledge training.

• Onsite consulting

Onsite consultation must be available upon request

• Online real time help and user forums

Service provider should have online chat or rich content user discussion forums available for client to do online research.

• No hidden cost

Read the contract carefully and compare the price with equal quality service provider, make sure there is no hidden cost behind the scene.