A few years ago, maintaining a company’s IT system was easy. You did not need the help of an IT Support Company, you needed to call your trusted IT company and they sent you to a technician to solve the problem.
Nowadays, things are not so simple anymore. Modern business systems are more complex, with software platforms and data security applications that need more than a standard technician to maintain them. You need several specialists to ensure that your systems work without problems. For this, more and more, many companies turn to an IT consultant.
Advantages of working with an IT consultant
Working as a team with an IT consultant has its advantages:
- You can enjoy having one person (or several) at your disposal, without the costs associated with maintaining an IT department. The salary and insurance are covered by the IT Company.
- Your IT problems become the problem of the IT consultant and not yours. This allows you to focus on doing the work, rather than trying to figure out who to call to solve a particular problem.
Hiring an IT Support Service who has their own team is a profitable way to keep your IT system up to date. But finding the right consultant can be a huge challenge if you don’t know what skills you need.
When you are going to hire an IT consultant, you must take into account at following five aspects:
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Hardware
Your IT consultant must be competent in the maintenance of a wide range of equipment, from computers to workstations, UPS, etc. You will surely have desktops, laptops and mobile devices in your company. And you must make sure that the IT consultant can configure and maintain all the equipment.
If your work involves the use of computer-controlled machinery, ask the IT consultant about its ability to maintain the associated IT systems. In summary, your IT Support Company must be able to install, repair and update all the things related to the computing of your company without having to hire a third party.
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Software
The software section can be very complex, but you should take into account at least the following systems:
Support of the operating system: Make sure that the IT consultant is an expert in all the operating systems that you have in your company. It is possible that you have an old computer in a department running an old payroll application. Make sure that the IT consultant can work with the old platform.
Familiar with your applications: Your IT consultant is not an expert in all the applications you use. But, an IT professional is able to learn about little-known programs. Make sure you understand exactly what programs you use. And ask if you can take care of them if there is a problem. Many IT professionals focus on knowing the latest technologies, which is certainly important. But fewer are willing to take on the challenge of the legacy old system.
Updates Your company’s software will probably need updates more than your hardware. The responsibility of knowing when updates are needed and how to install them should be a priority for your IT consultant. Some updates close dangerous security vulnerabilities that have been identified by the software provider.
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Privacy and data security
A violation of your customers’ information can have a devastating impact on the business. The best protection is to hire a security professional to help protect the data. The advantages are many, but that does not mean that this is the only solution. A good IT consultant can have the internal resources and knowledge to identify and correct the possible security vulnerabilities of your company.
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Customized solutions
Nowadays, the diversity and complexity of companies often require customized hardware and software solutions. An effective IT consultant will not only look for standard solutions to answer your problems. When a commercial product is capable of doing the job, it must be used. But when a commercial software application needs to be modified too much for it to work, the solution can be a customized software solution. Many consultants do not have the ability to create customized solutions. Software development is beyond the reach of the majority. But some do offer this type of services. So it’s worth investing time to find the right IT consultant.
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IT Management
You should be aware that not all consultants offer the same level of service. Ideally, you need an IT consultant that offers IT administration services, which can provide you with the following advantages:
Property: The main advantage of hiring an IT consultant is that the responsibility of maintaining the IT system of your company.
Organization: Organizational skills and the ability to prioritize are the characteristics of a well-managed service provider. When working from the point of view of a service, you can schedule your tasks and workloads taking into account the workloads of the company.
Operational improvements: A good IT consultant will offer you all the advantages we have talked about. But an excellent one will go a step further and identify innovative ways in which technology can help your company grow. Through the proper use of technology, an innovative IT consultant can suggest ways to increase operational efficiency, improve ROI and develop relationships with your customers.
The figure of the IT consultant is one of the most important profiles that many companies can hire today. Choosing the wrong IT consultant can be very frustrating, expensive, and can lead to downtime, data loss, and costly bills. So, when you hire an IT consultant for your company, consider at least the 5 aspects that we have mentioned in this article.